How 'Careless,' Mediocre Leadership Destroyed Media
"They were careless people—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness... and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
Teamwork may make the dream work, but mediocrity starts at the top.
And no team, no matter how talented, can outmaneuver poor leadership.
I've always loved this quote from The Great Gatsby about "careless people," and it fits poor leaders, too. To paraphrase: "They were careless people—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness... and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
Today, though, there is no clean-up crew in media. Just carelessness as modern-day robber barons owning media companies run rampant. And how many news organizations must we watch fall apart from poor, careless leadership when news is a necessary public good for a democracy?
When I first started out in journalism, I didn't think much about who the "big boss" was. I was focused on my own lane and moving within it. It wasn't until I was older that I realized an organization's health and success are critically tied to whoever owns or helms it. They aren't some unseen hand; they are the driver. And if the driver is incompetent, we're all going to crash no matter the level of talent in that car.
Bad, immature leadership usually happens when a figurehead surrounds themselves not with talent, but with people who won't say no to them and who won't be "smarter" than the (insecure) big boss. The actions are as transparent as they are awful, and the results are often equally abysmal. The need to be right always trumps how to run a successful organization.
When all is eventually destroyed, they will only have themselves to blame, yet accountability will never be in the room with them.
Often, poor leaders spend a lot of time operating from fear while projecting what they think looks like strength. Unfortunately, they're as see-through as glass with their temper tantrums, disrespect, and ego-filled rants.
I always found my worst bosses more instructive than my best ones, because they taught me what not to do:
Do NOT ignore small problems—they often turn into bigger ones that are harder to manage.
Do NOT lead with your ego—it's about the mission and the business, not your personal feelings. They have no place at work or in leadership.
Do NOT let emotion trump logic—feelings aren't facts, and they'll only cloud your judgment.
Do NOT lead with disrespect and humiliation—unless you're looking to go out like Julius Caesar, stabbed in the back.
Do NOT speak without thinking—Unless you like constantly getting notes from HR.
Do NOT become too familiar—You're the boss, not their best friend. Someday you'll have to make the tough decision, and it won't matter what terms you were once on.
No team is perfect, nor is any leader, but the right team is one where you can speak freely and respectfully to each other and hash out differences fairly in your shared mission of success.
As a former newsroom leader, shared organizational success has always been my goal, and I never believed it began and ended with me — it always began and ended with “us.” Because a leader is a critical part of the team, but not the only part, and we all must play our roles well to achieve the success we seek.
A version of this post appeared on LinkedIn.