Status Quo Leadership

‘Status quo leadership’ is about carefully keeping everything neat and as it is. It is about doing anything not to upset the way things are and nothing to change them.

A leader who does this is practicing, for lack of a better term, ‘status quo leadership’. “Lack of a better term” because it is not leadership. The most obvious sign of a status quo leader is one who is always defensive about things being changed.

“We have always done it this way” is the mantra of status quo leadership. They feel that if something is still working it does not need to change. This gets in the way of doing things even better. The fact that something is working well does not mean it cannot be made greater.

Status quo leadership is stuck leadership (Click to Tweet)

Status quo leadership is stuck leadership. It has no momentum and is incapable of creating anything new or significant.

Innovation is never realized under status quo leadership. Status quo leadership lacks boldness and is inherently allergic to initiative. Status quo leadership does not bother to study the trends, assess the status of present affairs and the implications they may have for tomorrow.

Status quo leadership is naïve. It creates a false reality by overstating the possible impact of external factors.

Innovation does not have to be a result of a failing system or strategy but a can also be a product of striving for greater despite things working well.

You can also identify ‘status quo leadership’ by an aversion to risk at all costs. Status quo leaders are always more worried about what might be lost at the expense of what might be gained.

Leadership is about moving things forward. It is about securing the future through present day action. Leadership is also about initiating, steering and facilitating change. It is about getting better. It is about the greater.

An obvious thing about status quo leadership is that there is never anything new. No new achievements. No new goals. Nothing.

Status quo leadership shuts down any contradicting opinion as they upset the status quo. On the other hand, greater leadership, heretic leadership, recognizes that for anything to get better the contrary views and approaches must be explored.

Ideas are made better when they are interrogated. Status quo leadership forces everyone in the enterprise to agree to everything. Status quo leadership does not make encourage team members to think. It has room for only one brain, that of the so-called leader.

status quo leadership is anchored in aspirations without any significant defining actions

Status quo leadership is more driven by the need to keep an intact ego than for the good of the enterprise. If you are not driving change you are not leading but managing. There is nothing wrong with managing per se. But you need to be clear whether you’re leading on managing.

There are many people said to be leaders but actually managers. Leadership that builds anything substantial is one that is not afraid of shattering the status quo. They do this in order to bring change. And change, in turn makes way for the greater. Be bold. Be /ˈherətik/