Recently, a political candidate for the general election spoke about the problem with inbreeding. He stated that inbreeding inevitably will lead to groupthink. His speech led me to reflect on issues of leadership succession and organisational culture.
Gemini defines “inbreeding” as the practice of an organization consistently promoting or hiring individuals from within, often at the expense of external talent and diverse perspectives. It also defines “groupthink” as the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group, resulting typically in unchallenged, poor-quality decision-making.
As a leader, leadership succession often pre-occupies my mind. Identifying and raising next generation leaders are matters I give high priority to.
There are a couple of ways of finding potential leaders for succession.
One way is to look outside your organisation for an existing capable and experienced leader. Give him/her an irresistible reason to join your organisation like offering a promising vision of your organisation accompanied with an attractive remuneration package. We call these parachute leadership. Some suggested that such leadership may help bring in the much needed fresh perspectives and motivational drive to help reinvigorate a stagnated organisation. This method however may incur huge cost upfront and come along with risks. The parachuted leader being new to the organisation may not appreciate the existing culture of the organisation and cause unnecessary disruptions as a whole. He may dismantle established norms thinking that he is ushering in something better when instead he is destroying the core essence of what makes the organisation who she is. Worst case scenario is that the leader forsakes the original mission of the organisation to serve his own preferred agenda. This may lead to unhealthy conflicts, leadership tussles and boardroom infightings; resulting in staff exodus or organisation split. The outsider may ultimately choose to exit the organisation leaving a trail of destruction behind or if he defiantly remains may cause the organisation to lose her original identity.
A better way then is to identify potential leaders early and recruit them into the organisation as executives first. Place them into a leadership mentoring programme to test them and raise them intentionally through time. This is also called inbreeding leadership. We intentionally raise leaders from within to ensure that our next generation leaders will be aligned to the mission and core values of the organisation. I am of the view that there is nothing wrong with an inbreeding leadership programme. As far as I know, most organisations prefer to use inbreeding rather than parachute leadership for their succession planning. They identify potential leaders within their organisation early; test, equip and raise them intentionally to become well suited to take over the wheel in the years to come. As a leader, I too invest heavily on inbreeding leadership. I pay attention in developing staff under my watch in hope they will become part of the leadership team one day. I find this approach to be better in guaranteeing the continuing and the flourishing of the organisation and her mission. The pitfalls of parachute leadership are just too high a cost to bear.
It is wrong to assume that all inbreeding programmes would inevitably lead to groupthink. Inbreeding does not need to be at the expense of having diverse perspectives within the leadership team. I would like to suggest that the culture of diversity depends very much on the values of the organisation and not on its leadership succession methodology. When an organisation values hierarchy and compliance above collaboration and creativity, then she would be intolerant of diversity. Regardless of her leadership succession methodology, whether it is inbreeding or parachute leadership, her new generation of leaders are expected to obey and execute without questioning. Such organisations are blind-sided and forever trapped in an echo chamber. When an organisation values collaboration, ownership and creativity, she will intentionally provide safe and accessible platforms to gather feedback and shape her office environment to allow her staff to speak freely. Therefore each organisation must consider their core values carefully. Here are some examples of core values which may be helpful to encourage a culture of diversity in the organisation:
- We value team leadership and team decision-making
- We value respect for each other’s personhood and uniqueness
- Compliment and celebrate each other’s success
- Speak freely but constructively
- Critique and not criticise
- Don’t take it personal when receiving or giving feedback
I believe organisations who adopt similar core values as above will not have the problem of groupthink. Her leadership development programmes will ensure the enculturation of such core values. Leaders and future leaders in these organisations will not lose their voice but instead know how to offer their perspectives with clarity and confidence without the fear of being reprimanded.
Therefore inbreeding does not necessarily lead to groupthink. Inbreeding leadership is a sure and tested way of raising next generation leaders. It however must be accompanied by values that promote collaboration, ownership, creativity and diversity.