Some leaders take more than their fair share. They make the conscious decision to help themselves to resources, perquisites, and financial gains, sometimes at the expense of others.
They honestly believe they have earned the right to an extra helping of privileges. They convince themselves that others won’t know, and even if they did, they might be jealous but not hurt by their bounty.
With what psychologists call Motivated Reasoning, these self-serving leaders seek and acquire information that is consistent with their end goals and desires. Their selective view justifies how right and fair they believe their actions to be.
Thankfully, such self-serving leaders are relatively rare. Yet they exist in many organizations where transparency into how leaders benefit is largely opaque.
Two factors give rise to piggish leaders and the motivated reasoning that serves them. While a lack of transparency certainly gives rise to the possibility of selfish behavior, it is ambiguity about what is acceptable and unacceptable that gives them the green light.
When it is unclear what leaders are allowed to do, some leaders will take advantage of this vagueness and do as they please.
Status also plays a large role in encouraging selfish behavior. Leaders who believe they are superior or have an exalted status in an organization reason that they are entitled to more than their fair share as a reward for their position.
The famous quote “to victors belong the spoils” gets translated into “with status belongs the privileges.” Status by title, influence, relationship, and tenure contribute to the feeling of entitlement over organizational resources.
Good organizations understand that bad actors who acquire extra privileges are made, not born, and they do everything in their power to make it harder for them to take liberties with organizational resources.
They do this by making it clear what are acceptable and appropriate choices regarding those resources and exposing self-serving decisions for everyone to see.
Furthermore, the best organizations do not make rock stars out of leaders or high performers, emphasizing team over individual notoriety and status. This dramatically discourages selfish behavior.
No selfish leader ever thinks of themselves as selfish. Instead, they reason their way to self-serving choices that meet their personal goals and desires.
This is further proof that people can justify just about any act or choice when they are motivated to do so. Through transparency, the best organizations interfere with that motivation and reasoning.
