Failure of Leadership

On September 3, 1939 Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. An act historians say sparked World War II. German soldiers converted an old Polish army barrack into what would be known as Auschwitz 1. Auschwitz, generally refers to a complex of about 40 concentration and extermination camps built and operated by Germany in Poland during World War II. The first prisoners were German criminals who arrived in May of 1940. The first Gassing of prisoners, mostly Jewish, was conducted in September of 1941. In all, over 6 million people were murdered during this short time. 24 of the most prominent German leaders were tried for their decisions and the horrific consequences of the Holocaust and other World War II crimes during the Nuremberg Trials in Germany. Of the leaders not tried, many committed suicide or fled the country using falsified papers.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, as a result America joined the Allied forces and began their participation in World War II. The Pearl Harbor attack and Japan’s conquest of a large portion of Asia and the Pacific between 1936 and 1942, led some Americans to fear Japan would eventually attack America’s west coast. These fears, insecurities and racism led to the arrest and internment of over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry, 62% of which were United States citizens. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt authorized the deportation and incarceration with Executive order 9066. In 1944, the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of such a decision. During this time US citizens were stripped of life, liberty, property and basic human rights without any due process.

On May 11, 1960, one of the German leaders, Adolf Eichmann, living as Ricardo Klement, was arrested in Argentina where he had been living for 15 years. He escaped trial by using falsified papers to escape arrest and had managed to get married, have kids and assume a normal life until his capture. Adolf Eichmann, known during WWII as Nazi SS Obersturmbannfuhrer Adolf Eichmann (a German Lieutenant), was responsible for facilitating and managing the logistics involved in the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps. He coordinated the execution of the most horrifying aspects of the Holocaust. In his trial in Jerusalem, Israel, he relied on the “I was just doing my job, just following orders” defense. Essentially blaming his bosses. Despite his defense, he was tried, found guilty, and executed.

196I, Yale University researcher, Stanley Milgram, wanted to see if humans would follow directions given from a person in authority and do things outside of their character. Even kill. He wondered while studying the Eichmann trial and wanted to see if it were actually true that people would follow direction from an authority figure and hurt others. He learned that they would not only hurt people but if put into position and given the orders, those people could kill.

August 14-20, 1971, Stanford professor, Dr. Phillip G. Zimbardo wanted to see what the psychological effects were of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. To do this, “he set up a simulated prison and then carefully noted the effects of this institution on the behavior of all those within its walls.” He took volunteers, assigned them at random to be prisoners and prison guards. What happened was prison guards quickly began to abuse their power and mistreat the prisoners. The experience became so traumatic for the prisoners that the experiment had to be discontinued after only a few days.

Whether you’re in an extermination camp in Poland, an internment camp on Americas West Coast, a basement lab at Yale, a faux prison at Stanford University, or at your workplace, the principle is the same. Decades of research reveals that it does not matter if your power or authority was earned, given to you or assigned at random, power can easily go to your head and cause you do to unthinkable things to other people. Combine that power with a disenfranchised population and in almost every experiment, the result is the same, abuse. Each of the examples illustrates what researchers have found time and time again. What does this mean to each of us? As you acquire power, check your ego, and be mindful of what you say to others and the directions you give. While what happens in your office does not compare to these historical events, they are traumatic for your people and has a real negative consequence for your organization.

During his presidency, Ronald Reagan called Japanese Internment during the 1940’s a failure of leadership. In truth, using your power, fear or both to mistreat people with less power than you is a failure of your leadership. Whether it is positional power, political power or social power, it is imperative that you check your ego daily so that history does not repeat itself where you are. In a recent meeting with a leader, I was told, “It’s my job as a leader to give them what they need and to protect them.” I could not have said it better. My friend and thought partner, Alphonso Powell, says “You shouldn’t have to learn from your own mistakes” meaning you can learn from the mistakes of others and be better. If you can focus on the experience of your people and not your own power not only will you avoid painful mistakes but you and your team will SOAR!

 

William A. Brown

May 12, 2019 

 

Auschwitz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp

https://discovercracow.com/auschwitz-facts/

Japanese Internment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation

Adolf Eichmann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann

Milgram Experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Stanford Prison Experiment https://www.prisonexp.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment