#47 The Courage to Call It Out: Leadership Lessons from The Emperor’s New Clothes

Alright team, welcome to another episode of the exceptional leadership podcast. As always I'm your host Mad Hamilton, delighted to have your company with me once again for an episode that I've titled The Courage to Call it Out, Leadership Lessons from the Emperor's New Clothes. Now some of you may have no idea what I mean by the Emperor's New Clothes, some of you will be familiar. It is an old folk tale that I read as a kid, it's been around for a long long time, I don't know when it was written but it's been around for a very long time. And I just think it is so applicable to us as leaders and the critical role that we play at all levels of society. We are in many ways the gatekeepers when it comes to the upholding of cultural standards and the keeping of madness at bay and we'll dig into what I mean by that a little bit further into the episode but we play such an important role. And this story really I think gives a beautiful illustration of the susceptibility that we as people have to staying silent even though what we're seeing in front of us doesn't make any sense to us and shouldn't be tolerated but because we're worried about being the odd ones out we're often too afraid to speak up and say anything and this short story really does illustrate that absolutely beautifully. So what we're going to do is I'm going to set the scene and read this short story and then while I'm pack some of the deeper concepts in and around it and have a look at how it applies to us as leaders. So settle in I'm gonna have a sip of my coffee. This podcast runs on caffeine I don't know what I do without it. So settle in here is the short story The Emperor's New Clothes here we go. Once upon a time there was an emperor he had a big round belly bushy eyebrows and a very long moustache but he was very vain all he thought about was himself I am so wonderful he would say look at my wonderful eyebrows look at my excellent moustache I look marvelous the emperor loved to wear fancy clothes he had 400 fancy shirts 300 pairs of fancy pants and 1000 pairs of fancy socks the emperor also loved to say fancy words like empirical cantankerous and discombobulate he didn't know what any of those fancy words meant but he liked to say them anyway he liked to sound intelligent I am so intelligent he said I'm a genius one day a man arrived at the palace he said that he was a tailor he said he could make the fanciest clothes in all of the land but really this man was a dishonest man he earned his money by fooling rich people the tailor bought the emperor 10 suitcases your most majestic and intelligent majesty he said I am here to show you my marvelous new discovery everybody knows that you are the most intelligent man in the world I have created some amazing new clothes these clothes are only for intelligent people in fact stupid people cannot even see these clothes the emperor clapped his hands amazing with these clothes I can know who is smart and he was stupid I will never be bothered by idiots again let me try these clothes the tailor undressed the emperor until he stood only in his underpants he unpacked his tape measure he measured the emperor's arms legs shoulders and all around his big round belly the tailor reached inside one of the suitcases no this one is too big no that one is too small ah this one this one is perfect he pretended to lift a shirt out of the suitcase what do you think said the tailor the emperor gasped he couldn't see anything isn't it wonderful said the tailor and remember only intelligent people will be able to see it the tailor reached into his suitcase again look at these pants aren't they beautiful and they are completely invisible to idiots and look at this jacket see the colors a complete nincompoop will see absolutely nothing oh oh yeah very nice very nice stammer the emperor but he was confused why couldn't he see the clothes surely it's not possible that I am an idiot he thought a complete moron would not know fancy words like vestibule but the emperor said nothing the tailor pretended to dress the emperor in the invisible shirt pants jacket and shoes the emperor stood in front of his mirror he wanted to see the clothes but all he saw was his big round belly and his underpants I'm not sure that it's really my style said the emperor but let me get a second opinion the emperor called three of his most intelligent friends into the room friends what do you think of these new clothes only intelligent people can see these clothes stupid people see nothing at all of course his friends didn't see anything either but they didn't want to look stupid oh yes that is a great shirt said the first friend yes the pants are a perfect color said the second friend cool shoes said the third friend the emperor was excited I will wear these new clothes in the parade tomorrow the emperor gave the tailor a lot of money the tailor left the palace with 10 suitcases full of gold when he was safely in his carriage he laughed long and hard what a doofus he thought that night the emperor did not sleep he stayed up late reading the biggest heaviest books in his library I just need a few more fancy words then I'll be able to see my clothes he thought in the morning two servants came to the emperor's room to dress him for the parade of course they couldn't see any clothes either but they said nothing they did not want to look stupid they pretended to dress the emperor in invisible pants invisible shirt invisible jacket and an invisible hat the emperor looked at himself in the mirror he stared and he squinted he turned his head from left to right and wait there it was out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a light shimmering fabric a checkered pattern a tiny bit of color he could see the clothes in reality there were no clothes but we often see what we want to see the emperor was happy that he could finally see the clothes let's join the parade he shouted everybody from the town was at the parade all the intelligent people were there all the scientists all the writers all the teachers and all the children the emperor stood in his open carriage and waved to the crowd but as the emperor's carriage drove down the street the crowd fell silent the music stopped everybody stared at the emperor these clothes must be amazing for the emperor but then from the back of the crowd a small child yelled mummy I can see his underpants everybody gasped then there were a few giggles and then everyone on the street laughed and laughed and laughed even harder they clapped and shouted under pants under pants the emperor heard the crowd laugh he knew he had been fooled he wasn't wearing special clothes he was wearing nothing only his underpants he jumped out of the carriage and ran all the way back to the palace behind him he heard the crowd chanting under pants he ran to his bedroom and slammed the door later when his friends found him he was lying on his bed he was wearing all his real clothes all his fancy shirts all his fancy pants and all 1000 pairs of fancy socks and there you have it that is the emperor's new clothes now there's a lot more to that story than just fancy clothes and a vain emperor and it really does have so many applications to us as leaders especially in this day and age human psychology being what it is the rise of social media and the megaphone that is available to all who wish to use it and cancel culture let's get right into it cancel culture isn't what it used to be but it's legacy lingers and organizations I think are still trying to find that happy middle ground between social responsibility and individual freedom of expression and how that applies to an organization and often organizations are subjected to enormous scrutiny if an action that they choose to take goes viral and more than ever modern day leaders are having to weigh the consequences of green lighting certain actions it might be an ad campaign or a company policy and what makes this more difficult as I mentioned off the top is social media it's a mechanism that both benefits and harms organizations and leaders by default because never before has it been so easy for a deranged minority group to amplify their hysterical cries of oppression through the social megaphone that is social media and don't they like to use it and because they're motivated and tenacious and all have a healthy chip on their shoulders they are hell bent on making somebody pay for the perceived injustices that they've been subjected to and oftentimes because they're so motivated and because social media is so prevalent it is very very effective in making people think that a particular group voicing concern over a certain issue is a lot bigger and a lot more well represented than it actually is there is a term the silent majority the majority of people are silent they don't have time to be engaged in things like culture wars or the boycotting of businesses because of specific ad campaigns most people do not care most people are looking to put food on the table live a good healthy happy life and look after their family they don't have time to get involved in all of these different things they don't have time to invest in the madness of crowds but some minorities do and as leaders this can be a really tricky area to navigate can't it because we are aware that there could well be pushback for decisions that we make from that vocal minority especially if you're in a high profile business senior role in a high profile business and so even if you are confronted with the decision that seems pretty black and white there is in the background this threat that somebody might be made unhappy and they might harness their forces to attempt to publicly shame the company and you for a decision that you make and because of things like social media the impact of that can actually be quite severe on individuals in this day and age the recent fuel from some over the Sydney Sweeney has good jeans ad is a prime example of this leadership in that company I think it's American Eagle I think is the name of the company leadership Greenlit that ad campaign but I don't think even they could have predicted the hysterical outcry that we saw over an attractive woman wearing a pair of American Eagle jeans accompanied by a witty turn of phrase Sydney Sweeney has good jeans J E A N S pretty innocent sounding stuff but it wasn't long before cries of unequal representation were resounding around the internet the inference that by using the term good jeans clever play on words not only was that insensitive for people who perhaps are not as attractive as Sydney Sweeney but it also went one step further and infers that only Anglo-Saxon women count as having good jeans that is how far some of the absurdity went with some of this social commentary but that company to their credit have stood firm and not given in to the social outrage being exhibited by the vocal minority and neither should they I'm sure that sales will do staggeringly well as a result of all the free publicity that this ad campaign has generated through the outrage machine that we've seen on social media but it really does get to absurd levels and this affects us as leaders because at some point we have to say enough is enough we are not going to cower and compromise because a vocal minority has thrown all of their toys out of the stroller so to speak you know I think leaders from prime ministers and presidents all the way down to the supervisors on our factory floors they form a key part of the social fabric as a whole in our societies we are the decision makers we are the North Star for many people the ones that are looked to for guidance strength and courage and we are the gatekeepers of our social fabric an intricate patchwork of leaders as I said at all different levels of society charged with upholding standards and in a world where there are so many voices being amplified we need to know where our North Star is with respect to the things that we hold dear with respect to the principles that we uphold and when it's noisy like it is and when there are perceived consequences for taking stands even if they're really harmless and quite logical it can be a very intimidating prospect to take any stand at all in fact many people go you know what I'm just going to not get involved I'm not going to make a decision I'm going to let someone else make the call I'm not going to give an opinion either way because I'm just not willing to put my head up above the parapet so to speak but it's precisely because of those conditions that we have a great responsibility as leaders at all levels than we have ever had before to act with courage and to say what needs to be said if something doesn't make sense call it out and as that story I think beautifully illustrates most of the time everybody else is thinking the same thing it's a responsibility so what voices as leaders do we choose to listen to and why if the Emperor in a metaphorical sense has no clothes will we speak up like the child in that story and call it out or will we cower in fear and there are dire consequences for cowering in fear as a leader because all of your people see your unwillingness to do it and they follow that lead and that is how these vocal minority groups are allowed to act like bullies it is because the majority of people are too afraid to speak up for fear of isolation for fear that no one else will support them and oftentimes because of these group dynamics we do see that in fact we see people ostracized it takes courage as I said to speak up and say what everybody's thinking it takes courage to stand up to the madness yes it does but it is on us as leaders to be courageous I would suggest that if you are not prepared to be courageous you are in the wrong job from the president or prime minister of a country all the way down to supervisors on our factory floors it is you and your position your responsibility to be courageous I'm not talking necessarily about a factory floor supervisor and how that position pertains to cultural issues like I've just explored what I'm saying is that if you see something that you know to be wrong going on within your work environment you do not shy away from the responsibility that you have to call it out the principle remains consistent no matter the topic whether we're talking societal cultural discussions or at work issues if you are a leader and you see something wrong it is your responsibility to call it out it is an expectation to call it out and if the reason that you are refraining from doing so is because you feel you'll be ostracized that is probably an indication that something is very wrong from a cultural perspective in your organization but if it is something that is so bleedingly obvious that it's hard to understand how the majority of people would not feel the same way perhaps there is some real good to be done by saying what needs to be said because how long do we let madness fester within our organizations and it does take many forms as cancel culture I think has shown us over the years I want to begin closing this podcast down by reminding you guys of a movie do you remember a bugs life it's like a really cool animated movie about ants and grasshoppers and the grasshoppers were basically militia grossly outnumbered by the worker ants but really strong and aggressive and it was their job to keep the ants in line so that the ants would continue to harvest food for the grasshoppers and there is a scene in this movie where one of the grasshoppers suggests that ants are puny and insignificant and the boss of the grasshoppers called hopper he rebukes that soldier that grasshopper soldier and he says if you let one ant stand up to us then they all might stand up those puny little ants outnumber us 100 to 1 and if they ever figure that out there goes our way of life it's not about food it's about keeping those ants in line and isn't that true the silent majority if the silent majority ever stood up and let their voices be heard things would be very very different I dare say we wouldn't be hearing quite as much about the things we hear about on the news I think social media would look a little bit different potentially I think company policies might look a little bit different but for fear of being ostracised we as the silent majority people in the middle we act like those ants in a bugs life don't we and we stay silent even though we outnumber the vocal minority 100 to 1 maybe it's time we realise that and pull together and stop some of the madness that we see going on in organisations and society more broadly maybe it's time that we spoke with a little more bravery and said what everybody is thinking so if you find yourself in that position at work as a leader understand that you are a key part of that process you set the example and it is your responsibility to call out things that need to be called out in a respectful way in a diplomatic way but call it out I say over and over again guys you don't have to be aggressive to be confrontational all you have to do is raise the issue you can do it politely and that still brings the necessary level of confrontation so let's understand we are the gatekeepers of standards and yes this is a broad topic guys this comes in many different forms we could be talking about a HR policy that doesn't make any sense we could be talking about behaviour of a team member ok within a team we could be talking about an executive manager that is behaving really poorly you know the list goes on and on and on we are talking about behaviours that need to be called out and standards that need to be maintained and we need to understand that we as leaders feed into that broad of patchwork all the way up to the highest echelons of our society ok it applies so broadly it applies in our homes in our organisations and because all of those things come together in a intricate patchwork they make up our communities and our society so if you want to make change it starts with you so make sure you know what your standards are and make sure you uphold them and if something needs to be called out guys make sure you call it out sometimes it is on you as a leader to be really brave and courageous guys we're going to leave it there I hope you enjoyed that something a little bit different I suppose digging into a folk tale we haven't done that before I'll sign off by asking you as I always do please subscribe to the show if you're getting value leave us a really generous five star review those things really help and please tell as many people as you can if you're getting value from the show tell people about the show share it around and let's see if we can together lift the standard of leadership globally because at the end of the day everybody benefits guys it's goodbye for now until next time I'll see you later