One of our running jokes at Holistic is that everyone wants to be a leader or a manager in their company … except people who have been a leader or a manager. Because it’s those people who realize just how hard those responsibilities are, and how much they are not designed to be a reward or a lifetime achievement award. 

Being a leader or a manager is a transaction, between companies and individuals. Certain individuals within your company are asked to shoulder more responsibility, handle more information, take on bigger challenges, take care of others within the company, and deal with tougher stuff. And, in return, they are compensated for it. That’s it. That’s the nature of being appointed as a leader within a company.

One thing we know is that no company can accurately project all of the situations, questions, challenges and opportunities that are forthcoming for it. So when we are choosing our leaders, we are choosing those who we believe will make the best decisions and be the best stewards in the future. We don’t know the questions we are going to face, and so we pick based on how we think our leaders will face them.

Which brings us to the dual events of this season -- coronavirus and the national conversation on racial equity and justice. If there were ever an event to separate the contenders from the pretenders, this is it. Coronavirus asked us to reimagine work overnight. And then, ten weeks later, the events of the past month have asked us to tear down to the studs our conception of what our entire society looks like and rebuild it in a more equitable, fair, sustainable and consistent fashion.

Either of these series of events are so profoundly intense that they could be considered to be seminal moments in each of our business lifetimes; together they are making for a spring and summer that none of us will ever forget. And, right now, when it comes to work, we need guidance and direction and inspiration and hope. Leaders need to lead.

I have been stunned by the amount of leaders I have seen in recent weeks who have been “in listening mode.” What this means, I interpret, is that they don’t know what to say, and so they are sitting this out, at least for now. They are gathering data and information (allegedly) and trying to determine how they feel (okay?) before they speak. 

While it’s true that it can be virtuous to listen before talking, and while it’s true that we all need to listen more, it’s basically unacceptable, in my mind, for a leader to not have their voice heard right now. Ultimately, every leader of every team, every manager in this nation of ours, needs to be making space for their employees to have difficult conversations and make progress together.

Leadership requires hard decisions. It requires gumption and grit and guesswork. It requires tough choices. That’s what the money is for!

• If you as a leader are unable or unwilling to participate in a conversation with your team about racial injustice, you are not qualified to be a leader in this moment.

• If you as a leader cannot bring yourself to publicly denounce racism and commit to crafting a better world, you should not have any influence over the professional lives of other people.

• If you as a leader do not feel like you have the skills and tools to be able to do the two elements above, then know that it is absolutely your responsibility to go and get this training and resources so you can perform your duties and step up to meet the challenges of our times.

Any CEO or business leader of any sort can look around and see who among their team has the mettle for the moment and who doesn’t. Those who don’t need to be called to the mat and they need to either get themselves trained and step up or they need to get out of the way and let someone else lead. I don’t really care how good you are at managing a supply chain or making widgets or producing value for your company. This is a moment in our shared history where, when we go to sleep at night, we’ll know clearly who is a leader and who isn’t.

That person who is stuck in “listening mode” with no plan to get more active? That person who is unwilling to engage in these conversations, or isn’t trying to figure out where to start? Or is hoping that this goes away? They’re not a leader. 

Nobody is expecting everyone to have all the answers. But we are expecting people to try. The circumstances of the world have brought forth the most pressing issues of our time. We need leaders who are ready to deal with these matters head-on.