Lawyers, Doctors and Leadership, Oh My

Have you ever heard of the saying that it gets lonely at the top? Is loneliness really a function of being at the top?  Do those who are most successful in their careers really have to be lonely? Research indicates that those who are most successful have a higher propensity for narcissism and a strong sense of ego. Regardless of the  hierarchical order, no person is an island. In theory, effective leaders at any level should have “willing” followers.  Given that, I would suggest that the root cause of such loneliness just may be ineffective leadership. 

Studies have indicated that the most successful leaders tend to be emotionally intelligent. Emotional intelligence is said to measure one’s ability to be empathic, adapt to and cope with the immediate environment.  Conversely, emotional intelligence traits found in effective leaders such as altruism, happiness, and emotional self-awareness are atypical traits of egoism--despite that their strong sense of superiority and self-importance, the differentiators, are what get the more successful lawyers and doctors to the top of their respective professions. 

However, lawyers and doctors are trained to practice their specialties, they are not trained to be leaders. They are highly educated then thrown into a practice with little or no leadership experience whatsoever.  They often create an environment that enables them to focus on what they do best—practice their specialty in transmit mode. They are deemed to have high self-esteem and may even be labeled as egocentric. Lawyers and doctors are used to having clients/patients listen while they speak and expect absolute deference to what they have to say. While they expect to be listened to, effective listening is not a skill-set that embodies them—they are used to being in control. Empathy and give-and-take conversations are not part of their vision in getting the job done and not part of their educational intake. Negotiating alternatives and team building is not a priority, rather such leadership skills are viewed as nothing more than time consuming duties, excess words and tasks best left to someone administrative. 

Their world revolves around their commitment to the services they deliver---not around the people that support them in getting that service accomplished. We tend to dehumanize these professions and make excuses for the desensitized behaviors and lack of leadership skills. Can they be both the specialist and the leader? Yes.  Fortunately, emotional intelligence can be learned.  While lawyers and doctors have the skill-set, tool-set and mind-set to call themselves masters of their specialty, the real questions is whether they are they ready to be students again to get the necessary tool-set, skill-set and adapt a mindset that will allow them to sustain in the new millennial world where introspectivism is abundant. I am confident there are many leaders behind the masks of today’s lawyers and doctors who just may find it’s not so lonely at the top if they allow themselves to venture into the world of emotional intelligence and become effective leaders of their professions.