What Leaders Should Be Thinking When Things Goes Terribly Wrong

“How did things get this bad?”  I have heard that statement many times in my life.  Sadly, I have also uttered those words more times than I wish to admit.  The reality is that when things completely come apart in our leadership, it is often not the result of one thing.  It is usually the result of poor thinking skills and a series of bad decisions.  Let me give you an example.

44-year-old Randy Lee Tenley was recently struck and killed by a 15-year-old driver in Montana.  This tragedy was completely avoidable.  The following is an excerpt from the report from www.NBCMontana.com:

“It appears the pedestrian was well into the driving lane,” said Montana Highway Trooper Jim Schneider.  Officials closed Highway 93 for two hours on Sunday night, as firefighters directed traffic and officers investigated.  What they found is troubling.

“According to his companions, he was out there in the ghillie (military camouflage) suit attempting to incite a sighting of Bigfoot, to make people think they had seen a Sasquatch.

But, dispatchers received no calls of the sort, just the one that sent emergency crews rushing to the scene.  Sunday night’s investigation is ongoing.  Troopers say Tenley likely drank alcohol yesterday, but they’re still waiting on toxicology results to see if he was impaired.”

Let’s look at the progression of events as they are alleged in Tenley’s death:

• Tenley was disingenuous.  He wanted to make people think he was a Bigfoot.
• Then he did not value people.  He was hoping to have fun at their expense.
• Then Tenley misused resources.  A ghillie suit is for military camouflage.
• Then he lacked self-control.  Alcohol may have been involved.
• Then Tenley’s bad judgement continued.  He was out at night. 
• Finally, he placed himself and those who rely on him in harm’s way.  He walking in the road at night in a camoflauge suite. 

We may laugh and shake our head at this story.  There were so many places where Tenley should have come to his senses and ended his plan of deception.  He could have said, “Grown men don’t pretend to be Bigfoot” or “I don’t need a military camouflage suit” or “I need to get out of the street!”  But he didn’t and we are left to wonder what was he thinking?

Leaders, when things go wrong with the people you serve or projects you lead, examine your thinking and the subsequent progression of events.  It possibly could have been avoided. 

Leaders, this is also a word of warning.  Perhaps you are early in the “bad decision” process.  You can avoid a potentially catastrophic situation by beginning to make good decisions, rather than bad ones.

Subscribe here so future posts can be sent directly to your Inbox. Also, as a gift for doing so, I will also send you a FREE copy of my latest eBook 151 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths That Will Make You A Better Leader.