Blinded by the might, leaders lose common touch

Greed and hubris are two ways of explaining the mounting catastrophe in political and corporate leadership. Another factor, though, is leaders’ strange disconnection from the lives that people actually live. Rarefied education, cloistered homes and increasingly inaccessible office suites seem to have eliminated any semblance of a “common touch.” The vast majority of our political […]

Greed and hubris are two ways of explaining the mounting catastrophe in political and corporate leadership. Another factor, though, is leaders’ strange disconnection from the lives that people actually live. Rarefied education, cloistered homes and increasingly inaccessible office suites seem to have eliminated any semblance of a “common touch.” The vast majority of our political leaders haven’t met a payroll or dealt with customers. Among those leading banks and corporations, do any listen in when customers call to complain about product quality? Do any see the impact of relentless fees, long lines or sliced-and-diced mortgages that to them are anonymous assets but to homeowners are a lifeline to financial security? Power corrupts more than the soul, you see. Power corrupts our abilities to see, to understand and to care about other people.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is www.morningwalkmedia.com.)


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