Greed: The Enemy of ‘We’

Greed: It’s as old as time, yet we’re still appalled by it. Or maybe we’re just appalled by what see of it in others. It’s far less appalling when it’s our own. When it’s my own, I’m blind to it. It’s not greed if I deserve it. Nope. It’s not greed. It’s my right. You owe it to me.

And so, we invite greed into our leadership journey. Greed becomes a welcomed guest, a member of the inner circle. Once there, it thrives. Not greed, of course, simply that which we deserve. It can’t be greed — because we deserve it. Others have it, so we deserve it. Greed is much more palatable that way.

Still, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. And greed does…what greed does. It does what it’s always done. It infects us. It infects our teams. And like all infections left unchecked, it spreads and destroys.

Well, not all at once. We fade slowly. Fundamentally, we still believe in our noble cause. We still believe in our team. Well, at least the team with the “I” in it. And that’s the problem. That’s what greed does. It clouds our judgment as leaders. It causes us to make decisions in our best interests instead of in the team’s best interests. It gets in the way of honorable loyalty, both up and down the org chart, which becomes our undoing, our slow fade.

Leaders, be on the lookout for greed. First look inward, then look within those on those you lead. Left unchecked, greed will do what it’s always done.

And that’s not something your team deserves.