Bad behavior compounded with denial is weak and expensive leadership

Theranos was once a great American story and media fascination.

Yet it turns out it was all a story of fiction. What is equally disturbing is the leadership response to the very public downfall of the company.

“..nearly every word (founder) Ms. (Elizabeth) Holmes said about her company was either embellished or outright deceptive…I say that a sociopath is described as someone with no conscience. I think she absolutely has sociopathic tendencies. One of those tendencies is pathological lying.”

How leadership self deception, blind spots and self centered decision making (it happens) leads to crisis.

“ Carreyrou also said he’s spoken with numerous former Theranos employees and has found Ms. Holmes “has shown zero sign of feeling bad, or expressing sorrow, or admitting wrongdoing, or saying sorry to the patients whose lives she endangered,”

Holmes had no emotional, protective safeguards in place for her dysfunctional thinking and dangerous, high-risk behavior.

Most leaders who fail, who endure media, public, career and financial pain due to their thinking and behavior run their daily lives without the “insurance” of having people around them they listen to who question their weaknesses. Holmes just another example of such leadership.

In addition, she sought no coaching to correct the diseases of the mind and protect herself and her company. It at least prompts the question if Theranos was always intended to be a ruse. More likely, Holmes did not wish to be exposed and lose all the spoils she was enjoying.

Now, compounding the misery, she remains in the storm destructive media relations, public relations and business relations revelations about her company’s misdeeds.

There is no effective crisis communications or crisis management occurring.

The consequences are multiple and expensive and will be long lasting without rewired decision making.

What can leaders learn from this story?

Listening to views you disagree about process, ethics, false beliefs and destructive, self-destructive behavior.

Consider coaching for areas of your life that are causing pain or will cause pain to the company and other people, as well as yourself. Choose not to live in denial or worse, annoyed or angry denial.

When the storm hits your organization hard, don’t choose denial, deceit, half truths or aggression.

Instead, pursue effective, ethical crisis communications and conflict management, including ownership of the crisis and sustained effort in making conflict repairs, a prompt and thorough investigation of issues if necessary, a statement of sincere, detailed remorse and behavior moving forward that shows that remorse in action.

Intelligently, ethically, morally (that’s not a subjective term) correct the thinking and thus the impulses and decision making that led to the crisis.

Do some form or formal or informal restorative justice to investors, clients, customers and your organizational team.

Stay receptive to communicating, internally and externally, with humility throughout the crisis.

Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos have not followed the wisdom this plan and there reputation is in ruins.

Michael Toebe is the founder and practitioner at Conflict Management Care, helping organizations skillfully, ethically, successfully work through emerging, escalating or extreme disputes and conflicts as well as respond effectively to crisis.

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