BUS272 TB

406 Part 4 Sharing the Organizational Vision
OB at Work
POINT
Heroes Are Made, Not Born
COUNTERPOINT
We often ascribe heroic qualities to our leaders. 133 They
are courageous in the face of great risk. They persevere
when few would. They take action when most sit by.
Heroes are exceptional people who display exceptional
behaviour.
But some social psychologists question this conventional
wisdom. They note that heroism can be found in
many spheres of life, including in the behaviour of whistleblowers,
explorers, religious leaders, scientists, Good
Samaritans, and those who beat the odds. At some time
in our lives, we all show heroism when the situation
allows us to. If we want to see more heroic behaviour, we
need to create more situations that produce it.
Stanford psychologist Phil Zimbardo goes even further
to argue that our romantic view that heroes are
born is misplaced:
The banality of evil is matched by the banality of
heroism. Neither is the consequence of dispositional
tendencies … Both emerge in particular
situations at particular times, when situational
forces play a compelling role in moving individuals
across the line from inaction to action.
People exhibit brave behaviour every day. The workers
who risked their lives to contain Japan’s earthquakeravaged
nuclear reactors in 2011 are a great example.
Thus, we err when we think leaders are uniquely positioned
to behave heroically. We all can be heroes in the
right situation.
Of course heroes are not like everyone else. That is what
makes them heroes.
A generation of evidence from behavioural genetics
reveals that “everything is genetic,” meaning we have
yet to discover an important human behaviour that does
not have genetic origins. Although we are not aware of
any such study with respect to heroism, it would be surprising
if courageous behaviour were not at least partly
genetic.
It’s foolish to think courageous people are not exceptional
because of who they are. Just as we know there is
an entrepreneurial personality and a leader personality,
there is a heroic personality. Research suggests, for example,
that people who score high on conscientiousness are
more likely to engage in courageous behaviour.
Not all leaders are heroes, but many have exhibited
courageous behaviour. CEO Richard Branson may or may
not be a hero, but when he launches his latest attempt
to set the world record for an around-the-world balloon
flight or sloop sailing, he exhibits the same courageous
behaviour when he is leading conglomerate Virgin
Group. Virgin Group now includes more than 400 companies,
including Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company,
and Virgin Fuels, whose goal is to revolutionize the
industry by providing sustainable fuels for automobiles
and aircraft. Same leader, same heroic behaviour—in
work and in life.
Are we really to believe that Richard Branson and other
courageous leaders are just like everyone else?