Executive Slime Disease is pandemic, and leadership mattersExecutive Slime Disease is pandemic, and leadership matters

Do you or someone you know suffer from Executive Slime Disease? I’m betting so. Even in a trade like the health-focused supplement industry the infection is spreading.

Executive Slime Disease (“ESD”) is a potentially contagious ailment acquired by persons in positions of power and prestige. The primary symptom of illness is an inexplicable propensity for behavior the uninfected would consider unacceptable. The ESD manifests in a pattern of entitlement, rudeness, unethical behavior, and similar insufferable afflictions. Consistently poor personal judgment is a primary symptom, and the consequences of infection can be far-reaching, not just for the individuals infected but for companies and entire industries.

Leadership matters.

ESD impairs judgment by providing a false sense of reality and entitlement that is invisible to the carriers, unbearable for anybody who has to work with them (“underlings” in the view of the primary patient). People with a sense of humility and altruism are immune, and the disease is rarely observed in impoverished areas. Sometimes, but not often enough, the ESD-infected individual will be challenged by their victims, perhaps a Board of Directors, voters, or consumers, and forced to seek treatment or resign from their position, quarantined to prevent the spread of disease.

A consistent pandemic in politics, ESD has spread across the societal spectrum. It appears all too frequently in the supplement industry as well. A business proposition built on aspiration gets its reputation rotted by the ego-obsessed ESD carriers. We deserve better.

Unfortunately, ESD is recognized but left untreated far too often. When a leader of an industry or an organization is allowed to continue exhibiting the symptoms of ESD the behavior is implicitly condoned.

As an organizational representative, the behavior is potentially reflective of all members of the industry and becomes exponentially injurious. As an ESD executive, the disease can not only tarnish the organization but also negatively impact performance and morale of the entire industry, eventually eroding trust both internally and externally. When one organizational executive exhibits symptoms of ESD, the disease is more likely to be contagious to other leaders who see the behavior and take no precautions.

That’s how the disease is spread, by example.

Executive Slime Disease is easily recognized but not so quickly addressed. People often condone corrupt behavior by accommodating, taking a stance that nobody’s behavior is perfect; no population is properly vaccinated. That may be true, but we should not allow an inevitable lack of perfection as an acceptable excuse for inexcusable behavior. We can, and should, forgive transgressions but only with absolute assurance the actions will not be repeated and a sincere acknowledgment of the consequences. Such observations suggest the condition is no longer chronic.

The antidote to ESD is the strength, trust and an expectation of our leaders to not only achieve profit and success but make priorities of character as well.

In the tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the royal court is as guilty as the monarch by not calling out the ultimate wardrobe malfunction. Perhaps wardrobe dysfunction is the better term. They chose not to see. In the case of ESD, observation is essential. Contamination must be controlled.

Healthy executives are noted by impeccable example. Vital signs are recorded in their actions and words. Such observations should be expected in any situation, but it is essential in an industry that exists by the grace of public trust. Image matters. Integrity is everything.

As leaders, or aspiring leaders, we must always recognize the higher standard a position of responsibility provides.

That is the antidote.

We are the cure.

From Nutrition Business Journal's 2017 Dark issue. Get the full issue in the NBJ store.