Leaders As Symbols

We put a lot of emphasis on Leaders.

Often, whenever we look at an Organization, we will look at the top Leader to determine everything about that Organization.

Whenever something happens, good or bad, our reaction is to go straight to the Leader.

We either look to raise them up, or tear them down.

When something happens to the Leader, we often also question the Organization as a whole.

I've been seeing this happen very recently with Sam Altman and OpenAI.

Sam Altman has been seen as the posterchild of AI for quite a bit of time now.

In some peoples' eyes, there is not a distinction that they are aware of between AI, OpenAI, and Sam Altman.

With the news that Sam Altman has been removed both as CEO and from his position on the Board of OpenAI, many people are raising questions.

Did Sam Altman do something wrong?

Is the Board crazy?

What does this mean for OpenAI?

Is this foreshadowing something about the AI industry as a whole?

I'll be the first to say that I am not sure what it all means.

But, this is what I do know.

Many people are looking at Sam Altman as a Symbol.

When they see pictures of Sam Altman, they see AI.

They see the Future.

They see Change (whether that is good or bad depends on who you ask).

But who is Sam Altman really?

He's a Human Being.

At the end of the day, that is all.

Sam Altman does not represent all of OpenAI.

He doesn't even represent AI.

He's just another Person, like every other Person on this planet.

So often we look at Leaders and give them these "Larger than Life" personas.

They start to look like Symbols instead of People.

It happens all the time.

In fairness, some individuals do accomplish truly astounding things during their lives.

Sometimes those things are worth celebrating even.

But all Leaders are still just regular People.

They have Strengths and Weaknesses.

They have Successes and Failures.

The have People who Like them, and People who Hate them.

People who Agree with them, and People who Disagree with them.

They see some things with Clarity, and other things are a Mystery to them.

They do things that can be Admired, and things that should be Questioned.

These Leaders are not anything other than Humans.

They aren't supernatural.

They aren't demi-beings.

They aren't gods.

We need to be Wary about what kind of a Pedestal we put others on.

It we aren't Wary, it can cause a bunch of problems.

We may put too much pressure on Leaders, or if we are said Leader we may put too much pressure on ourselves.

When Leaders inevitably let us down, because we are all human and make mistakes or have faults, it can bear down on us hard.

Their Actions can shake the very foundation of our Beings if we are not careful.

Symbols in our lives can have great Power, but when we make Humans into Symbols it can have great Negative Consequences.

It reminds me of a story from Saint Francis of Assisi.

In the Catholic Church, after certain criteria are fulfilled after death (and only after death), an individual "may" become considered a Canonized Saint.

Saint Francis of Assisi was an incredibly influential figure during his lifetime, having accomplished spectacular things in his life.

Before he died, there were people who began to call Francis a Saint.

In response he would say, "Don't canonize me too soon. I'm perfectly capable of fathering a child."

Regardless of the Good that he accomplished in his life, he understood that he was still a Human Being, fully capable of Faults and Failure.

People were seeing him as a Symbol, but he was warning people that he was still just a Human.

This is a Lesson we should take with us as well in Life as we look at others.

Some people are incredible, but they are still Human.

Be wary of treating anyone as a Symbol.