On April 14, 1865 - the exact same day he was assassinated, one of the last actions of President Abraham Lincoln was to sign a bill creating the Secret Service. Unfortunately the service was created at first, not to protect the life of the president of the United States, but rather to protect the purity of the United States Treasury.
At inception, the United States Secret Service was created to suppress currency counterfeiting. In the late 1800s the United States had a major counterfeit problem. At the time of the bill signed by President Lincoln it was believed between one-third and one-half of the United States economy was infused with counterfeit bills and coins.
The signs are microscopic. Very subtle and very hard to detect at first glance. Slightly ‘glossy’ paper. Slightly different color in tint. A watermark in a small corner of the bill. A fiber here or there. The difference between the authentic thing and a cheap imitation can be so slight. Wherever money has been printed, a cheapened imitation has been printed as well. The United States Treasury and Secret Service have been fighting against counterfeiters for hundreds of years.
Over time, The United States Treasury began to create cues of authenticity on bills and coins to help distinguish authentic currency from counterfeit. Ridges were placed on coins like quarters and dimes by special machinery. The paper used for bills includes tiny blue and red fibers embedded. Serial numbers have a distinctive style and spacing to authenticate the bill. Now when we look at bills and coins there are hundreds of distinct characteristics separating authentic from counterfeit - often only spotted by the trained eye.
But even after all of the advancement to the U.S. Mint & Treasury to throw counterfeiters off the trail the production of counterfeit bills has kept up. The Secret Service reported in 2013 close to $89 million in counterfeit money was seized in unlawful creation of counterfeit currency. As recent as 2014, a Richmond, Virginia woman was arrested for counterfeiting over $20,000 worth of bills using a cheap HP printer purchased at an office supplies store.
While it is unknown exactly how much counterfeit money is in circulation - there are estimates of up to $3 billion USD in counterfeit money in circulation at any given time in the United States economy.
Much like in counterfeit dollar bills or coins, counterfeit leadership motives are just as pervasive. The signs are microscopic. Very subtle and very hard to detect at first glance. A slightly different attitude. A presence or a spirit about. A fiber here or a fiber there. The difference between an authentic leader and cheap imitation can be so slight. Wherever leadership has been present, a cheapened imitation has been present as well
Whether dollar bills or leadership - in anything counterfeit. There are always clues. Here are four signs of a counterfeit leader.
A counterfeit leader uses personal pronouns often
For some leaders - it’s always MY staff, MY employees, MY team. It’s never ‘US’ or ‘OURS’ I’m not suggesting a leader should shirk responsibility or bring into question who is leading or who has the responsibility to make decisions. But, a subtle sign of an enlarged ego is the need to drop who has the power.
“Like I always tell my staff…”
Has a distinctly different tone than
“Something we are trying to work on in our staff…”
A cheap imitation of authentic leadership is the hungering for power and the need to flex because you are in charge. An authentic leader ultimately knows who has the final say, they know who is calling the shots, and out of that internal posture of confidence and security the leader is free to be inclusive and invite people up to their vantage point. “We’re in this together.”
A counterfeit leader is never wrong
Authentic leaders surround themselves with people who will challenge and push back on ideas or initiatives. A counterfeit leader surrounds themselves with ‘yes-men or women.’ A counterfeit leader operating out of pride (and probably power) only wants to hear how brilliant they are. They fill their staff with people who will go with their ideas. A counterfeit leader is intimidated by adding great thinkers to their staff. They feel threatened by someone who can bring better ideas than they can. You know you work for a counterfeit leader when you and your coworkers have to strategize how to make the leader think the group’s idea is their idea. Authentic leaders create a culture where “the best idea wins” who cares who it comes from? Best idea wins.
A counterfeit leader relishes being served
In some organizations and cultures, leadership comes not with an added burden or responsibility, but with privilege. The corner office, the reserved parking space, interns retrieving coffee and dry cleaning for leaders. You can spot a counterfeit culture by who is doing the serving. A counterfeit leader doesn’t look up from their phone on the way into the office. They ignore the doorman. They ignore the coffee being delivered - not even a kind ‘thank you’. An authentic leader may have some of the same luxuries afforded to them because of their stature and mastery over years. But, an authentic leader knows the name of the janitor in the building. To an authentic leader, no one is dispensable. Why wouldn’t they see the humanness and value the janitor brings to the building? Why wouldn't they strike up a conversation with the intern delivering coffee? An authentic leader carries an awkwardness and uncomfortableness with being served.
An authentic leader has so much developed the heart of servant leadership that they feel uncomfortable being served themselves.
A counterfeit leader must be admired
There is a story in the Old Testament in the Book of Daniel about a king who had a huge statue made of “his image.” While still alive - reigning and governing over the city of Babylon, this king requested a statute of himself. He actually requested a powerful statue be made and once completed, he ordered all his officials (workers/staff) to bow down before the statue - of himself. Oddly enough - he didn’t order his staff to bow down to himself, his physical being in their presence. Instead he ordered they bow down in front of a powerful image of himself.
This is the ultimate form of a counterfeit leader. A counterfeit leader craves the admiration of the members of the organization. At some level it is a human longing to be admired - I don’t think that is what makes it a counterfeit behavior.
What makes it counterfeit, is the desire for people to admire an artificial, curated, false image of who we really are.
Much like the statue, a counterfeit leader wants people to admire an image that really doesn’t exist. A counterfeit leader wants to portray an image of completion, unblemished, powerful and supremely confident. A counterfeit leader has a really hard time portraying being a work in progress. They never portray weakness of any kind. An authentic leader knows people relate to their weaknesses more than their strengths.
Be on the lookout for the counterfeit. An authentic leader is keenly aware of the habits of counterfeit leaders. An authentic leader stalks in search of the counterfeit. Usually starting by looking in the mirror.
Stay The Course,
JB
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