A case for hiring organizational fools

Speaking truth to power is unpopular but valuable.

Fool and foolish behavior have a terrible reputation. Being called a fool is commonly an insult. Foolish is seen as the opposite of witty or intelligent.

However, the fool played an essential role in the era of aristocrats. The fool, or as Kets de Vries likes to differentiate the clown from the fool, the sage-fool wasn’t a mere entertainer stumbling over his feet. The sage-fool had the unique privilege of speaking truth to power. Germans have even a word for it “Narrenfreiheit” which roughly translates to “freedom of the fool”.

Aristocrats weren’t exactly fostering an open feedback culture these days. Criticizing or correcting your king and queen could lead to arrest or even your execution. Thailand and Saudi Arabia actually still have such laws in place. However, the fool was allowed to speak truth to power through humor and satire. With exaggeration and tongue-in-cheek remarks, the fool puts up a mirror to the king’s face and closes the gap between the royal court’s ivory tower and the hardships of the commoners.

In this role, the fool is a counterbalance to the hubris of the kings and queens who might have lost touch with reality and whose leadership pathology needs to be kept in check.

Even though modern business organizations are less Draconian in their punishments, their leaders are also susceptible to leadership pathology: hubris, narcissism, paranoia, authoritarianism, isolated groupthink, scapegoating, and even ethical lapses.

And even though we like to think that especially new companies and leaders have developed in the past decade, I just recently spoke to someone from a successful start-up who openly admitted that it was a known fact that disagreeing with the C-level executive of his company usually meant the end of that person’s career progression. Additionally, the executive's claims on public podcast appearances were far-fetched and not even close to the reality the employees experienced in their day-to-day work.

These pathologies not only harm the leader's effectiveness but also negatively impact the organization's culture, productivity, and overall health. An “organizational-fool” can counterbalance these tendencies, helping keep leaders grounded and connected to reality. And even though the sage-fool may be a role that can be temporarily taken by any person, similar to people playing the devil’s advocate, it is much more likely that only a few persons have the guts and the trust of the leadership team to assume that role.

Through humor and satire, they can communicate difficult truths and offer critical feedback that others might hesitate to provide. By exposing the irrational or exaggerated aspects of leadership decisions, the fool helps prevent groupthink and fosters a culture where open communication and critical thinking are encouraged. Additionally, humor can defuse tensions and provide emotional catharsis. This helps maintain a balanced and positive organizational environment, reducing the likelihood of destructive conflicts or decisions driven by unchecked emotions.

We are well-advised to make room for such foolish behaviors in our teams. This can even be initiated by leaders, who can laugh at themselves and openly do so. A little meme can go a long way.

Inspired by Manfred Kets de Vries - "THE ORGANISATIONAL FOOL: BALANCING A LEADER'S HUBRIS"