Organizations Create the Leaders They Reward

The leadership culture at the top of an organization is rarely an accident. It’s usually the result of years of signals about what actually gets rewarded.

I’ve served under many different leaders. Some created environments where people felt trusted, energized, and motivated. Others created environments where talented people were simply trying to survive until the assignment ended. Interestingly, both types of leaders sometimes achieved the same results. And many were promoted.

That observation led me to start asking a different question. Not about the individual leader. But about the system around them. Because over time, I noticed something: People tend to become the type of leaders the system rewards.

When organizations focus almost entirely on outcome accountability — the result — leaders naturally optimize for results. But when process accountability — how results are achieved — is ignored, something else often gets lost along the way: Trust. Communication. Long-term development.

Another dynamic happens as people watch this play out. When leaders experience difficult leadership environments, they often respond in one of two ways. Some decide: “When it’s my turn to lead, I’m never going to do that to people.” Others conclude: “That must be what it takes to get results and move up.”

If that’s the leadership style someone sees rewarded most of their career, it’s not hard to understand why they might believe that’s simply how leadership works at higher levels. And if the system continues to reward those outcomes, that belief only gets reinforced.

Which raises an interesting question for organizations. If the leadership culture at the top isn’t what we hoped it would be… Is that really about the individuals? Or about what the system has consistently rewarded along the way? Because over time, organizations tend to get the leadership behavior they incentivize.

These are the kinds of leadership questions I enjoy thinking through with people. Not to give answers. But to help leaders look at situations from different angles before making the decisions that shape their organizations.

I’m curious: Which do you think is harder to change — the leader or the incentives?