Eliot Spitzer saturates the news with his scandal and resignation as governor of New York.
Why did he do it?
I haven’t a clue. Anything I or anyone else suggests is at best informed speculation. There might be something to be learned from his own explanation but I doubt it. It would be interesting but not necessarily instructive.
The lesson from Spitzer comes not from the example but the question it begs: why do leaders–or anyone–do what they do? Why do some risk losing it all? Why do others live out their values and commitments?
To benefit from the question, you’ve got to make it personal. All leaders can benefit from periodic and regular introspection to make sure their own train isn’t about to come off the tracks.
Knowing the former governor’s reasons won’t help you. But making time to reflect on your own reasoning, rationale and risk taking will be very instructive.
I completely agree with ‘you’ve got to make it personal’. Wheneverthe entries in my journal are in the third person, rather than the first – it’s usually an indicator that I’m ducking an issue that I need to address.
The time to reflect is so important – and yet so easy to de-prioritise.