Barrier:
Reinstall the court jester

This productive practice from Ye Olde Daes is grounded in human nature and is worthy of being carry forward but with a thought for the changing times. The thought is necessary for the same reason that one would not make a clearing and light a comforting fire in an explosives dump.

The times have changed from physical power to virtual power, from reality to perception. Word spreads so fast that millions in brand image can be lost in a trice and not necessarily for the right reasons. We need to squeeze the essence from the jester and replicate that and not the role itself.

The well placed board room jest that normalizes a charged atmosphere is not in the same league. In fact it confers considerable power on the jester and perhaps needs to be guarded against. Unlike the politically powerless jester of Shakespeare, the board room jester has full powers to make and push through ammendments and initiatives and by virtue of his jesting acquires hijacking rights.

The essence of the jester is the free flow of feedback committed to the emergence of reality. It is repeatedly emphasized as a panacea to management ills by gurus and they were serious. The stumbling block is not the absence of humour or insights or management will but the absence of an effective means for feedback that will not demand the time and energy of busy administrators.

Dear Mireille,
I think that the most important virtue for a manager (and a leader too) is the humility. Humble leaders do not need jesters because they should know when they fail. The problem is when the manager is not humble...Many managers believe that they have been chosen to manage because they are infallibles. Then, these guys need jesters (hoping that they are able to get what the jester will say...).
Regards,

I love the analogy. A couple of thoughts come to mind:

- Not sure how public or private traditional jesters were, but I would think they might be more effective if their counsel was given in private, or at least with limited audiences. I think of King Lear, where the fool was the wisest character around; I would think a proud leader would get tired of being bested.

- Does the Board of Directors play this role in public companies? On the board, a limited audience of smart folks whose futures aren't controlled by the CEO give counsel and warnings. I guess the dual role of Chairman/CEO kind of makes a joke of that.

- I wonder how many top executives already have someone like this in their organization, someone they recognize as fulfilling that role. Sometimes it looks to me like a good executive assistant can play that role. Maybe the assistants know that they are too valuable to the executive to be punished on a whim. Maybe the executive knows that the EA has their best interest in mind, whatever the criticism, since the EA's fate is tied to the executives.

I've seen companies hire people in the position of "Senior Advisor" or "Chief of Staff" or "Senior VP of Communications" to serve in this role. They don't necessarily make fun of CEOs, but assist them in a similar capacity.

Isn't this about trust? In exactly the same way I expect my boss to praise my success publicly, and criticise my errors privately, so, if s/he is any good, they expect me to offer my best advice, whether they want to hear it or not, right up to the point of decision making; after that I have to try and make their decision work ( or move on)
So treating all the team like "Court Jesters" is an aspect of having the best inputs to all decisions.
IMHO

JOHn

I agree with John that this is about trust, and I would like to add another element which is respect.

It is very difficult for a proud leader to receive critics from people whom he/she doesn't trust. At the same time, both the leader and the court jester have to respect each other to make sure that the inputs are constructive.