“House of Lies” is a critically acclaimed comedic series that airs Sunday nights on Showtime. It centers on a character named Marty Kaan and his team of consultants. The topics, that the series explores, are compelling and provide a number of lessons for leaders. Unfortunately, many of these lessons are negative in nature. The behavior that Marty exhibits makes the show a case study on much of what is wrong with too many leaders.
Marty is highly educated, successful, quick witted and charismatic. He clearly possesses many of the positive attributes that organizations look for in leaders. He also, however, possesses one giant negative characteristic that just about nullifies all of the positive ones. Marty is self-serving.
His only goal in life is to make as much money for himself as possible. Marty advises potential employees that the only job of his consultancy is to “get clients to open their wallets” by any means necessary. He coaches his team to falsely make customers believe that the only way that they (the customers) can function is with the help of Marty’s team.
In one episode Marty convinces a bank, which knowingly engaged in predatory lending practices, to promote a reimbursement program that while not actually providing reimbursement for the individuals that those practices harmed, would result in good press, billions of dollars in business for the bank, and more consulting work for Marty’s team. Marty’s brilliance, charm and charisma allow him to convince the bank’s executives that since the approach was not illegal, the bank had no moral responsibility to the individuals that they harmed.
Leaders like Marty who are solely driven by a desire to acquire material possessions ultimately harm organizations. Long-term organizational success requires leaders who, as Robert Greenleaf, the creator of the concept of servant leadership put it, “look to the needs of the people and ask themselves how they can help them to solve problems and promote personal development.”
Leaders or those aspiring to be leaders will benefit from the negative lessons that “House of Lies” has to offer if they watch the show, observe Marty Kaan, and refuse the temptation to emulate his negative behavior.
