Is it just me or have you also started to feel that leadership is not what it used to be? More and more leaders are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. If it’s not a political leader being investigated for corruption, taking a kickback, using public money for personal expenses or claiming they won an election which multiple court cases found they didn’t win, it’s crooked executives manipulating their companies’ financials, causing the share price to collapse.

And the irony of it all is that it would appear that, if you steal a loaf of bread, you will end up in prison while, if you steal multiple millions of public or shareholders’ money, you end up in Never land – never appearing in court and never going to prison.

So, what’s the difference between a leader who runs things and a leader who ruins things? It’s all about one small, but significant, detail – the letter “i” that is present in the word “ruin” and absent in the word “run”.

By inserting “I” into run, you get “ruin”. And that’s what happens when leaders insert their “I” into the teams or companies they lead.

When leaders have an ego problem, the “I” comes into play. When they are greedy, it’s about “I”, when they’re self-centred, self-seeking and, well, just plain selfish, it’s all about “I”.

That letter, or personal pronoun, “I”, is at the centre of many, if not most, leadership failures.

Sadly, the Facebook culture of, “It’s all about me, me, me …” and other factors have led to a generation of people wanting to get into leadership, not to act in the interests of a greater good or to serve others, but to further their own interests and feather their own nests. Their approach to leadership is, “What’s in it for me?” As a politician appointed to head up the board of a national airline once said, “It’s our turn to eat.”

Of course, these leaders usually regard honesty and integrity as a weakness and foolishness. They’re far too smart to waste their time on such qualities. That’s for sissies. They therefore usually consider their deceptive actions as being smart.

What they fail to realise is that, when you set out to deceive others, the first person you deceive is yourself. And, once you’ve done that, all bets are off … you are no longer in touch with reality. That means that others can see things in and about yourself that you can‘t see – for one, you can’t see your own deception, which could be glaringly obvious to others and you can’t see your selfishness.

Leaders who allow that “I” to creep into what they run, get affected (and infected) in many ways. They are blinded to the truth of who and what they become. They become deaf to the  advice and opinions of others and their minds are infected with a chronic condition that alters their perception of reality.

I’m sure the late Markus Jooste, erstwhile CEO of imploded Steinhoff, wasn’t aware that his executive team referred to him as the Seagull – they called him that because they said, “He would fly in, s**t all over us and fly out.” That says a lot about his leadership style. Sadly the “I’ in his leadership style led to the ruin of Steinhoff.

But what about your leadership style? Is there an “I” lurking in what you run? Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “Nah … I’m too smart to get caught out.” Instead, take an honest look at what you say and do and assess your words and actions as objectively as you can. If you don’t, others will certainly do so for you and call it as they see it. They might not say anything to you ala the Steinhoff executives, but they certainly will be saying so to one another behind your back.

The tragedy of Markus Jooste’s life and legacy lies in what could have been had it not been for his “I”, which resulted in what he was appointed to run ending up being what he ended up ruining. Learn from the lessons life gives you and me, take note of the power of the “I” and treat it with respect – don’t make the mistake of underestimating its power.

When you get that “I” firmly under control, you become an asset to your family, your team, your company and humanity!

Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net and @HRFuturemag. He is an internationally recognised authority on leadership competencies for the future and teaches experienced and younger business leaders how to lead with empathy, compassion, integrity, purpose and agility. He has been an Age Management Coach for two decades and is the author of parenting best seller What Nobody Tells a New Father.