When one-of-a-kind leaders are debilitated by disease or age, it's often said that "we'd rather have 10% of X than 100% of anybody else." Organizations accommodate the long journey into night by delegating many of the leader's routine responsibilities and husbanding his flagging energy for the tasks that make him unique. We've seen this gradual, sad transition occur in organizations as disparate as Apple Computer, the Roman Catholic Church, and Penn State University.
We can see why Penn State left Joe Paterno at the helm of its football program. The Paterno name conferred a broad range of benefits--competing for desirable recruits, higher alumni donations, and more publicity, to name but a few. Evil entered into these happy arrangements, and tragedy resulted.
Child sexual abuse is a horrible crime that destroys lives. You or I, dear reader, would surely have done more than pass along the allegations about one of our subordinates to university officials. But if I were an 80-year-old executive, I'd need a great deal of proof before I blew up an organization that appeared to be running smoothly. (It also may be that Joe Paterno, like many in his generation, did not appreciate the heinousness or prevalence of child sexual abuse.)
The scandal ruined the lives of the young victims, but it also ruined the life of a good and decent man who could not see the evil rising in his midst. R.I.P.
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