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 10 Top Leaders Who Lacked Mojo

Mojo and leadership overlap a lot. If you break mojo into its components, you can say that a strong leader will have many of the same components as a high mojo person. However, something will be deficient or missing entirely. These are ten people, in no particular order, who lacked some component of mojo in their leadership qualities.
  1. Benito Mussolini - Mussolini was the elected leader of Italy for over 20 years. He founded and led the National Fascist Party. “El Duce”, his nickname, means the leader in Italian. Clearly, he had leadership qualities. However, his mojo is a different matter. A restless child, Mussolini was disobedient, unruly, and aggressive. His father and mother didn’t agree on much. He is very unlikely to have had a good support system from childhood. His faith in his training and follow through are also questionable, as his marital infidelity would suggest. He should have understood that late in WWII, his troops had been weakened by frequent battles. A high mojo person would have seen this and not relied on them.
  2. Napoleon Bonaparte - He was a French statesman and military leader who led many successful campaigns during the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars He was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again briefly in 1815 during the Hundred Days. Unfortunately, over time his success went to his head. Bonaparte tried to conquer too many countries (failure to trust his charges), and his army began to suffer defeats. Then, he lost his confidence (lack of trust) and began to make errors, such as silencing his critics and sending out spies, as he trusted fewer and fewer people and became increasingly paranoid. Eventually, Napoleon was defeated. He spent the last five years of his life in exile on the tiny island of St. Helena.
  3. Marv Levy - He used a high powered, no huddle offense to his advantage in Buffalo as their football coach and leader. This illustrated a high degree of expertise and trust in his players, as well as an understanding of his opposition. Unfortunately, he picked Jim Kelly to be his quarterback. Together, they failed in four consecutive Super Bowls. Despite many clutch performances, this big-stage failure will always haunt them.
  4. General George Custer - General Custer served well in the Civil War, leading his men admirably. However, he was not a very good student, finishing last in his class a West Point. He liked to test rules, not following the plans of his superiors. There are numerous indications that he was more concerned about appearances than results. Eventually he was killed at the Little Bighorn.
  5. Neville Chamberlain - Elected to lead the United Kingdom before WWII, he is known for his policy of appeasement. Although he is considered a great leader, he didn’t have the mojo to see how bad the Third Reich was. Early in life he was not interested in academics, nor was he interested in people. These were not good signs for his expertise or faith or willingness to act. They were indications that he lacked mojo.
  6. Fidel Castro - Was a harsh leader of his native Cuba for many decades. However, his leadership was flawed for a number of reasons, some of which can be attributed to a lack of mojo. He had a lust for power which led him to adopt violent tactics to get his way, rather than working within the system as would a high mojo person. Once he achieved power, he was unwilling to share it. It is telling that he was nicknamed “the commander”. Nevertheless, he was dedicated, hard-working, and intelligent.
  7. Adolph Hitler - Hitler’s leadership of the Third Reich was unquestionable, if evil. The Third Reich ended up controlling much of Europe at its peak. But despite that, Hitler and the Reich couldn’t beat the forces arrayed against them. This failure to retreat under fierce pressure was the undoing of the Third Reich. Perhaps Hitler was not willing to act in self defense. This was evident in the Battle of Britain, during which the Germans had no coherent plan, and which probably enabled the allies’ victory.

  8. Malcolm X - was one of the most recognized leaders of the Nation of Islam. Loyalty to it’s principles led him to spit off his own organization eventually. However, he lacked mojo. He was involved in numerous illicit activities as a youth. He dropped out of school. He went to prison and was eventually paroled. Although he was thoughtful and diligent, he failed to convince many others that his more violent ways were superior to the peaceful ways of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  9. Eva Peron - “Evita” was ambitious and determined, which led to her leadership of Argentina. However, I believe she was more concerned about her image than an understanding of the world as it truly worked. It was this lack of expertise in the ways of the world that was her weakness. She died from an illness, the seriousness of which her husband hid from her.
  10. Pancho Villa - He was a natural leader. His only flaws were a certain selfishness that prevented him from sharing his achievements with the “little people” that helped him along the way and a lack of attention to details that led to some spectacular failures.   
You may disagree with some of the people on this list, add some, or subtract some. But keep in mind that I am using my model of mojo which has components of motivation, experience, expertise, support, faith, luck, and willingness to act.

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