Tim Wolfe and the ‘Era of Institutional Erosion’

Timothy Wolfe, the president of the University of Missouri, stepped down last week due to student protests over the school’s halting response (or lack thereof) to a series of racial incidents.  The real tipping point occurred when the football team went on strike – what was a primarily local story then turned into a national headline on ESPN and threatened the school’s bottom line.   

It’s a story that will repeat itself in the days to come.  Not in as precise terms, but the “leadership-is-called-into-question-by-angry-constituents-and-is-forced-out-under-contentious-circumstances” pattern will become fairly regular.  One day you’re at a fundraising dinner, the next your car is surrounded.  We’re in the Era of Institutional Erosion.   

{mosads}As a society, our trust in institutions is at an all-time low. Gallup has asked Americans how much confidence we have in different institutions every year for the last 40 years.  And the numbers have never been as abysmal as they are right now.  When Americans were asked if they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in different institutions, only 14 percent said yes for the U.S. Congress.  Big business, banks, and public schools come in at 21 percent, 28 percent, and 31 percent respectively.  Only 21 percent expressed confidence in TV news, down from 46 percent in 1993.  The presidency sits at 33 percent and the medical system at 37 percent, both incredibly low.  The police came in at 52 percent, though it’s probably gone down since the last survey in June.  The most respected institutions in American life are the military at 72 percent and small business at 67 percent.   

Why are these numbers so low?  Part of it is that we’ve seen systemic failures that have made it difficult to be confident in the pillars of society.  From the Catholic church protecting serial abusers to the NFL denying the effect of concussions to Wall St. crashing the financial system to universities gouging indebted students, it’s hard to look around and have faith that the people in the Board Room are doing the right thing.   

The Republican Party right now is undergoing its own crisis of confidence as it tries to settle on a standard-bearer.  For those mystified why some people seem so angry and mistrustful, look no further.   

Part of it is unprecedented access to information.  Before, we deferred to the experts.  Now, we’re likely to research our symptoms and come into the doctor’s office with printouts from half-a-dozen websites and forums and ask for specific treatments.  We can inform ourselves.  Smartphones now capture videos of police officers upending high school students.  The same behavior in past years might have made the town rumor mill.  Today it becomes national news.   

Social media is accelerating the erosion.  We all have devices that can transmit our thoughts and experiences to millions in real time.  The ability to express your ideas is ubiquitous – hence the stature of everyone’s ideas is the same.  We’re privy to the personal lives of our celebrities and leaders in a way that was not possible in previous years.  It humanizes them and brings them down to Earth, for better or worse.     

The flattening of the culture and the increased mistrust in institutions has some benefits.  It will bring to light issues that always existed but were kept out of the spotlight.  Sexual assaults in the military and on college campuses are examples of national conversations that might not have been possible in different eras.  The emphasis on the individual may improve certain forms of corporate behavior and make institutions more responsive and transparent.  It may even, in the long-term, bring about a different form of leadership,  

But generally speaking, the Era of Institutional Erosion is going to bring unprecedented pressures on companies, organizations, universities, schools and political parties and particularly their leaders.  Their legitimacy will be questioned in ways that would have been unimaginable at any other time.  And it will be more difficult for them to reach out and make progress on their agendas.  It’s harder to talk if others don’t listen, harder to lead if people question your basis for doing so, and harder to reach consensus amid a cacophony of viewpoints.  The millennial approach is more from the individual up rather than from the institution down.  We have not adjusted.   

These forces will make the amount of time an institution has stood irrelevant – new organizations and companies will have as valid a claim to represent a group or occupy a market as any other.  A long history can mean dignity and expertise – or it can suggest that you’re distant, out of touch, old and need to be replaced.  

A few months ago, I’m sure that Timothy Wolfe could not have envisioned resigning as the president of the University of Missouri in response to a national outcry.  He will likely reflect on what happened in the days ahead.  He should know that his situation is, in large part, a sign of the times.  He won’t be alone. 

Yang is the founder and CEO of Venture for America, a fellowship program for recent college graduates to launch their careers as entrepreneurs, and the author of Smart People Should Build Things, published by Harper Collins. You can follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewYangVFA.