Here’s a dirty secret that few acknowledge inside or outside of education: teaching only takes place when learning takes place. In other words, unless someone actually learns, no one has done any teaching. For what is teaching without learning? One hand clapping.

It’s the same with leadership. You can’t be a leader if no one follows. Seems obvious, right? You can’t lead the cavalry charge if there is no cavalry. But we make that mistake all the time.

he First Follower Effect: How Fearless Followers Make the Leader

Every Leadership Problem Is a Teaching Problem

Have you ever seen the sitcom Abbott Elementary? Among the many memorable characters populating the school, my favorite is the principal, Ava Coleman. To say Ava is self-serving is an understatement, but she also can be outward looking if only when you least expect it. Overall, though, she’s simply a terrible boss and therefore a lousy leader for her struggling little school. Even so, Ava’s words and actions teem with sharp revelations about the impact crappy bosses have on the day-to-day workplace.

A Festive Parody for this Season of Joy

Without the core—the why and how of it all—most would-be leaders struggle to find generic strategies that fit their circumstances and implement them successfully over time. Forget adapting.

Real trust takes a lot more than a momentary exertion of empathy. In reality, the mechanics of trust can be complicated and dynamic, which is why the best leaders have a profound appreciation for trust and carefully cultivate and nurture it.

Despite everything we’re told (and perhaps believe) greatness doesn’t drive lasting progress. Goodness does. Greatness as we rate it has to do with one’s prominence, such as position, wealth, influence—all fleeting and limited. Meanwhile, true goodness tends toward the humble and yet can be far more persistent and powerful.

For years, I struggled to accept compliments with the grace they deserve. When praised, my mind would grumble, “What’s their angle” or “If only they knew…” I’d tell myself I needed to dismiss their recognition so I could “stay humble,” which really just reflected a limiting belief that I'm not deserving.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been misleading you—maybe even lying to you—for years. The fact that I’ve been lying to myself all that time doesn’t make it any better.

The lie I’ve been telling us all is that great leadership will lead to business success. In fact, I know of no studies or slam-dunk examples that definitively demonstrate this claim. I’ve also said that bad bossing is incompetence in practice, which I maintain, but we can identify plenty of objectively bad bosses who are wildly successful.

The b******t is that so many people must seek mental health treatment of all sorts because of their jobs. No one should have to go to therapy because their boss is a dipshit bully, their colleagues are creeps, or their whole organization is a cesspool of toxic behavior. And yet we do. I’ve done it more than once and because of more than one noxious employer.

Great leaders know that creating general rules to address a single, narrow issue can result in unfortunate outcomes throughout an organization. It’s like taking a sledgehammer to a fruit fly.