On Leading with Greatness

What do people really mean when they say someone is good deep down?

Filbert was a bit of a nut. His wife would say that all the time with a chuckle. Usually she said this right after he pulled “one of his stunts.” It was not easy being married to Filbert, and her little pun was just one way she coped. When Filbert acted out, his friends would say, “that’s just Filbert being Filbert,” and offer a wry little laugh of their own.

The people who worked for Filbert generally feared him. For decades he had held his entire building floor in a simmering state of anxious misery that occasionally boiled over into roiling terror.

Here’s the scene: A street partially excavated, construction equipment scattered about, jackhammers and backup beepers striking a symphony of cacophony. But, lo, what do I behold rounding the corner? Could it be? Yes, a lone driver has decided, despite all the barricades and “Do Not Enter” signs, that this street is still an active thoroughfare. Even the seasoned construction workers shake their heads and tsk-tsk at such foolishness. This episode repeats all day and all night as drivers test the reality of a dead-end street. This bizarre ritual is a perfect analogy for how managers and leaders navigate decisions.

Here’s a story about leveraging visibility to maximize transparency by utilizing the transparency paradox. Some years ago, I was elected the chair of the Faculty Council at my university—a representative group of professors who help steer the policies and curriculum of the school. Such bodies are rarely a hotbed of controversy although they can wield considerable influence.

Think of a clenched fist. What comes to mind? For most people a fist evokes strength, aggression, and even a touch of violence. A raised fist screams defiance and declares revolutionary solidarity. A fist shaken in the face? It’s a prelude to a fight. In our culture, fists are undeniably masculine. Men punch, and women slap. Or so we imagine.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that bosses—as we conceive them—are more comparable to fists than open hands. Bosses want to exude an aura of toughness, an uncompromising stance. The stereotypical hardboiled, cigar-chomping autocrat. The iron man: red hot on the outside but cool within. Like a boss, right?

People often think that leadership ability is something that you must be born with, like green eyes or curly hair, as if leadership skills spontaneously generate or derive from an inherited “leadership gene.” Leaders, though, are developed more than born.

Have you ever watched the 1992 cinematic classic Glengarry Glen Ross? If not, you’re missing out on one of the most intense and brutal takedowns of the modern workplace. While the homogenous casting dates it a bit, the film—based on David Mamet’s play—offers a high-octane drama populated by Hollywood heavyweights who greedily chew up the scenery.

I encourage you to watch the film less as a commentary on masculine corruption and more as a workplace drama—a critique of modern office culture. Great leadership committed to treating people as human beings, not just "resources" or “marks,” would transform this sales office and likely boost sales in the long run. It might not make the best cinema, but such a norm surely would be a welcome change in the real world.

Have you ever had a boss who valued numbers above all else? The kind of person who gets all bogged down in the minutia and can’t see the big picture? I had one of those bosses, the provost of a small university—in charge of all things academic—and I would have found his antics hilarious if the consequences weren’t so dire. Simply put, my boss never met a number he couldn’t misunderstand.

Jonathan was enjoying a quiet evening relaxing at home alone when he hit on the idea of taking a hot bath. “Nothing soothes those old aches and pains quite like a long soak,” he told himself as he filled the tub.

Soon the tub was brimming, and a tantalizing mist rose from the water. Jonathan climbed in and carefully lowered himself, relishing the contrast between cool of the air and the steamy water. The tub was so splendidly full that it threatened to spill over. A little water even sloshed to the floor when he shifted to get comfortable. He slipped into a luxurious stupor, lulled by the warmth and the steady trickle of excess water pouring into the overflow drain.

What would it take to up your gaslighting game?

Welcome everyone to my supremely succinct and most authoritative lesson on how to gaslight effectively. After decades of close observation while suffering at the hands of gaslighters, I am delighted to offer this compact treatise on the ways and means of gaslighting to you, the morally reprobate public.

My regular followers will be surprised that I would offer advice on how to gaslight. After all, I usually write appeals to people’s basic human decency and rail against bullies and liars and other incompetent humans. In other words, most bosses..

Effective delegation is a key skill for any decent leader. Even if things go sideways, choosing to entrust your team with tasks, decisions, and authority is always a noble move—that is, so long as they have the wherewithal, mindset, resources, authority, autonomy, and guidance to prevail. Few leadership practices will hone your skills quite like responsible delegation.