The magic of leadership was best captured by Lao Tzu: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” This is the art of leadership at its best: the art that conceals art. - Michael ShinagelFor quite some time, I have been pondering the following question (even before all the unrest in fire and politics): How do you deal with a poor leader?
Possible Solutions:
- Take a stand and quit.
- Undermine the person's authority.
- "Keep on keeping on."
- Lead up.
Leadership is about influence. How you put leadership into action is a personal decision with many considerations. What seems an easy decision for some might not be complicated for someone else.
Leading up can be especially difficult if you think the person lacks the willingness, ability or capacity to lead. If we cannot walk away, we owe it to the organization/purpose to work through the issue. Sometimes we have to let our ego take a back seat (cue the Frozen theme song) and lead our leader.
Jocko Willink shares his thoughts in "How to Deal with Poor Leaders."
Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper
- Read Dr. Michael Useem's book Leading Up: Managing Your Boss So You Both Win.
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