Does this quote from Jim Collins describe most of today’s senior Army leaders?
“The moment a leader allows himself to become the primary reality people worry about, rather than reality being the primary reality, you have a recipe for mediocrity, or worse.”
“The moment a leader allows himself to become the primary reality people worry about, rather than reality being the primary reality, you have a recipe for mediocrity, or worse.”
“The moment a leader allows himself to become the primary reality people worry about, rather than reality being the primary reality, you have a recipe for mediocrity, or worse.”
That’s from Jim Collins’ Good to Great. When I read it, I thought, “Whoa, that describes a lot of senior Army leaders I’ve met. In fact, that’s almost a definition of toxic leadership.” I don’t like that thought. As a patriot, it worries me. As a taxpayer, it bothers me. Nonetheless, I think it is true, and I fear it will get us in trouble one day.
Am I wrong? I hope so.
By the way, Collins adds that, “leadership is about vision. But leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted.”
He also observes that, “One of the primary ways to de-motivate people is to ignore the brutal facts of reality.”
What works for good companies also seems to me the thing that works for good military units: “disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought.” Of the three, the last is I think the most difficult to find.
Photo Credit: HELENE C. STIKKEL/Wikimedia Commons
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