GM ☕

Morning musings...

It takes both courage and humility to let someone know they are not in charge. Most people don't understand, no matter how you handle it, simply because most people are cowards. To a person who only follows, you not following is an attack on them. They see pride or anger, even when there is none, and they see their own conformity as virtuous.

There is no virtue in following. There is no virtue in leading, either. The virtue is to follow the good, or to lead well enough to reward your team.

If your team consists of lukewarm conformers, their presence will impede your success as much as any external factor. If a great team is led by an incompetent or bully or selfish person, then there's no reason to succeed, since bad leaders fail to reward followers.

But its not easy to defy authority. You risk the scorn of the cowards surrounding the authority, and you risk repercussions from the leader and his/her allies. You may risk physical injury, or going hungry. This is why defiance is actually humility. Humility is not merely acceptance of unknown unknowns - it is also acceptance of the costs of setting things right. Humility and determination are two sides of a coin.

He who goes against the grain is, in fact, the best of us.

#gm #thoughts #leadership