“Leadership without Ego” gems — Week II

Here is the 2nd group of five little exceprts from Leadership without Ego by B. Davids, B. Carney & I. Getz (Palgrave MacMillan) in print Jan 2019.

“If I stack a chain on the table and then push it, what direction will it go? The correct answer is, ‘I do not know.’ If I pull the end of the chain which way will it go? It will follow you.” General Dwight Eisenhower.

“Micromanagement sends the message to the people that they are idiots. And as long as you think they are idiots, they will be idiots. In fact, you’re making them idiots. The people that go out and make you money, you think they’re idiots. Why do you keep them if they’re idiots?”

“If you think you’re special, you are not. You can be more educated or more talented but you aren’t more special. In order to collaborate and make decisions together as a team, we need to be on an equal footing with each other. That’s the only way, everyone will trust one another.”

“I see so many people who, when they were given the opportunity to receive power, they took it. They have a special office, a special desk, a special car. That’s the road to evil. When you apply a different standard to yourself from the people you’re leading, then you are no longer a leader.”

“Vice-Presidents are fun killers. They can be an obstacle to a great culture because they think they can ‘manage’ morale. In reality, it is the CEO, who controls morale. The VPs add a layer of management that insulates the CEO from the people”.