“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Two incidents happened recently in an organization I am associated with, one was a case of blatant dishonesty (someone claimed that I agreed to something) the other had to do with gross incompetency (someone ignored my request for certain specifications to be met.)
In both cases, the leader did not have the courage to confront the persons responsible, he just “let things go.”
Why?
Because he wants to remain “a nice guy.”
That’s one of the worst traits of a leader – someone who would rather let the ship sink rather than stepping in to right the wrongs, to put things in order, someone who is more concerned about his own acceptance and popularity than for the good of the organization.
Leadership is not a popularity contest, neither is it a beauty contest.
It has nothing to do about being well-liked and it is not about looking good.
Roosevelt said that in any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, well, I beg to differ. The right thing is the ONLY thing you should do.
But doing the right thing requires courage, it puts you at risk, it may alienate some people.
But leadership is a risky proposition anyway, and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Nobody said it’s going to be easy. Nobody said you have to be an alpha either.
Just do what is right!
Leadership comes with great responsibilities and a lot of the so-called, self-proclaimed leaders have to really man up if they are serious about being leaders.
To be blamed are also decision makers who place the wrong people into positions of leadership.
Just because someone has an advanced degree, just because someone’s job title makes him sound like the natural leader of whatever outfit he’s in, doesn’t mean that person must play the leader role.
The world is full of PhDs with head knowledge but zero EQ, book scholars who can’t even run a village store and they now run huge government ministries or even an entire country’s transportation system.
And when they can’t express themselves, they yell and throw tantrums.
Or they keep quiet and let things slide.