- Our organization reserves leadership for a select few and every time any of the rest of us lead, we are told that it is not in our job description.
- Leadership is some fancy notion that can only be indulged in by people who have large amounts of power or spare time. We have neither.
- Leadership requires taking initiative and our bosses want us to stick with the standard operating procedures.
- If we fail to lead well, we'll probably get some motivational speech but if we fail to manage well, we'll be punished.
- Leadership involves risk. Get too far in front with your ideas and you'll become a target.
- Leaders are perceived as threats to the power of those in the next highest tier and there are some mean people up there.
- Leadership requires vision and visionaries aren't taken seriously.
- If we try to lead we'll just irritate co-workers and lose friends.
- We don't have sufficient information or training.
- Why should we help the slugs at the top?
- We find it hard enough to perform our regular duties and you want us to lead?
- If we lead, how will we know if anyone will follow?
- Leaders just talk a good game but the managers and employees are the ones who get things done.
- Leadership would take up far too many evenings.
- It's much more enjoyable to be the wise-cracking critic than to be the leader.
- Leadership is unknown territory.
- We're too shy and introverted to lead.
- We hate the office political maneuvers that are an essential part of leading.
- You can't be honest and be a leader.
- Few leaders get the credit they deserve.
- Good leadership? I'm not sure if that's possible around here.
1 comment:
How about, "Leadership is a kind of fuzzy attribute and hard to spot, much harder still to teach/learn."
Some of the people I've been pointed towards as being good/great leaders... well... just weren't. They had good ideas. They were motivated to have things happen that required the participation of others. But they didn't *lead* in my opinion, because they didn't model the behaviors they were seeking in others. Which is a main part of my definition.
I'll listen to a smart person and participate with nice people. But will I "follow" someone into unknown territory who doesn't seem to be willing to risk what he wants me too? Nope.
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