Toughness, not respect, is the most popular CEO model today. For example, a corporation is losing hundreds of millions of dollars and is on the brink of bankruptcy. A new CEO is hired. He or she sells off bad operations, eliminates waste, cuts back capital investments, and lays off thousands of people — and saves the company.
Given the crisis the leader faced, were the actions taken:
a) Necessary steps?
b) Commonsense responses to rectify past mistakes?
c) Desperate and unimaginative measures?
d) Evidence of great leadership?
Wall Street and the media might say d). But considering that the crisis called for obvious steps to rectify the situation, almost any leader would have responded the way our hero did.
A truly great leader:
a) Avoids a crisis in the first place.
b) Keeps unavoidable crisis manageable.
c) Deals with crisis in a constructive way to lay the groundwork for a healthy future.
d) Involves the people affected in steps a), b), and c).
Given the crisis the leader faced, were the actions taken:
a) Necessary steps?
b) Commonsense responses to rectify past mistakes?
c) Desperate and unimaginative measures?
d) Evidence of great leadership?
Wall Street and the media might say d). But considering that the crisis called for obvious steps to rectify the situation, almost any leader would have responded the way our hero did.
A truly great leader:
a) Avoids a crisis in the first place.
b) Keeps unavoidable crisis manageable.
c) Deals with crisis in a constructive way to lay the groundwork for a healthy future.
d) Involves the people affected in steps a), b), and c).
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