Good leadership does not come from a “nice” mission statement, but from standing firm under pressure

It’s a familiar phenomenon: In a company or organization, there’s always a “hot spot” or a “bottleneck” somewhere. Then managers—who have the greatest influence—respond quickly, but in a predictable way: They look for familiar, readily available “life hacks” instead of fundamentally addressing the root cause. In the long run, however, this only exacerbates the underlying problem. Her high level of self-confidence leads to overconfidence during the process. Managers, too, want to avoid uncomfortable situations; they present their approach as the only option and thereby shut out even constructive criticism.

To remedy the situation, external consultants also recommend familiar solutions: clearer leadership, more open communication, or responding to feedback from the affected workforce. That’s the “everything’s fine” trap: It’s nice to have heard it again—but we’ll put it into practice later… or never. Good leadership is demonstrated, rather, by standing up for what one knows to be right—even in the face of more powerful (higher-ranking) bosses or important clients—and for that, leaders deserve more support…