Crisis of Leadership

I'm in the process of reading "Crisis of Command" by Stu Scheller, and it occurs to me that a lot of the failures in leadership he is pointing out are the same kinds of failures in leadership we see in business every day. It's a failure of courage. A failure of standing up for what is right, a failure of calling bull**** when it's appropriate. The failure comes from a fear of being the only one speaking up. A fear of being called out by your bosses or colleagues, a fear of being labeled a wave maker and never being promoted or given important work.

Stu talks about "throwing your rank on the table" when it's time to speak up - by this he means taking that risk of being labeled, relegated to the corner or even fired. We often hear that the measure of a good person is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

What about doing the right thing when EVERYONE is watching? When was the last time you spoke up when no one else would? When it was unpopular? Stood up for someone that was unjustly getting mistreated at work? Called someone out on their unacceptable behavior?

It takes a leader, and leadership takes courage. When we truly lead with courage, we are building trust and empowering those around us. #leadership #business #work #people #leader #courage #courageousconversations#courageousleadership #trust #construction #constructionmanagement