Below are some facts as stated by Gen Powell
These facts go back as far as history itself.
Leadership
"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."
Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group,
which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: You'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted.
"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have
stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help
them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."
"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard."
Learn from the pros, observe them, seek them out as mentors and
partners. But remember that even the pros may have leveled out in terms of their learning and skills. Sometimes even the pros can become complacent and
lazy. Leadership does not emerge from blind obedience to anyone. if you have a yes-man working for you, one of you is redundant. Good leadership encourages everyone's evolution.
"You don't know what you can get away with until you try." "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission"
"
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the slogan of the complacent, the
arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms.
"Organization doesn't really accomplish anything. Plans don't accomplish
anything, either. Theories of management don't much matter. Endeavors
succeed or fail because of the people involved.
"Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing."
The ripple effect of a leader's enthusiasm and optimism is awesome.
"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand."
"Command is lonely." prepare to be lonely
