Neville Wran was premier of New South Wales in Australia in the 1980s. A canny old bird. His newly-elected political opponent, the glamorous young Nick Greiner, was doing brilliantly in the polls.“Let’s see how he does when the blowtorch is applied to the belly.” This was Wran’s acerbic assessment.
That’s the real test of leadership. By comparison, leading when you’re winning is so easy.
Why is it that, when the going gets tough, leaders so often abandon the supportive people-management strategies that served them so well in good times, reverting to fear and blame?
Deep down they must know that, even if it can get results in the short-term, over the long haul it just won’t work.
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