Everyone thinks they’d lead differently until they’re holding the whistle. Go easy on the people in charge.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Any job looks simpler from outside, where the mistakes are visible and none of the constraints are. The moment you are holding the whistle you meet the information nobody watching has, the three things that conflict, the person you cannot embarrass, the rule you did not write. That does not make criticism wrong, it just makes it cheap.

Try the job once, even in a small way, before deciding how it ought to be done. If you cannot, assume there is a reason you are not seeing and ask about it. And go a little easier on whoever is holding it now.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Which person in charge have you judged without doing their job?

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