— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu at www.tomnewhouse.com. —
“YOU’VE GOT TO RESPECT HER.” That would be Rudy telling Tommy to respect me, even though, as a rifle, I always thought of myself as a ‘him.” Oh well, Rudy had his ways, and this one made great sense regardless of the gender reference. Indeed, a marksman needs to respect their rifles— how they operate, their limitations, their subtle idiosyncrasies, their power, and so on. Not to respect them would be foolish.
Some leaders are foolish. They don’t respect those they lead—how they operate, their limitations, their idiosyncrasies, their power, and so on. Instead, they treat them like children. You know: Tolerate their petty thoughts, decide for them what is best, and require complicit reactions. Well, how you treat people is what you get. And with that approach, you won’t get good, clear independent, useful thinking, just folks waiting to be controlled. If you want those you lead to think for themselves, you have to respect them—really respect them. For real.