— 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. —
BONA FIDE STUPID, THAT IS. I was a good shot. I mean to say I was accurate. You don’t need an adverb, like “very” or “really.” Just be plain about me: I was accurate. Now, I ask, Can you be too accurate? Of course not.
In leadership there is a Bona fide Stupid idea out there that you can be too good at a good thing. Dumb. A good thing is good: Can you be too friendly, too visionary, too strategic, too collaborative, to name a few leadership competencies? The answer is no, but you can come to rely on one or a few competencies to the extent that your leadership is compromised. The problem is reliance. Instead, you need balance. You need complementary skills so as to draw on what is needed in a given situation. That’s leadership. (Notice the absence of a modifier, like “real.”)