Why We Don’t Practice Good Leadership

1. Our organization reserves leadership for a select few and every time any of the rest of us lead, we are told that it is not in our job description.
2. Leadership is some fancy notion that can only be indulged in by people who have large amounts of power or spare time. We have neither.
3. Leadership requires taking initiative and our bosses want us to stick with the standard operating procedures.
4. If we fail to lead well, we’ll probably get some motivational speech but if we fail to manage well, we’ll be punished.
5. Leadership involves risk. Get too far in front with your ideas and you’ll become a target.
6. Leaders are perceived as threats to the power of those in the next highest tier and there are some mean people up there.
7. Leadership requires vision and visionaries aren’t taken seriously.
8. If we try to lead we’ll just irritate co-workers and lose friends.
9. We don’t have sufficient information or training.
10. Why should we help the slugs at the top?
11. We find it hard enough to perform our regular duties and you want us to lead?
12. If we lead, how will we know if anyone will follow?
13. Leaders just talk a good game but the managers and employees are the ones who get things done.
14. Leadership would take up far too many evenings.
15. It’s much more enjoyable to be the wise-cracking critic than to be the leader.
16. Leadership is unknown territory.
17. We’re too shy and introverted to lead.
18. We hate the office political maneuvers that are an essential part of leading.
19. You can’t be honest and be a leader.
20. Few leaders get the credit they deserve.
21. Good leadership? I’m not sure if that’s possible around here.