When did you last take the initiative over some aspect of work where there were no clear indications about what was the right thing to do? Doesn’t matter if it wasn’t recent or very earth shattering. Think of an example, please. I’m not trying to ‘catch you out’ or make you ‘feel a failure’. I’m aiming to see if there is an event in your work or private life where you reckon you have truly taken the initiative. If there is, how did you feel about it?
Not sure what initiative is? Few people are. Initiative is foresight and action – the intellect to see what needs to be done and the determination to do it. I’ve given you a shorter definition in the title of this Daily Paradox – ‘The Courage to Lead’. The two key elements of initiative are risk-taking and guts. Risk means you may be wrong. Guts means failure may hurt you. Not everyone needs to take risks and fail but those who want to lead must do so.
Because of the dangers that lurk in every initiative you don’t want to become obsessed with risk-taking. Some people do. They are addicted gamblers, sometimes at the casino table, often elsewhere. Most of us are repetitive gamblers in one or two areas. Think of the number of times you have had the same row with someone hoping for a different outcome. Didn’t start it? Maybe not, but you didn’t take the initiative to stop it either, did you?
Why do people follow a leader? First because they think s/he will benefit them – or, at least, not harm them. They call it trust. It doesn’t mean the leader is perfect, merely that s/he is the best available at present. Leaders also exude an air of confidence often greater than their skills or intellects justify. Rather like the Teddy Bear you took to bed when a child. You could not anticipate miracles but you knew what to expect. Teddy’s initiatives may not have been rampant; his predictability was a done deal.
Leaders without initiative are soon unearthed and abandoned. They are seen for what they are: Princes of Poppycock. Sadly, the world is full of them at present. They espouse causes on the basis of polls that purportedly advise the mood of the people. It is democracy’s Achilles Heel that we define fairness as “equal regardless”. Until we correct that we will be guilty of disincentivising personal responsibility. The roots of leadership lie in personal responsibility.
Some years ago I asked a senior bank manager what was his opinion of the new CEO they had appointed. He told me: “He’s very clear. All that matters is the bottom line.” I withdrew my deposits from the bank the next day. Did I do the obvious thing and buy shares in the bank? No, I did not. My modest moral aspirations do not include screwing a bank’s customers.
Leadership requires many qualities and a quick shuffle of any AI model will tell you what they are, at length. They pale into insignificance when compared with the demand for initiative. How can we improve the standard of leadership we now see? Pay attention and judge abilities and values rationally. It is right that leaders respond to the voices of the led. Occasionally. For the most part they are there to lead so they should do so.
But it is undeniable that the quality of a leader is substantially determined by the quality of the followers. So if you want a better leader first become a better follower.
Your vote will then matter.
Good morning
John Bittleston
Please tell us about leaders you admire at [email protected].
21 Jun 2025
