Leadership in Action: Leadership that is Both Forceful and Enabling

USING ALL THE CLUBS

To develop the ability to be either forceful or enabling as appropriate, you must contend with your underlying attitudes toward skills you lack. You are unlikely to develop skills that you do not value. You may actually be opposed on principle to managerial practice that emphasizes being forceful or enabling.

I once coached an executive whom a co-worker described this way: “He has no sand trap skills, doesn't like using the putter. He prefers the driver. If you have nine clubs in the bag, he has not perfected using the nine clubs and may actually look upon using all of them as a breach of his integrity.” In this executive's mind, not being direct and forceful compromises his principles and is an example of being political ...