No Substitute for Victory: Lessons in Strategy and Leadership from General Douglas Macarthur

Chapter 16. Act Alone When You Must

By definition, leadership encompasses the task of establishing the mission and direction of organizations. A leader's ability to create consensus among stakeholders and build coalitions to achieve the organizational mission are highly desirable supporting factors for this work. But, when the inability to create consensus and coalitions leads to paralysis and blocks an organization from achieving its mission and objectives, it is the leader's responsibility to act unilaterally.

MacArthur acted unilaterally to great effect during the Japanese occupation by blocking Soviet Russia's influence on the governance and restructuring of the defeated nation. Immediately following the surrender, the Russians demanded that ...