On Leading with Greatness

Here’s a fun fact. King Oedipus murdered his father, married his mother, and brought plague to his city, which makes him the perfect case study for toxic leadership in the modern workplace. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

My excitement defies description—even by me!—as I announce the release of my TEDx talk for TEDx Clarkstown! It’s called “ Swizzle: The Way of the Change Agent, ” and whether you're a regular reader of On Leading with Greatness or new to my writing, this talk might just surprise you. The energy, the storytelling, the ideas—they translate differently on stage, and I think you'll find something to co...

Here’s to the people who make true leadership possible, whose tireless efforts and devotion bring about change. Here’s to the ones who do, who execute, who put into place. When the day is done and all is quiet, they remain unsung. Without them, though, nothing would happen. that team. Here’s the followers without whom there are no leaders. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucc...

H ave you ever been given the silent treatment? Have you ever been silenced? Humans—being social creatures—rely on communication in all its forms to make connections. We need communication to thrive. In fact, communication is the second of the 4 Cs of effective leadership along with character, compromise, and collaboration. You simply can’t lead without being a good communicator. But I want to tal...

The truth is that the player who attempts to bluff always does so from a position of deficiency. You wouldn’t be bluffing if you placed a high bet on, say, a straight or a flush unless you somehow knew for a fact that your opponent held four of a kind. Therefore, bluffing is always a de facto admission of weakness even when the player wins. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvuc...

You’re a good person. I’m a good person. That woman over there, see her? She’s a good person. The man right past her, the one kicking his dog, he’s a good person too. Are you buying any of this? Please don’t. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Learn how marketing eats merit for breakfast. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Think of a clenched fist. What comes to mind? For most people a fist evokes strength, aggression, and even a touch of violence. A raised fist screams defiance and declares revolutionary solidarity. A fist shaken in the face? It’s a prelude to a fight. In our culture, fists are undeniably masculine. Men punch, and women slap. Or so we imagine . Therefore, it’s no surprise that bosses—as we conceive...

Let’s sketch a scene. Imagine holding a classic rocks glass —one of those short tumblers used for whiskey. Its thick walls and solid base give it an appealing heft in your hand. Now picture a fancy swizzle stick leaning tall against the rim. Go ahead and grab that stick and give it a good whirl, really swizzle the hell out of that glass. Oh, and one tiny detail, the glass in your hand, the one you...

We don’t often think of the typical workplace as a site of worship, but workplace-based worship is widespread among the religious and the non-religious alike. From the devout believer to the avowed atheist, many or even most of us worship power. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

One pair of homonyms that directly relates to leadership and that consistently causes spelling angst is “principle” ending in “le” and “principal” ending in “al.” More critically, though, we also mix up the meaning of these words when it comes to leadership, thinking that “principal,” meaning the first and foremost, is more important than “principle,” meaning a rule or code. I can offer any number...

What does a person’s behavior suggest about their level of competence? The most competent among us aren’t hyper-confident and are often riven with self-doubt, which you might not realize if you aren’t close to them or you actually are them. I’m not talking about imposter syndrome . The self-doubt a competent leader experiences is an entirely healthy and even necessary element of their competence....

"Hero” is an overused and much abused term. There’s even a concept called “heroic leadership.” (And now we are at the heart of the matter!) Think about that phrase. What does it evoke for you? What image does it conjure? Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Most leadership advice suggests that empathy is a key component to effective leadership, and I won’t disagree. Leaders empathize to improve their ability to communicate and to compromise. But … Empathy is not inherently good. Empathy can be a component of morality, but it’s not moral in itself. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever considered the inherent value of taking action and getting things done? We sometimes refer to comic book heroes as “action heroes,” but do you think action is heroic in and of itself? Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes it’s okay to break the rules. Sometimes it’s absolutely the right thing to do. Do you ever break the rules on purpose? Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

Have you noticed the recent change of seasons? I always feel inspired by the arrival of a new April to change things up myself. How about instead of writing about how awful bosses are, we take a look at how to be the best boss possible? After all, bosses are people too (at least in the biological sense). Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

So much information, and so little time to review it, which is to say nothing of comprehending and intelligently responding to it. We drift in a world awash in information, gulping it down as quickly as possible in hopes we don’t drown. Yet, “ leaders are readers ,” or so they say. Leaders gain knowledge and a degree of understanding by guzzling information. Get full access to On Leading With Grea...

Why do the best leaders find it necessary to eschew comfort to pursue progress? It’s for the same reason that the best teachers challenge themselves while seeking to disrupt student complacency. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subscribe

In the workplace and elsewhere, we can witness a different but similar sort of corruption in which an outside influence eats away at integrity until it’s compromised out of existence. That influence could be money or power, but often it’s overwork and stress leading to exhaustion, shoddy work, cover-ups, and increasing dishonesty. Much corruption stems from mental and moral fatigue and the action...

The power structures and politics of the average workplace provide a perfect arena for cruelty. I have written about the necessity of human decency in leadership and the workplace, and decency forms the thematic backbone of my upcoming book, Greater than Great . I’ve also addressed the causes and types of bad behavior in the workplace, but what about plain mean-spiritedness in our workaday lives?...

The current fashion is for business leaders to excitedly prattle on about “moving fast and breaking things,” but that’s most often heedless and even childish advice. “Breaking things” only works if you don’t care much what comes next. One of the fundamental challenges of leadership is deciding if, when, and how to disrupt the status quo—to break things. Get full access to On Leading With Greatness...

There they are. The terminal words. “Common sense.” The phrase is just another way of declaring, “You shut up now. We’re done here.” It’s is a vestige of a supposedly bygone era when bosses simply made up rules as they went along, often after the fact. It makes an excellent conversation ender because who can argue with common sense? It’s the answer to every tough “why?” or “how?” question that you...

Why does the autocratic workplace—that gulag of ineptitude—still hold such appeal? Why are workers willing to overlook their broken cultures and the fecklessness that accompany them? I’ve addressed the mythology of autocratic bosses before, but why do we allow or even want our entire workplaces structured in their image? Get full access to On Leading With Greatness at jimsalvucci.substack.com/subs...

Have you ever noticed on social media that people who include others in their selfies are usually the most prominent person in every photo? It’s as though they’re the protagonist in some unwritten narrative. If every picture tells a story, these selfies shout out that one person matters more than the rest. Such photos are visual symbols of main character syndrome (MCS) at work. Get full access to...