Ever meet someone who just has to have a strong opinion on every subject, whether or not they know anything about it?
Those known for expertise are particularly prone to this ailment. Some of us, having learned one subject in great depth (in my case the behavior of electric fish), use that experience to recognize our lack of depth in other subjects.
But then there are those who figure their expertise in anything make them worth listening to about everything.
What if the CEO had no authority?
Take it a step further: What if you had no authority either? Same job, same responsibilities. You gauge success the same way you gauge it today. The only difference is that you can’t exert your authority and make it stick.
How much would change? Very little, I hope. Those who frequently rely on their authority to make decisions and make them stick are “leading” (in quotes because they aren’t leading in any meaningful sense of the term) a dispirited collection of unmotivated second-raters whose hearts aren’t in their work and heads aren’t in the game.
