The big mistake many leaders make
It is a part of our individualistic culture
Would you like to be a great business leader? Some people think that leadership is an innate talent. Others believe we can learn it. But regardless of how much of a gifted leader you are, you need to overcome a natural bias. Otherwise, it'll be hard for you to motivate your team to trust you and follow you on the road to success.
Egocentric creatures
Donella Meadows uses an interesting metaphor in her book Thinking In Systems. Imagine a lake. Many people who live around it fish every day, and it's their sole source of income. Then a researcher discovers that unchecked fishing will soon deplete this natural resource. People fish too much.
The researcher sends a letter to every fisher. In it, she calls them to reduce the amount of fish they catch voluntarily. Otherwise, she states, the lake will die soon, and they'll all lose their livelihoods. How many of them, do you think, will agree?
Nobody.
Each of them will think that the amount of fish they catch is too …