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Comment by tomc1985 | Hacker News Reader

tomc1985·

The funny thing about leadership is that those under you hold more power than you, because it is up to them to accept your decision.

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In any marketplace, there are always people who decide not to deal with any given participant. That doesn't mean they have more or less power. There are still others to deal with.

Sure, ending a relationship is disruptive. But moving on is perfectly feasible.

I'm referring more to people -- leaders in a position of power and influence over those below them, like a CEO or manager.

And the thought here is not novel -- it was taught to me as part of an Organizational Psychology class in b-school

One's ability to lead is only as good as their ability to get followers to follow their lead. Hence why so many people use fear to keep others in line -- it's the easiest and simple way to ensure compliance

In Political Science, Neustadt’s seminal Presidential Power (1960) makes the point that the President’s power is mostly exercised through persuasion.

Yes, because B-school is exactly where people learn to become good leaders... please, tell me more ;-)

Knowledge-wise my BS in global business isn't worth the paper its printed on, but it keeps the "you have to have a degree" assholes at bay

Considering that most b-school students go on to become MBAs, I would hope they teach some leadership skills

This is true but it doesn’t change the structural reality that a leader makes a decision.

The leader makes a decision, but usually that decision is either fully defined or heavily constrained by the wishes of the team. Being in charge often feels more like figuring out what your subordinates want to do and putting out some compromise in a way everybody can agree to than coming up with directions yourself

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