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Delegating vs Abdicating Delegation by Cowardly Leaders seems to follow the general theme that has emerged within these posts.  Cowardly Leaders seem to do too much of something, or little to nothing of that same thing.  That brings us to delegating vs abdicating. Delegating We are talking about definitions, so I looked it up.  Delegate (the verb) is:  "To send or appoint as deputy or representative."  As a noun, it means, "a person designated to act for or represent another."   To delegate authority to someone, which is how most of us use the term, by definition, means that person is representing you- you the person who appointed and sent them.  Let that sink in.  That person represents you.  He/she acts in your stead.  Although not stated in this definition, I would…

The Indispensable Employee The most recent Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal blog discussed “bromance leadership” (if you missed it, click here).   It explored how and why a bromance in local government leadership circles was not something to which elected officials should aspire.   One of the examples I used was when an elected official develops a bromance with a staff member- a close relationship that combines friendship, captivation, and fascination. I’ve been at leadership levels in local government for over three decades, and retired from the U.S. Navy with 30 years of service. But I recently witnessed bromance taken to a level I’d never seen before:  Elected officials who acknowledged that, "x is an indispensable employee," "can't afford to lose them," "has never made a decision I disagree with." Danger of…

  Benifer.  Brangelina.  You know- those made up names that combine the first name of one person in a couple with the first name of the other one.  Some marketing person somewhere decided these were cute and fit well on the cover of People or something. What is Bromance? Are those made-up names silly?  Sure.  Yet I can't think of a better title for this Cowardly Leadership post than Bromance Leadership.  In case you don't know, a bromance is a romance between two males.   “Bro’s” (brothers), and "mance" = bromance.  This is not a romance in the traditional sense, but rather is a close relationship where one person is rarely seen without the other-where one goes, the other follows.  In some cases, one "bro" simply rubber stamp approves whatever the other does.  You see this…

 “Who’s the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?”  (watch) …or foolS who follow him… Mayors and chief elected officials in large cities are not experts in city and county government any more than they are in small towns and cities. They own businesses.  They use their business experience and name recognition to get elected.  The citizens who elect them understand name recognition and political influence.   Politics and the governmental political structure being what it is, the larger the city or county, the more likely that a new Mayor or County Commissioner has patronage privileges and brings in his/her direct reports.  This typically happens in strong Mayor-Council forms of government, which mirror state and federal governmental structure. Blind Loyalty These bureaucrats have one job- blind loyalty. …

Currently I live in Wheeling, WV.  How I got here is a long story which has nothing to do with cowardly leadership.  Well, in a way it does, kinda.  Not how I got here, but how I am still here.  But that’s for another discussion. One leadership lesson has taken me a long time to, well, not learn, but accept.   To me, it is so common-sense, so second nature, to want to be a leader.  I’ve always enjoyed it, and I’ve always thought that was what everyone aspired to be:  the boss.  The person in charge, the one who gets to make the decisions.   I’ve always thought I was pretty good at it (what person in charge doesn’t think they are pretty good at it?).  But a lot of people…

I read a lot.  I almost exclusively read books on Leadership, blogs on Leadership, magazines on Leadership, even things written on the stalls in interstate rest stops about Leadership!  I give talks on Leadership and contrasts of leadership styles.  It’s an interest and study I’ve had for as long as I can remember. My wife is a great Leader (not because she’s my wife but because I’ve seen her in action and I’ve seen how her staff respects her and how she follows through and tackles tough problems and does what great Leaders do). She reads almost exclusively science fiction.  Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and anything Disney might turn into an animated movie.  So what someone reads has nothing to do with how much they know about…