Leading Quietly

Customer Reviews

For one thing, leaders have followers and many of the case studies involved (roughly half) depicted people who had to solve an ethical problem, yet they did not have anyone following them. The protagonists navigated their way through murky waters, but there weren't taking anyone anywhere. That's why I think "Manuevering Quietly" would have been more appropriate.

And yet, it's an intriguing concept. Who has not stood up for an ethical principle and been punched in the nose, ultimately thwarting any potential influence to be applied down the line? Like Jim Collins and Jerry Porras' Built To Last, Badaracco advises us to not always think in black and white, right and wrong terms, that the sooner we realize every situation has infinite shades of gray, the better off we are to handle the conplexities of our problems.

Many critique this book because they feel it reduced ethics to a worldview of pragmatism, but I think Badaracco emphasizes the importance of character and caring enough to where he's not preaching a nihilistic approach to problem solving. The bottom line is if you're often in a rock and a hard place and the most likely thing to get smushed is you, Leading Quietly can help you get out of the way without compromising your principles. And that's applaudable.

But what is quiet leadership and who are the quiet leaders? Quiet leadership is dealing with the messy, everyday challenges, and the quiet leaders are those who labor endlessly to meet those challenges and keep things moving in our corporations. They are NOT the "flashy, public hero" kinds of leaders. They simply get the work done and make the hard decisions.
Badaracco convinces me more than ever that it is imperative that we define our corporate moral values and clearly articulate the ethics process we use to choose between competing moral and/or economic values. The reason is that the hard choices are embedded in our everyday corporate life. In these situations, individuals rarely take bold or courageous steps. Rather they step back, study, analyze, worry, and finally, make the best decision they can make - then stand behind it and move on.

Quiet leaders possess a positive attitude, but they are also very realistic, not cynical, in evaluating the situation. These leaders work with four basic principles: 1-You don't know everything; 2-You WILL be surprised; 3-Keep and eye on the insiders, and 4-Trust, but cut the cards! They learn to trust mixed motives rather than trying to define their actions in purist terms. In other words, they accept that the right solution can also include positive results for themselves as well as the company, employee, and/or customer.

This well written and well organized book is definitely worth the time and should be in any management library.

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