Speaking & Events
Author
John Mattone
World's #1 Executive Coach
World's #1 Executive Coach and author of 11 books. Former coach to Steve Jobs and PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico. Pioneer of Intelligent Leadership, transforming nearly one million leaders across 55 countries.
World's #1 Executive Coach (Globalgurus.org, 2019-2024)M.S. Industrial/Organizational PsychologyFormer Coach to Steve JobsAuthor of 11 Books (5 Bestsellers)Distinguished Senior Fellow, Hult International Business School
Leadership Development
6 Common Reasons Why Leaders Fail and How to Deal with Them
Communication
5 Skills That Help Leaders with Conflict Resolution
![Leadership coaching] Sometimes wielding sheer power is necessary, but most times it’s not.[/caption] Neither are leadership and responsibility the same thing. Responsibility carries with it the expectation of others acting responsibly. When one person feels responsible for every action that takes place within an organization, then organizational paralysis can be the result. Power and responsibility must be balanced carefully, whether you’re raising children, commanding an army, or preparing for a merger. Skillfully balancing power and responsibility benefits not only the leader but the team and the organization as a whole. Power: Using It Wisely In the world of physics, power is a rate of doing work. It requires a change in the physical universe as well as a specific time period in which that change happens. In a corporate setting, there are many similarities. A leader may promise to have a detailed, 300-page report on a client’s desk by Thursday noon and may well deliver. But using power unwisely (such as when a leader promises unrealistic results) can result in resentment on the part of the people doing the work, or delivery of a product that is not of sufficient quality. When a person rules by fiat, he or she must be prepared to live with the risks, including the risks to his or her position as a leader. Responsibility: Reliability and Accountability The word “responsibility” traces its origins to the Latin “respondere,” which means “to respond.” This idea of responding to a situation evolved into a more nuanced meaning of being answerable. While responsibility primarily means that one is accountable for actions, it also incorporates connotations of trustworthiness, obligation, and reliability. Unlike power, responsibility implies consequences. The difference between, “I order you to finish that report by 4 p.m.” and “I need you to be responsible for the final report. How soon can you turn it around and be confident about the quality?” is the difference between lack of trust and trust in someone else’s abilities. Responsibility also implies a sort of transitive property. If I trust you to complete a task and you don’t do it, I bear some of the responsibility because I trusted you when perhaps I shouldn’t have. Having responsibility and delegating responsibility require a relationship based on understanding and trust. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fofsa244f%2Fproduction%2F447a9643f34148d13b0f6af5ed6e967232477a6e-600x400.jpg%3Frect%3D0%2C13%2C600%2C375%26w%3D480%26h%3D300&w=3840&q=75)
Leadership Development
Leadership, Power, and Responsibility: A Delicate Balancing Act
Speaking & Events
What Makes A Good Motivational Speaker?
Self-Awareness & Character
Gratitude: A Hallmark of Great Leaders
Leadership Styles
Why Transformational Leadership Makes Sense for the 21st Century
Speaking & Events
Leadership Speakers Experience, Types and Organizations
Executive Coaching
Business Coaching for the Sole Proprietor or Very Small Business
Executive Coaching
How a Transformational Coach Is Like and Unlike a Business Coach
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