It’s dangerous to think of yourself as just a hunter. No matter what you’re trying to achieve as a team, there are forces which will align against you.
You need to assume you’re being hunted.
A leader’s job isn’t just to set targets but to know where the team’s enemies are & help decide how to deal with them. In the real world our enemies are many, and usually not as obvious as lions hunting an antelope.
The most dangerous enemy is the one you can’t see.
Enemies which don’t attack the leader but others in the team…
Unless you’re in the military or chasing wildlife, your enemies aren’t likely to kill you, but they can ruin your plans, beat you in the market, or just slow you down. They can be external or internal, natural or man-made, aggressive or passive, malicious or accidental .
Not knowing about them makes them stronger and you weaker.
Many great strategies and plans fail simply because leaders underestimate or ignore the chances of failure.
You need to choose your battles wisely, and too much defense or paranoia is another form of binary thinking that can also lead to failure..
Assuming that success will just happen without opposition is a form of binary thinking. It’s also arrogant.
When someone suggests that humility is a good leadership trait, this is one reason why. The ability to imagine failure has always been a good survival trait.
It’s a matter of Balance…
” a leader’s job is to know where the team’s enemies are..”
A strategy is not a strategy without reference to your enemies. Reaching an objective on a date by following a path is not a strategy,
Do you think only about your objectives? Do you know who, or what your enemies are?
For active enemies, like competitors, have you put yourself in their shoes?
For passive enemies, like risk aversion or capability gaps, do you have active plans for them or just hope they’ll go away?
How many people in your team are focused on enemies?
Do you think you’re invincible?
Image credit: National Geographic