Weak Links | Career Angles

The quote in my inbox read, “Our fates are tied. We have this strange notion on this planet that our fates are not tied. If it were not so we would not be here together. It’s that simple.”

Written by Luisah Teish, we are reminded that our fates are interconnected.

But what if there is a weak link? What if we are that weak link that has the potential to destroy what is being created? What if someone else’s that weak link? How do we address it?

Many years ago, a friend of mine attended Harvard Business School and shared a story with me that dealt with a situation like this. The course professor wanted an answer to the effect of, “Take the person aside privately and counsel them about the importance of what they’re doing and they need to step up and deliver well.”

My friend laughed as he told the story of another student who shook his head. The sum of an Asian industrialist, the answer he learned was, “You bring everyone together and that person into the center of the room. You fire them! You humiliate them and their family. No one will ever do that again.”

I’m not telling you to do one or the other.

I am going to tell you to be prepared to do both if you’re in a leadership role.