Blunt leadership is easy, but exhausting.
If you think barking orders makes you look strong, you’re already losing the room.
This might surprise you but the best leaders rarely shout.
You rarely see them force anything. They don’t force, bark, or push every problem through brute strength.
Blunt leadership is easy, but exhausting.
You push, you drag, you force the outcome. Some days you can do it. Most days you shouldn’t have to.
A CEO told me once:
“My assistant made two expensive mistakes this month. I know he’s struggling. I almost gave him two weeks off to ‘sort himself out.’”
It sounds compassionate but real leadership isn’t just a pat on the back or time away.
We talked it through:
- What does he need?
- Where does he feel alone?
- What would you want if you were in his shoes?
More support. Less weight to carry alone.
It’s not about letting things slide.
It’s knowing when to hold someone steady, not push them harder.
When you lead this way, you don’t make excuses.
You don’t open the door to blame.
You make it safe to fix things together.
The strongest leaders make the hard stuff look light. Not because they’re soft but because they know brute force is the easy way out.
If any of this hit a nerve, good. That tells me you know exactly what I’m talking about.
I’m unpacking more of this inside The Modern CEO..
Follow along here: mrjoe.uk/modernceo