Leadership is as confusing as hell.
This is the title of a Tom Peters article that I particularly like.
The excerpt below is a great example. And, it's especially important to me because, Al McDonald, who he mentions, was an important mentor for me.
I saw it at McKinsey & Co. when I went to work there. The firm had gotten offtrack operationally, so the partners elected Alonzo McDonald to be the managing partner. They didn’t do this because they liked him (he wasn’t the cuddly sort), but because he was the right guy to fix what was broken. McDonald did precisely what the partners wanted him to do but were unwilling to do themselves: He busted the weak performers, tightened up the control systems, and put the firm back on profitable ground. After which the partners said, “Enough!” — and booted him straight to the White House to be assistant to president Jimmy Carter and director of the White House staff. Motto: The situation rules. Leader for all seasons? In your dreams!
When have you made a leadership decision that you knew to be right AND you knew it might cost you your job?