Credit: istock
As you grow and go on to hone your leadership skills you will discern that leadership decisions are not always made for the right reasons. It is important to understand this and to anticipate the consequences. Bad leadership choices always lead to bad results. Two examples come to mind.
In 1912 a new Trans Atlantic liner was to be launched. It was to be the biggest, fastest and most modern vessel ever created. A major thought that went into the selection of the captain was his ability to deal with the wealthy passengers who would be on the maiden voyage. They chose the "Aristocrats' Captain," who had experience but had been involved in near collisions with other ships. Doubts were there about his ability to handle risk. Even so he was chosen for reasons other than pure merit.
A second example happened a century later. A captain was chosen to be at the helm of a vessel far larger, greater and amazingly more sophisticated than the great liners of the past. He had little experience handling large ships. More importantly, he was involved in a reckless, high speed collision with a vessel in a German port in 2010. This serious incident was disregarded. Two years later he was commanding one of the biggest and most technically complex ocean liners in the world. He was well known for providing an enjoyable voyage for passengers, especially those in first class. The issue of "risk" was not taken into consideration in entrusting the lives of thousands of passengers and crew members. In 2012 he rammed his ship into the rocks near an Italian Island. Lives were lost, the vessel destroyed. Instead of devoting himself to saving the passengers, he abandoned his ship and crew to save himself.
The first ocean liner was called the Titanic. The second was the Costa Concordia.
Best wishes,
Emilio