Leadership: The Impossible Takes a Little Longer

J. Michael Willard
3 min readDec 20, 2020

By J. Michael Willard

Dr. Samuel Johnson — yes, that 18th Century literary chap — taught me my greatest lesson in leadership: “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”

The inscription was noted on a laminated card that was proof I had, indeed, graduated from a university and was setting out on a career, the direction of which I had only the foggiest idea.

However, I was armed with Dr. Johnson’s wisdom stuck securely in a pocket of my billfold. I carried it for years until it became so frayed I had to rely on my memory to recall.

As it happened, the career direction was serpentine. The scope was worldly, from the hills of West Virginia to the Great Wall of China, from palavering with rebel leaders in Central America to interviewing clod-kicking country music stars in Nashville. Along the way, I participated in politics, published magazines, and helped bring market reform to Eastern Europe as an entrepreneur.

Throughout, Uncle Sam (as in Dr. Samuel Johnson) has been my talisman. So, his quotation I list as my №1 principle of leadership. There are a few others I would like to share:

№2:

Leadership cannot be granted or assumed as if it were a title of nobility. This mantle must be given. To be given, it must be earned day-to-day, moment to moment.

№3

Leadership is contagious. In organizations, the strength at the top can be measured by the performance of stellar subordinates. Good leaders reap what they sow.

№4

A Leader is an Optimist. I don’t think a pessimist can make a good leader simply because leaders are born salespeople, whether they’re selling a product, a service — or themselves.

№5,

A Leader Pushes Down Responsibility. It’s the job of a leader to recognize other people’s great ideas, give those ideas visibility within the organization, and reward individual and group accomplishments. It’s called the ancient principle of subsidiarity.

№6

A leader has to ask, “why not?” more often than “why?” This is rather fundamental. It speaks to entrepreneurship, calculated risk, adventure, trusting others, and, eventually, success.

№7

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J. Michael Willard

I am a novelist but my day job is utilizing my years as a business consultant, journalist, and public service in the field of international development.