Newton is Wrong: Leadership Seen Through the Mistakes of Authority

?In a 1675 letter to Robert Hooke, Sir Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen further [than others], it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” In other words, without the inspiration and hard work of his predecessors, Newton would never have been able to make his own contributions to science.

I doubt anyone would debate the fact that Newton was a genius. Geniuses, however, are not always right.

And in this, at least, Newton is wrong.

I don’t claim to be as gifted as Newton, but one does not have to change the world in order to be successful. I have proven myself a creative worker, a solid public speaker, a good leader and a positive influence on my co-workers, and that's enough for me.

While I’d like to puff out my chest and cite all the John C. Maxwell books I read, the Brian Tracy and Les Brown speeches I’ve listened to, and the fact that I had incredible examples of stellar management to look up to throughout my career, to say any of that would be a lie.

I am sure all of that has helped me improve my management style, but there’s no way that I would make the claim that my success has had anything to do with having positive role models -- "standing on the shoulders of giants," as it were.

Here's what I know.

In my own experience, I’ve been the new guy. I’ve been out of my depth. I’ve been in bad interviews. I’ve tried really hard, and still come up short. I’ve been embarrassed because trainers became frustrated with me. I’ve failed tests. I’ve said the wrong thing. Almost any mistake you can imagine, I’ve made. And I’ve been able to see how leaders react to my failures, and I know how I felt about the way they treated me.

Effective leaders lead from a place of compassion and respect.

While I’ve had those failures, I’ve also been the adult college student returning to school while working full-time and still scoring a 4.0 GPA term after term. I’ve sold a novel to Wizards of the Coast and published in a variety of print and online media. I’ve led teams and helped them turn out results that no one thought was possible. I’ve created a workplace atmosphere that told my team my door was always open, that I was never too busy to hear their questions, concerns or suggestions. I’ve had employees hug me because they finally felt seen for the first time in their careers.

I've seen much, and I've changed a lot -- for my family, the teams I've worked with, and for myself.

I mention all of this only to make the following point – a revision of Newton’s classic quote: if I see further, it’s because I saw the shortcomings of authority and recognized how it affected me. By extension, I’ve come to understand how different styles of leadership make other people feel.

While we as leaders will always have hard decisions to make and the mistakes of our team members may force disciplinary action from time to time, we must be consistent without losing our humanity. Employees are not robots, and we’re all in this together. Effective leaders lead from a place of compassion and respect.

So lead, my friends. Your team is counting on you.