The Taboos of Leadership

Anthony F. Smith

In his early days as a consultant, Anthony Smith sought to understand the perspective of an organization's employees and then relay that information to the executives so that they could make the appropriate adjustments to increase employee satisfaction and performance. Over the years, he learned that executives themselves faced their own challenges that they wished their employees could understand. In most cases, however, the executives could not reveal their own struggles to their subordinates without losing respect or possibly opening themselves up to legal problems. Anthony Smith refers to these unspeakable truths as the "taboos of leadership." These taboos include realities such as self-centeredness, politics, double standards, insecurity, arrogance, and manipulation. They often are hidden by myths and euphemisms.

We frequently hear about famous leaders of the world's successful companies, but seldom do we learn how those leaders actually won their executive positions. Much of what is required of them are those things that they never discuss in public. Consequently, those who aspire to lead organizations often do not have the full picture of what they would be getting into.

In his book, The Taboos of Leadership, Anthony Smith reveals 10 of the truths that often are never spoken.

The following is an excerpt from the book The Taboos of Leadership.

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The Taboos of Leadership
The 10 Secrets No One Will Tell You About Leaders and What They Really Think
by Anthony F. Smith