I have always been a bit of a risk taker and have at times done the unthinkable for the good of the organization that I led.  These decisions often relate to personnel and caused much stress for me as well as others.  Admittedly, I am mission-focused and will do whatever is necessary and ethical to save or help my organization succeed at the highest level.  Some may have concluded that I am uncaring, and I understand their opinions, because rarely did they know the rationale behind these decisions.

In one failing organization I took away employee free rent, free meals, and a healthcare plan that was not only unaffordable, but its benefits exceeded and found in a like organization.  Moreover, I reduced staffing and moved the marginal performers to the bench or off the reservation. Talk about being unpopular; some never forgave me, and that is alright.  The same employees would never admit that I saved their jobs and their organization from the landfill.  

It would be hard to convince some but I am anything but uncaring.  Decisions such as these cost me relationship capital that could not be recovered.  My lack of sleep and private grief was unknown to others, and over the years, such decisions took a toll on my system that manifested itself in many ways.

Positions requiring this kind of leadership (turnaround leadership) require a pragmatic leader who can decide, act, and move on notwithstanding the fallout that can exist for many years thereafter. 

This is the kind of executive courage I wrote about in much greater detail in “Executive Courage - Sometime You Have to Walk Point.”