The Higher You Rise in the Hierarchy, the Funnier Your Jokes Get. That's a Problem.

One of the great dangers of leadership is the fact that the more power you have (or are believed to have), the better people will treat you. This phenomenon may take multiple forms, including:

• Shutting up. One of the great frustrations of being in a leadership position is that it can make it hard to engage in frank and open discussion. Why? Because as soon as you express an opinion – or as soon as people feel like they can tell what your opinion is – discussion can shut down as people decide "Well, if that's what our leader thinks, I guess there's no point in continuing the conversation." As I've mentioned in earlier posts, for this reason I try really hard to hold back on expressing my opinion on an issue until others have had a chance to express theirs. (I am far from perfect at doing this, however.)
• Insincere capitulation. A related problem is when people pretend to agree with you, even when they really don't. Not only does this mean they pass up the opportunity to influence things in a direction they would prefer; it also means that you don't get an accurate sense of what your people really think.