Leadership is truly difficult, and leaders are just humans with all their flaws and limitations: knowledge and skills are imperfect, the environment changes constantly, and human behavior is hard to predict. The Harvard Business Review classic “In Praise of the Incomplete Leader” highlights one of the core insights of leadership: no one can know or master everything alone. This idea is the foundation of what I call the mindset of the incomplete leader.
The best leaders are those who admit they are incomplete. They are not afraid to show vulnerability or to confess they don’t always know what to do. These leaders understand that their role isn’t to be an all-knowing authority, but rather to enable collaboration, dialogue, and continuous learning. They acknowledge their shortcomings and actively seek feedback to keep improving.
Too few leaders are willing to do this. On the contrary, the more their formal position goes to their head, the worse their leadership becomes. Ego blocks them from listening to others, and fear of being exposed as fallible leads to rigid, controlling leadership. In such cases, employee engagement drops, creativity suffers, and the organization’s ability to adapt to changing conditions collapses. These are the very leaders I call Big Bosses and Good Guys — the ones whose crappy leadership I depict in true stories from working life.
My goal with these stories is to shed light on the phenomenon of bad leadership, so that people can learn to recognize it in themselves and others – and take action. I also want to entertain and evoke emotion. I’ve received tearful calls from people who said that the workplace caricatures I describe have helped them process painful experiences from their careers. Others have laughed out loud, realizing how absurd their work life has sometimes been.
But criticism alone is easy — and I don’t believe it’s enough to drive change. That’s why I also write articles offering tools and perspectives for better leadership. We need examples of better ways to lead. The incomplete leader who openly acknowledges their own limitations and invites others to learn together represents exactly that. They create a climate of psychological safety where people feel free to share ideas, failures, and experiences. They recognize that leadership isn’t a solo performance — it’s collaboration at its best.
Welcome on the journey toward better leadership — and enjoy the bittersweet stories along the way!
