Question

1. Acting Secretary Modly violated one of the accepted principles of good leadership, “praise in public and criticize in private” (ideally one-on-one). What are a few likely reasons that some leaders succumb to the impulse to be harsh and criticize subordinates in public?

2. Before his apology, Acting Secretary Modly issued a statement earlier in the day about his remarks aboard the ship, saying he spoke from the heart and that his words were meant for the crew. “I stand by every word I said, even, regrettably any profanity that may have been used for emphasis,” he said. “Anyone who has served on a Navy ship would understand.” In other words, it’s OK to use profanity in the Navy Why do leaders often use the “acted-of-normalcy” defense (i.e., this is how it’s done around here) to justify their bad actions?

3. Acting Secretary Modly told the crew of the USS Roosevelt not to speak to the media, which he said holds a political agenda. Mr. Modly himself has conducted interviews with Reuters and the Washington Post and published the letter to the editor in the New York Times. Why do some leaders feel that they can operate under different rules than those whom they lead? What steps can a leader take to protect him/herself from these types of tendencies?

Answer 1

1. These can be the reasons for their harsh behavior ->

They might not be as calm as a good leader should be.

The leader himself might not be temperamentally strong enough to hold his emotions in public.

They can also intentionally do this to show their position.

2.They do so because ->

Probably that's the only excuse to justify their behavior.

Navy being an aggressive profession in nature makes this excuse a bit more realistic.

Most of the times, the people at such top positions believe they can justify any of their incorrect actions.

3. These are signs of an irresponsible leader. Such leaders believe they are higher in stature and thus can do anything. Thus their words and actions don't have a relation.

Such leaders have bossism in nature. They satisfy their egos by making different rules for their subordinates.

4.

The leader should first of all believe that his subordinates are equal to him.

They should work on their calmness and temperament.

Also, if they commit any mistake they should always accept them.

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