Embrace Strong People
The Practice
Passionate people are the raw material of excellence. Embrace strong people means feeding the fire of those who care deeply, creating conditions where people will tell you the truth (don't be the emperor), having the awkward conversations early and with care, and distinguishing between passionate people who challenge ideas for the mission and high-performing assholes who attack people for their egos.
How It Works
The practice works on a simple principle a unit commander once shared: 'It is always easier to temper passion than it is to inspire it!' You protect people's will to argue even when their specific argument is wrong. You demonstrate through your reactions that dissent is safe. You deliver candor without cruelty: direct feedback rooted in genuine care, the friction of the stone that sharpens the blade. And you apply the knife test: passionate people are knives that cut through problems in support of the team; HPAs are broken glass that cuts indiscriminately.
Why It Matters
Korean Air flight crashed into a hillside because a first officer could not speak plainly to his captain about an obvious problem. Two hundred twenty-nine people died. The cultures that produced the deadliest cockpits were cultures where subordinates could not challenge authority, where hierarchy mattered more than truth. 9 Your organization has people who can see when you are making mistakes. The question is whether they feel safe telling you. Suppressing your strong people leaves you with a drawer full of spoons: safe, agreeable, and incapable of the sharp work that excellence requires. What It Looks Like Done Well In organizations that embrace strong people, meetings are uncomfortable in productive ways. Truth tellers earn promotions, not exits. Junior people openly disagree with proposed directions, and sometimes win. Leaders recognize quiet, intense people as passionate rather than overlooking them. Leaders address performance problems while they're small, with care. And arguments end with resolution and respect, sometimes even a bear hug, because everyone knows the fight was for the mission.