Let’s get something straight: leadership is not a group activity. It’s not a vote, it’s not a poll, and it sure as hell isn’t a popularity contest. Somewhere along the way, we started confusing collaboration with consensus—and in doing so, we started killing the very thing that makes great companies great: decisive leadership.
When a leader stops leading and starts taking roll call on every decision, the company loses its edge. Progress slows. Boldness dies. And all that’s left is a bloated meeting calendar filled with people nodding at one another while nothing actually changes.
Let’s break this down.
- The more people you need to agree with you, the less likely you’ll do anything bold.
Show me a leader who waits for everyone to be on board, and I’ll show you a company that’s stuck. Consensus feels safe—but it’s the enemy of movement.
Every bold move in history was made before the crowd approved. Apple didn’t ask permission to ditch the headphone jack. Netflix didn’t ask Blockbuster’s opinion before streaming. Henry Ford didn’t hold a vote on whether people wanted cars—they would’ve asked for faster horses.
When you’re running a business, your job is to make the call. That’s why you have the title. Waiting for everyone to agree only guarantees you’ll miss the moment.
Leaders act on conviction, not consensus.
- Committees exist to prevent risk — and that’s exactly why they prevent progress.
A committee’s job is not to lead. It’s to make sure nothing goes wrong. That’s the problem. Progress is risk.
Committees don’t like risk. They like reports, charts, and follow-ups. They like to analyze until the opportunity is gone. They are designed to dilute bold ideas until they’re so safe they’re worthless.
You know what a committee really is? A parking lot for ideas that scare people.
How many times have you seen it? Someone has a breakthrough idea—new market, new approach, new strategy—and what’s the first thing you hear? “Let’s run it through the committee.” Translation: let’s make sure this dies slowly.
If you’re leading a company and every new initiative gets handed to a committee, you’re not leading—you’re hiding.
- Leadership means making unpopular decisions — and owning them.
Real leaders stand alone sometimes. That’s part of the job description. You will make calls people don’t like. You’ll say no when everyone else says yes. You’ll double down when everyone’s afraid. And when it goes wrong—and it will, sometimes—you’ll own it.
That’s leadership.
Too many executives today want the title without the weight. They want credit for success but shared blame for failure. They hide behind “we” when it’s convenient. But when everyone’s responsible, no one is accountable.
Owning the decision doesn’t mean you ignore input—it means you use it to make your call.
If you’re the leader, people are counting on you to decide. Not to delay. Not to delegate responsibility up, down, or sideways. Decide.
That’s where clarity comes from.
- Trying to please everyone guarantees mediocrity.
You can’t run a company like a dinner party, trying to make sure everyone likes the menu. Business is about results, not comfort.
When you try to make everyone happy, you end up with the blandest version of every idea—something nobody hates, but nobody loves either. And customers don’t buy “fine.” They buy passion. They buy vision. They buy something that stands for something.
Great leaders know this. They’d rather offend the wrong people than bore the right ones. They’d rather lose a few friends than lose their edge.
Look at the companies that dominate their markets—they don’t apologize for being bold. They don’t ask for permission to lead. They act, then adjust.
You can’t inspire your team if your goal is to keep everyone comfortable. People don’t rally behind comfort—they rally behind conviction.
- Great companies are built by conviction, not consensus.
Every great company was built by someone who saw something before others did—and had the guts to go after it anyway.
Conviction is the spark. Consensus is the wet blanket.
When a leader acts on conviction, it creates energy. It rallies people around purpose. Even the skeptics respect it, because clarity attracts followers. People want to work for leaders who decide, not for managers who negotiate every thought to death.
If your culture values harmony over honesty, you’re in trouble. You’ll stop saying what needs to be said because you’re afraid of rocking the boat. You’ll reward people for fitting in, not standing out. And before long, you’ll have a company full of polite people doing average work.
Conviction isn’t arrogance—it’s clarity. It’s saying, “This is where we’re going,” and meaning it.
- Common sense: If everyone agrees with you, you waited too long to decide.
By the time everyone’s nodding in agreement, the moment has passed. The market has moved. The opportunity is gone.
Real leadership means seeing what others don’t yet see—and being willing to move before the crowd catches up.
Yes, it’s lonely. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But that’s the price of progress.
So stop running your company like a democracy. Stop calling meetings to confirm what you already know. Stop pretending that leadership is about keeping the peace. It’s about creating movement.
If you’re a leader, lead. Make the call. Own the risk. Set the course.
Your people don’t need another meeting—they need a direction.
Your company doesn’t need another consensus—it needs conviction.
Because at the end of the day, leadership is about one thing: having the courage to stand alone long enough for others to see you’re right. It’s only common sense.
