We have both often felt confused or even guilty about the negative impact we have had on other people. Like most other people, we both tend to dwell on the negative feedback we have received, rather than the positive feedback. We are pulled in several directions and ambivalent about the decisions we must make about many matters. There often seems to be no way in which the decisions we must make and actions we must take don’t do some harm to someone and don’t have even broader implications for many other people. It seems that we often must decide which people we must disappoint. We must choose which path we must take that inevitably will trample on (or at least impact) the rights and privileges of someone. And when we choose the path to be taken, we can’t (like the Jains) sweep away all of the problems we will be creating for those people we encounter on this path.

We both have the opportunity (and privilege) to be of help to many people. One of us [WB] has been able to impact the life of those who enrolled in his graduate school and they will be able to do an even better job of serving their therapy, coaching and consulting clients as a result of the training and education they receive.  The other one of us [SP] has the honor of providing custom leadership support to executives who are wicked-smart, mission-driven, and able to impact their organizations, employees, and their communities. We are both fortunate to be doing work that makes a positive difference in the world. We are also both burdened by assuming responsibility for not doing the best possible job of leading, coaching and advocating for important causes. Harm has a way of spreading out to all involved in doing meaningful work.

The Multiple Forms of Harm on the Leadership Spectrum

We wish to introduce the Leadership Spectrum at this point so that we might explore the different ways in which leaders engage in decision-making processes and take actions that inevitably lead to some form of harm. As already noted, we believe that harm often takes place when we deploy our leadership strengths too often or in an inappropriate manner.