Think for a second or twelve about the "giants" in your life: Personal, professional, whatever--it really doesn't matter. Sometimes "giants" are large only to the people who choose to look up to them, but mostly I think that they fall into one of two categories:
- People who are just wired to be larger-than-life, even when they've had to do their own wiring--from scratch and with no blueprint
- People who live for many years around giants and (gradually or suddenly) find themselves having to grow into giants to do what needs doing
It's that latter phenomenon I want to talk about. There is, IMO, a crucial distinction to be made between being able to count on giants and relying on giants. Because giants are not immortal: They can falter, weaken, and even die. And because relying upon them also teaches those who might grow into giants that they needn't bother to learn how.
Unless management is utterly convinced of the infallibility of its judgement and implementing its vision--and has a means of transfering it to the clones growing in vats in some boutique laboratory--may I humbly submit that the primary business of "leadership" is actually giant-rearing?
