Most of my leadership experience has been in some way leading from the second chair. That means I have a direct report boss and sometimes many people downstream. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I was totally misunderstood, because I was representing someone upstream with loyalty and not myself. This Forbes post is extremely important if you are a leader:
“Everything flows downhill” is a familiar expression. At work, the organizational chart depicts each employee’s place on the hill and consequently their exposure. Though the expression is generally used to express resigned frustration, not everything that flows downhill is bad. Clear communication, constructive feedback, and praise are examples of things in which employees freely frolic. That said, employees often receive news and treatment most politely categorized as dreck.”