## Why Capable People Are Reluctant to Lead Source URL:: <https://hbr.org/2020/12/why-capable-people-are-reluctant-to-lead> ### Highlights > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:27:30 GMT-0400%% > > Interpersonal Risk: The first concern people mentioned over and over again was that acts of leadership might hurt their relationships with their colleagues. For example, when asked why they were hesitant to step up to lead, one respondent explained that “sometimes you don’t want to risk that friendship and hurt other people’s feelings.” Another said they were afraid that if they stepped up, other people could “start to dislike you and talk about you behind your back.” > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:27:45 GMT-0400%% > > Risk of Being Blamed: Finally, we found that many people were afraid that if they stepped up to lead, they would be held personally responsible if the group failed. They worried that they would be blamed for the collective failure, and that that could cost them a coveted promotion or future leadership opportunities. > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:27:55 GMT-0400%% > > These three perceived risks were consistent among the MBA students, managers, and employees we studied, and they had a real impact on people’s willingness to lead. > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:28:07 GMT-0400%% > > Image Risk: The second common concern people described was that leading might make others think badly of them > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:28:40 GMT-0400%% > > Go the extra mile to support your more risk-sensitive colleagues. Our interviews suggest that employees who are earlier in their careers, newer to their teams, and/or of lower rank in the organization’s structure may be particularly sensitive to leadership risks. In addition, prior research has shown that minority gender or ethnic groups are also likely to be more risk-sensitive in many professional leadership contexts > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:29:14 GMT-0400%% > > Manage conflict—and how people interpret it. Conflict inevitably arises within teams. But we found that people are particularly likely to become discouraged by the perceived risks of leading when working on teams whose disagreements stem from relationship conflict (i.e., conflict due to differences in personality or values), rather than differences of opinion about the tasks or work processes at hand. > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:29:19 GMT-0400%% > > So when conflicts arise, managers should help the group address their specific disagreements and ensure those disagreements remain about the work, instead of letting productive conflict escalate into attacks on people’s personal styles or values. > [!quote]+ %%Updated on Mon Mar 27 2023 18:29:34 GMT-0400%% > > Find low-stakes opportunities for people to try out leadership. Finally, we found that people are more risk-averse when major career consequences are at stake. For example, when asked to take on highly visible leadership responsibilities, less-experienced leaders may worry that poor performance could damage their credibility with influential colleagues with whom they might need to work in the future, or cause them to lose out on upcoming opportunities for advancement.