Leading Quietly:

15th November 2022

An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the
Right Thing
By Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.

Submitted by: Areeba Rao - 14456

Submitted to: Dr. Nasir Afghan
Introduction

Leading quietly is authored by a Harvard business school professor and author, Joseph L. Badaracoo, Jr. in which he

provides an unorthodox view of the leadership. He spent several years on research to identify the behavior of quiet leaders

and how their small steps add significantly to the major success of an organization. According to Badaracco, often people

relate great acts of heroism with leadership but those who make significant impact at their workplaces through their

decisions without getting the spotlight are the true leaders whom, in essence, he calls quite leaders. In isolation, their

works might not look grandiose but in the broader context they create a big impact on the organization. As you may have

noticed, the author doesn’t talk about Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk, and Gandhi rather he talks about the mid to senior

level managers who, within the organization, makes critical decisions. In consideration to this, the author provides an

unorthodox view of the leadership to its readers. I believe the publication is primarily directed towards the corporate

employees, but anyone can take the tips and tricks from it to make successful decisions in their personal life. The readers

can relate to it since it serves as a guide for managers in the corporate world and the ones who pursue to be one fine day

when they will have to make daily life decisions rather than making great acts of valor. I like how the author has brought

inclusivity of gender at every point by mentioning “men and women” while referring to leaders.

The book is comprised of 9 chapters with several headings and subheadings outlining the major characteristics and action

patterns of quiet leaders. This book also sheds light on the limitations of a quiet leader to achieve success but what

differentiates a good leader from the bad one is his ability to minimize a potential loss for himself and for other

stakeholders within the organization. One of its distinguishing traits is to take the responsibility of something he/she

might not have to be answerable for. For example, in case of Lewiston Bank case, Garrett Williams was concerned for

Katherine’s health condition and didn’t decide to fire her straight away because of her reduced performance. In Pakistan’s

Context, a government schoolteacher teaching with full honesty and a local government politician taking calculated

measures for the betterment of its constituency can be seen as quiet leaders.

Analysis and Review

Following is the chapter-wise review of the book “Leading quietly”. The key takeaways of each chapter are also

mentioned under each chapter heading.

Chapter One – Don’t kid yourself

As per my analysis, Badaracoo has discussed cases critically covering all aspects to give a detailed and fair view of the

situation to its readers. A case of St. Clements hospital has been mentioned in the book where Rebecca Olson, the newly

appointed CEO, took effective measures to deal with a harassment case against one of the insiders of the company,

Richard Miller. She took calculated measures to save the image of the organization, to give the victim what she wanted

(removal of Richard from the office) and to give a hefty severance package for demanding Richard’s resignation without

bringing bad fame for the company.

One of the many things which fascinated me is the author’s emphasis on justifying Olson’s decision through a realistic

spectrum. According to him, a quiet leader holds a realistic view of his/her surrounding and is aware of his/her

limitations. Accepting one doesn’t know everything is not a sign of cowardice, instead, it indicates that you are open to

look at every possible aspect of the situation to make an optimal decision. One should be prepared for all sort of surprises

because people act, and events occur in the most unexpected way. Quiet leaders are careful enough to analyze the current

environment and capture opportunities to benefit not only themselves but also other stakeholders and the organization

itself. The author through Rebecca Olson’s case has also given a clear picture of the organizational cultures and

structures. One can’t execute his plan without having enough support of the insiders, so one needs to keep an eye on the

insiders and ultimately be the one to be effective in his work. Also, you shouldn’t trust someone easily. You don’t know

what exactly they are holding within themselves.

A comparison given by author between realism and cynicism is a differentiating factor which enables a quiet leader to

make a room for the unexpected instead of rigidly trusting the self-centered motives of the human beings.

Chapter Two – Trust Mixed Motives

One of the qualities of this book which needs immense appreciation is Badaracoo’s pragmatic approach in explaining the

significance of the mixed motives of a leader constructively. Altruism and self-motives go hand in hand. Often a person

choosing an act of self-sacrifice destroys everything else which could have been greater in impact. Badaracco brought in

the relevance of the concept of leadership in normal people’s lives. Great stories of pure sacrifice demotivate the people

with mixed and complicated motives to be “true” leaders. Badaracco tries to reduce cynicism attached with people’s

actions in favor of realism. The problem of complicated and mixed motives is witnessed in the case of Elliot Cortez’s;

however, the author sees it as a major factor of a quiet leader’s success. A person’s self-interests make the motives good

enough for him to really care and to act with perseverance. Furthermore, the author’s concept of sustained leadership
through becoming an insider is quite realistic for a leader to be effective and efficient in his work. In complicated cases,

attaching low motives with high motives gives you greater benefits.

Chapter Three – Buy a Little Time

Another great lesson learned from this book is that before deciding something, you should take some time to think

through the situation at hand. Right action is better than a prompt action. The book provides some amazing delaying

tactics to its readers to cope up with time pressures which the author refers to as “playing games”. The phrase itself has a

negative connotation and the readers can misuse the tricks but in a broader context, these tricks can enable the leader to

make the right decision through properly analyzing the situation. I feel the tactics proposed by Badaracco has the “ends

justify the means” approach. Lewiston Bank’s example gives a clear picture of the significance of buying time in making

an optimal decision. As mentioned earlier, quiet leaders assume that they don’t know everything; so, to know the

specifics, complexities, and legalities of the situation, which is a time-consuming process, tactics to buy time is a great

tool for them to get success. Even though, the author gave a warning for the misuse of the tactics, but a clear line can’t be

drawn between the use and misuse of the tactics.

Chapter Four – Invest Wisely

The author has used a pragmatic financial approach for managers to shed light on the significance of reward calculation

attached with certain risks while taking a decision. I believe this is a very good approach since in the corporate context,

the outcome of most of the managerial decisions in the end comes down to the financials. However, the model proposed

by the author, I believe, is not suitable since political capital, risk and rewards are all intangibles and they can’t be

measured objectively. The concept of risk and reward can differ from person to person hence we can’t reach a single

decision through different lens using the same approach. I also think the concepts such as mixed motives and sustained

leadership discussed in previous chapters are again mentioned in this chapter which created redundancy. Countering

critics’ criticisms on risk & reward calculation with the argument of Aristotle represents the logical approach used by

Badaracco.

Chapter 5 – Drill Down

The author sheds light on the complexities of modern-day life and reflects giving examples of Alamo and Hellen Keller’s

case how the traditional leadership stories don’t consider the bureaucratic complexities and enhanced technological

elements of the modern-day world. He made the division between the older days and the modern-day era. What used to be
simple tasks before are now being made complicated due to enhanced technology and many other factors. Badaracco

influences its readers giving Frank Taylor’s example to be patient and persistent while thoroughly analyzing and drilling

down the modern-day complicated problems and avoid getting scared of the odds. He puts pressure on its readers to fulfill

their ethical responsibilities and not get bogged down by the complexities.

Chapter 6 – Bend the Rules

The phrase “Bend the rules” itself holds a negative connotation but how the author has explained its essence is

commendable. The author suggests its readers to maintain a right balance between doing the right thing and doing a thing

rightly. One shouldn’t assess the matter in the context of white and black. The analogy of a “wiggle room” persuades the

readers to have a grey area for amending the rules in the times of dealing with moral or ethical dilemmas to reach a

decision which benefits everyone. The author stresses upon the significance of a win-win strategy. I believe, the author

has tried to exhilarate the creativity and entrepreneurial ability of its readers through his suggestion of making a room for

some amendments or adjustments in the rules while avoiding to completely neglect them.

Chapter 7 – Nudge, Test, and Escalate Gradually

This strategy presented by the author justifies the “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” proverbial phrase but

with a systematic approach. Many companies nowadays have adopted the trial testing and pilot study approach in new

product development for the purpose of improvement without costing the company an arm and a leg. A similar approach

has been recommended by the author to its readers to apply in everyday life to reduce the risk of losing their political

capital. However, the constant nudging, testing and escalation restricts a quiet leader’s ability to make strong stands

instead persuades him to make compromises. The author’s recommendation of doing a 360-degree analysis of a situation

is aligned with the SWOT analysis practice already existing in the industry but with respect to business decisions only. I

personally find author’s recommendation to be extremely useful for dealing with personal and professional problems.

Chapter 8 – Craft a Compromise

This chapter, I believe, is just an extension of the ideas discussed in chapter 6. It has made the text redundant and I, as a

reader at this point, felt a bit bored to read the same concept again just with different vocabulary and additional examples.

The concepts of pragmatism and refusal of acceptance of either-or choices have already been discussed in earlier

chapters. However, the recasting and reimagining of a moral issue described in this chapter gives a whole new perspective

to its readers for looking at problems through a different lens. The given example of Abraham Lincoln’s vision towards
slavery thoroughly clarifies the whole strategy. The author has used King Solomon’s example to cover some other aspects

of life other than the professional life while explaining the traits a quiet leader.

Chapter 9 – Three Quiet Virtues

In the last chapter, Badaracco shifts his focus towards the significance of a person’s own character. He gives a caution

that all his tools can be misused without having restraint, tenacity, and modesty in one’s character. This debriefing shows

his farsighted approach to make the world a better place without molding the morality of the humankind.

Shortcomings

Certain examples and analogies contradict with the concept of high morality such as Rebecca Olson giving a huge

severance package to a harasser in exchange of his resignation. Another issue I find worth sharing is that of the length of

the book. The book might have been more limited in size. I feel some parts are dragged and there is repetition of similar

concepts at few points such as the significance of being an insider is mentioned in chapter 1, 2 and then again in chapter

4. Furthermore, the author fails to make appropriate and enough comparisons between traditional leadership style and

quiet leadership style through examples which could have brought more clarity to opt for quiet leadership for the readers.

Moreover, I also found some punctuation and spelling mistakes in the book.

Concluding Remarks

Despite some of the shortcomings I find in the book, I personally feel that this book is a must-read. It revamps your idea

of a hero and gives simple guidelines to motivate you to become one. The book provides a set of guidelines to the people

serving corporate world and the ones who aspire to be for dealing with ethical dilemmas without hurting their careers.

After reading this piece, readers can easily spot quiet leaders in their surroundings. For instance, I can now spot a quiet

leader in my father who is a politician who has been working day and night for the welfare of his constituency but often

faces situations where there is a very thin line between right and wrong. Since politics is deemed to be a dirty game, he

doesn’t trust anyone easily. He makes plans but is always ready to experience surprises and backlashes. The book has

generated a sense of appreciation in me towards people who are running the world without getting the limelight. I am not

a devoted reader, but I enjoyed having it as my morning read.