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Experiments… show that managers who took responsibility for bad events like pay freezes and failed projects were seen as more powerful, competent, and likable than those who denied responsibility.

…willingness to accept blame for future setbacks shows how, to get and keep a management job, skilled bosses talk and act as if there is a strong link between their actions and followers’ performance.

Psychological safety is the key to creating a workplace where people can be confident enough to act without undue fear of being ridiculed, punished, or fired – and be humble enough to openly doubt what is believed and done.

…just because people can perform a job well doesn’t mean they ought to help manage it.

…surveys show that employees with supervisors (or someone else) who care about them as people are happier and more committed to their work.

Confirmation bias can cause bosses to make excessively glowing judgments about people they have invested a lot of time and money in or who they simply find to be likeable or admirable.

Irrational commitment to an anointed start who is really a loser can happen to any boss, no matter how experienced they are or how high the stakes.

In an ideal world, bosses would always manage work they understood deeply. But it isn’t always feasible.

…if you want to incite action… Get people angry by naming the enemy, or get them excited by identifying compelling dreams and goals.

If you are a boss, protecting yourself from intrusions may be a lost cause… management work requires dozens – sometimes hundreds – of brief and fragmented tasks each day.