By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
A satirical essay for those who think leading means being liked.
Let’s clarify something before we go any further: leadership is not a community picnic. There are no matching T-shirts, no kumbaya circles, no “Let’s get feedback on how everyone feels about this decision” surveys — and certainly no “thanks for trying” medals distributed like candy in kindergarten. Leadership is doing what is necessary, not what is convenient. If you’re out here trying to be Mr. Nice Guy, handing out emotional juice boxes, hugging everyone’s self-esteem, and asking for how each department feels before choosing a direction, congratulations — you’re not a leader. You’re a camp counselor in a corporate retreat no one remembers.
Great leaders are often not born in moments of harmony — they are forged in discomfort, molded in conflict, and baptized in the fires of tough decisions that no committee dared to vote on.
Fun Fact #1:
In ancient Rome, generals who lost wars were often forced to commit suicide. Today, losing CEOs get golden parachutes, LinkedIn endorsements, and somehow launch motivational podcasts about “resilience” where they blame the economy, the board, and Mercury being in retrograde.
Ego Bruising: The Sport of Champions
Real leadership involves bruising a few egos, sometimes gently like a carefully worded performance review that subtly translates to “start delivering or start packing,” and sometimes with the force of a metaphorical steel chair WWE-style if people refuse to wake up from their performance coma.
Let’s be transparent: greatness and ego survival rates are inversely proportional. You can’t fix a broken engine by politely whispering encouraging affirmations to the pistons. Sometimes, you must hit reset so hard that people feel the vibration through their job titles.
The non-performers will cry, “You’re being harsh!” Yes, Kevin, I am — but only because you’ve spent six months delivering PowerPoints with more animations than results. You spent more time choosing slide transitions than fixing the revenue decline.
Those who consistently underperform see urgency as hostility and feedback as character assassination.
The lazy ones always scream “toxic leadership” the moment accountability enters the room, like vampires hissing at sunlight. Ironically, many people don’t dislike strong leadership — they dislike the exposure of their slack.
Reminder: It’s not bullying if it’s backed by KPIs.
Translation: If your performance is hiding behind feelings, performance will win.
Fun Fact #2:
100% of legendary leaders — Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill, Genghis Khan, Elon Musk — were described at least once as “difficult to work with.” Coincidence? Absolutely not. It’s called having a direction and refusing to water it down for emotional comfort.
Convenience Is for Followers — Necessity Is for Leaders
Convenience says: “Let’s not address the elephant in the room.”
Necessity says: “Bring me the elephant, a spotlight, a surgeon’s scalpel, and a performance improvement plan. We’re having an intervention.”
Convenience avoids conflict to preserve fake harmony.
Necessity creates productive tension to produce real progress.
Convenience schedules more meetings.
Necessity sets deadlines and fires warning shots.
Convenience says, “Maybe they’ll improve with time.”
Necessity says, “Time is bleeding money. We act now.”
Convenience asks for more time.
Necessity delivers results — and deals with the complaints later.
Convenience says, “Let’s consider every opinion.”
Necessity says, “You’ve had three weeks to contribute. Silence is now agreement.”
Convenience is a warm blanket.
Necessity is a cold shower that wakes everyone up.
Quote for the Wall:
“If everyone is comfortable, you’re not a leader — you’re a mattress.”
Winning Is the Only Real Morality in Leadership
Let’s be brutally honest: history is written by those who got results, not those who were voted “most emotionally supportive team member” in the post-project review.
Nobody remembers the leader who made everyone feel “emotionally validated but still failed to meet targets.” People remember the leader who won, even if they made the entire organization tremble under deadlines and accountability.
Alexander the Great didn’t conquer half the known world by asking his troops if they felt spiritually aligned with the mission statement or if the horsemen needed more rest days for mental balance.
Ask anyone who has ever built something from scratch — a company, an army, a movement — and they’ll tell you one thing: results justify discipline.
Results produce loyalty. Failure produces excuses.
People tolerate tough leaders if they lead to victory. They despise weak leaders who lose while trying to be popular.
The Lonely Path: Welcome to Leadership, Population: You
If you’re not prepared to be lonely, you’re not ready to lead. Leadership often means being the only one awake at 2:37 AM fixing what others messed up at 2:37 PM.
Sometimes, leadership is signing off on a decision that your team doubts, your advisors question, and your friends tell you to rethink — only for it to become the company’s greatest win three quarters later… at which point everyone magically remembers they supported it “from the beginning.”
You will walk alone through decisions no one understands in real-time, only to be praised for them six months later — if you succeed — or blamed forever if you fail.
You must be willing to go alone, make hard calls, and endure the silent hatred of those who were exposed by your standards. Some will call you a tyrant. Some will say you changed. Some will form group chats titled “He Thinks He’s Better Than Us” or “We Miss When Things Were Easy.”
That’s fine. Let them talk.
As long as the scoreboard screams victory, they’ll eventually fall in line — or fall out entirely. Either works.
Fun Fact #3:
There is no recorded history of a legendary leader who waited for unanimous approval before making a move. Democracy is for voting. Leadership is for moving.
Execution Flawlessly or Die Trying
You can scream vision all you want, but if execution isn’t sharp, you’re just doing motivational karaoke.
A great leader is not only willing to act, but ready to execute with ruthless precision. Decisions are made, orders are clear, deadlines are sacred, reviews are ruthless, and excuses are allergic to survival.
Great execution is when your silence is louder than everyone else’s brainstorming.
Because in leadership, vague instructions are just friendly invitations to failure — and failure always RSVPs.
Your team should not be confused about what success looks like. If they are, that’s on you — until you correct it.
Conclusion: Leadership Is War — and War Is Not a Reunion Party
If you want to be loved, adopt a puppy.
If you want applause, join TikTok.
If you want unanimous approval, run for prom king.
If you want to be admired, post gym selfies with inspirational quotes about “grind.”
But if you want to lead and win — prepare to bruise egos, enforce standards, walk alone, lose sleep, take bullets (real or metaphorical), execute like a sniper, embrace being misunderstood, and wear the villain cape until success rebrands you as visionary.
Because in leadership, the world doesn’t clap for intentions. It claps for trophies.
Author: John S. Morlu II, CPA is the CEO and Chief Strategist of JS Morlu, leads a globally recognized public accounting and management consultancy firm. Under his visionary leadership, JS Morlu has become a pioneer in developing cutting-edge technologies across B2B, B2C, P2P, and B2G verticals. The firm’s groundbreaking innovations include AI-powered reconciliation software (ReckSoft.com), Uber for handymen (Fixaars.com) and advanced cloud accounting solutions (FinovatePro.com), setting new industry standards for efficiency, accuracy, and technological excellence.