Too much sanity may be madness—and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!
Growing up in the Philadelphia area meant I fed from a cornucopia of scrumptious regional junk food. When I was a kid, for breakfast I might gobble up some scrapple. (If you’ve got to ask, just don’t—really.) At school recess we could buy Philly soft pretzels—a satisfying delicacy best savored with a slathering of yellow mustard.
My brown-bag lunch usually contained a delectable Philly-baked Tastykake treat. Our cheesesteaks had real cheese and real rib-eye steak. After dinner, we might sit down to a delicious serving of Philly’s own Breyers ice cream.
But nothing, and I mean nothing, could top the culinary glory of the Philadelphia hoagie!
Lots of regions have similar sandwiches served on long rolls. Philly bread is special, so the roll makes a real difference, but there’s something magical about a hoagie that makes it stand out among all the submarines, grinders, blimpies, Italian subs, torpedoes, zeppelins, spukies, and po’ boys. Nothing else comes close.
The hoagie is just better than all these regional variants.
I know, I know. You disagree. No one has lived until they’ve had a spukie/ blimpie/grinder from such-and-such mom-and-pop deli that went out of business years ago. Fine, but you’re wrong. The hoagie is where it’s at, and in Philly wherever you’re at there’s great hoagies to be had!
By the way, did you notice the long-roll sandwich I left off my list? It’s one of the most prevalent: the “hero.” What a strange name. Why you would call a sandwich a “hero” is beyond my reasoning. It’s a silly way to describe a subpar luncheon option.
Still, I have to admit, “hero” sounds cool even if it’s mis-ascribed to every poor excuse for an Italian sub as well as generally overused. We love our heroes in all walks of life, not just delicatessens. We hail people who perform heroic acts as heroes, naturally enough, but we also regularly lionize overpaid athletes as heroes for playing kids’ games well. A husband who opens the stubborn mayo jar might momentarily transform into a hero. A kid who returns a wallet she finds on the street might find reward for her heroism.
Predictable, popular entertainment thrives on the hero figure. Most notably, characters with miraculous powers that defy the limits of biology, physics, and credulity—that is, “superheroes.” I’m not so convinced. If you’re basically indestructible and you confront some bad guy with a gun, just how much heroism have you really mustered? It’s like calling a lousy sandwich a hero.
In short, “hero” is an overworked and much abused term. We endlessly discuss the “hero’s journey,” take “heroic measures,” and practice “hero worship.” In poetry, there’s even something known as the “heroic couplet.” Here’s a famous example:
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things
And we have heroes in leadership as well, particularly with the concept called “heroic leadership.” (And now we’re at the heart of the matter!)
Think about that phrase. What does “heroic leader” evoke for you? What image does it conjure? We’ll come back to this, so don’t forget.
William A. Cohen wrote a book called Heroic Leadership based in part on his own military experience. His description of the heroic leader should sound familiar to my regular readers. It emphasizes selflessness, integrity, clear communication, and self-improvement among other features. No surprise, but I enthusiastically endorse Cohen’s concept of the heroic leader.
Still, as with the sandwich, I find the term “hero” a bit misplaced when it comes to leadership. I mean, I get the concept, and there’s something truly heroic about a leader who acts decently in the face of indecency—I write about it all the time and even have a book coming out on the topic. But the word “hero” itself needs careful parsing. After all, people impose a lot of unrealistic expectations on heroes (especially when they’re sandwiches).
Let’s recall that image that popped into your head when I first mentioned the phrase “heroic leader.” What was it?
My guess is that you pictured a man (yes, man) wearing a suit or uniform, gesturing toward the distance, or something along those lines. Maybe he was mounted on a white horse (in uniform, not a suit!) and pointing with a sword.
We imagine heroes as doing something glorious, memorable. The heroic leader sounds like someone who exercises command and takes control in a crisis. He’s the ultimate authority, likely the sole authority. His followers disobey at their peril and at the peril of the mission.
The thing about heroism, though, is that real people can’t play the hero in every situation. Even comic book superheroes have to peel their spandex down to their skivvies and pretend to be normal from time to time. The assumption if not expectation embedded in a term like “heroic leader,” though, is that the hero must be the hero at every moment from now on.
Therefore, to sustain this perpetual state of heroism, the stakes must constantly remain elevated. Each instant must be one of tension, urgency, and crisis. The heroic leader must regard even the most mundane tasks as emergencies—infernos to extinguish, Titanics to steer to safe harbor. Otherwise, where’s the heroism?
The heroic leader in this sense is the main decision maker, the head honcho, the Grand Poobah. The buck doesn’t just stop with our heroic leader, it starts with him and rarely leaves his care. Otherwise, he’d relinquish his status as a hero.
This type of heroic leader stands apart from and well above his people. His pronouncements must be heeded minutely. He demands perfect loyalty and obedience from his underlings. Why? Because of those incredibly high stakes, of course. He needs absolute support, for only he can heroically surmount them.
There’s something almost aristocratic about our heroic leader, perhaps even regal. He perches upon his bejeweled throne, his white steed, or his Herman Miller Aeron chair taking on everything and issuing command after command. No one knows what he really wants in the end; they just do what they’re told in the moment. Again, those stakes—so high! There’s no time to explain. The underling’s role is only to obey and act!
I’ve worked for this type of heroic leader, the one who never leaves his office because he’s just too busy superhumanly tackling the latest calamity. I’ve known many such heroic leaders who were women too. It’s not just men who delude themselves into fatuous self-importance. Doña Quixote is nearly as endemic as her male counterpart.
Such self-deceiving self-regard drives this version of the heroic leader. They climb atop that steed, their Rocinante, to rally their underlings from crunch time to zero hour. Not a moment to rest, regroup, consider, reconsider. Every moment is a battle for survival, a hill to secure and defend, a windmill to tilt at. Only our bold hero can get us through.
This sort of heroic leadership is very cinematic, the stuff of summer blockbusters. Entertaining yes, maybe even thrilling, but exhausting and counterproductive in the day to day and week to week.
The heroic leader sacrifices, so naturally the underlings must sacrifice. Lots of long-term pain for short-term gain. Lots of wasteful toil for misplaced glory. In the end, this heroic leader is just another boss.
Of course I’m being deeply unfair to Cohen, whose concept of heroic leadership I entirely respect and subscribe to. In his version, the heroism of the leader is a humble thing, which seems a bit counterintuitive but makes perfect sense. The heroic leader he describes is a variation on the servant leader. It’s a role to aspire to.
I guess my only beef is with the phrase “heroic leadership,” which though catchy, seems almost doomed to mislead. Such confusion surrounds this term that Indeed.com published an article distinguishing between the mythical heroic leader stereotype and Cohen's actual meaning.
To my mind, leaders don’t spend much time thinking about being heroic, which I believe is a mark of most true heroism. Real heroes don’t charge into the breach thinking, “I’m being all heroic now!” At least I don’t think they do. As in Cohen’s heroic leader, there’s always a healthy dose of humility or at least a resistance to supreme self-importance.
Managers who like to play the hero or think of their efforts as heroic and therefore deserving of undying praise and loyalty are invariably just bosses. True leaders don't congratulate themselves on their heroic leadership any more than they celebrate their “hoagie leadership.” It’s that absurd. To the leader, “heroism” is just another word for doing the right thing. Much like “hero” is just another word for a sandwich.
What does the phrase “heroic leadership” mean to you? Do you ever think of yourself or your leadership as heroic?
Leaders must become heroic in the sense that Cohen means it while avoiding the quixotic trap of thinking of themselves as heroic, and I can help.
Unlock the Great Leader Within! Download my free resource, the Transform To GREATness Toolkit, now!
I look forward to hearing from you.
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About Dr. Sal
I founded Guidance for Greatness to mentor rising professionals after serving 30 years in higher education as an English professor, dean, and VP.
In my speaking, writing, and coaching, I blend academic credentials (Ph.D. from Toronto, certificates from Harvard and ACE) with practical coaching certifications (Tiny Habits, Thrive Global) to offer something different: leadership development built upon human decency.
My mission? To guide today’s managers to become the next generation of great leaders.
I offer practical, values-driven strategies so that managers can lead authentically.
Why? Because great leaders aren't just effective managers—they're teachers whose example makes a true difference in the world.
It’s almost here!
Discover the practical strategies that transform good managers into exceptional leaders. Look for my new book, Greater than Great: How to Excel in Leadership through Learning, Logic, and Life to Make a True Difference in the World, in May 2025!
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