Dan Rockwell says it is better to pull:  “The secret of leadership is helping others uncover what pulls them into the future and get them doing it. If you’re pushing people you haven’t tapped their inner engine.”  This may be correct, and as I said, I haven’t thought of it this way before.  But I also think, sometimes people do need a push.  Don’t they?  Or maybe I should say, they need a little “nudge.”

Okay, now after thinking about it more I’m thinking about parents who push their children. Perhaps into sports, music, academics, whatever.  I tend to think parents should support what their children are interested in, but not force them to practice more, work harder, etc.  I don’t have hard facts to support it, but I think that can lead to children eventually hating what they were “passionate” about, and resenting and rebelling against their parents.  So perhaps they need to pull, rather than push.  And this can apply to the workplace too.

I think this push rather than pull thing is a fine art.  Not all leaders have it.  Do you?