Ed Batista, an executive coach, writes about leadership, group dynamics, management and emotional challenges at work.
HN commenters quote it in discussions of managers as communication hubs, status threats and group feedback settings like T-groups, treating it as useful on management.
You make good points. The Titan fully realized, in my opinion, aspires to the ideal of the Warrior which I think can be valuable to cultivate.
You should check out this article: The Warrior and The Sage. I read it a few months ago, and it was meaningful in helping me understand how there might be more.
https://www.edbatista.com/2022/05/the-warrior-and-the-sage.html
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As a Warrior:
My purpose is overcoming resistance. Life is a series of battles, and the most important are zero-sum struggles that must be won.
My world is a battleground, an athletic field, a negotiating table. It's also, at intervals, a victory party, a hospital, a funeral.
I view others as fellow combatants. Some are allies, some are opponents, and sometimes they switch sides, which I must bear in mind.
I view myself with rigor. I know my strengths and maximize their advantages. I know my weaknesses and keep them hidden.
My thoughts and feelings fuel my dedication. I maintain an open mind, but also strive to convey my passion and conviction.
My goals are of paramount importance, in part because others are depending on me to achieve them. I'm committed to success.
As a Sage:
My purpose is learning and helping others learn. Life is a series of mysteries, and the most important can't be solved but must be studied.
My world is a classroom, a laboratory, a carnival. It's never just one of these things, and sometimes it's all of them at once.
I view others with curiosity, because I don't know who…
If 1-on-1 and group therapy isn't your thing, you might look into T-Groups [0][1]. The ones I've attended were mostly social interactions with strangers where there was an expectation everyone would give blunt, straight-forward feedback as to how people's communication was landing. The facilitators also had a few structured learning/exercises to keep things moving, but most of it was group directed. T-Groups are popular in MBA programs as a way to help future leaders better understand their communication styles, be more authentic and more receptive to noticing the reactions of the people they're leading. They're somewhat of a middle ground between group therapy and communications training exercises that you see in some corporate settings. But they can be pretty powerful in surfacing feedback that people are normally too polite to give you directly as well as giving you structured practice in building authentic relationships.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-groups
[1] https://www.edbatista.com/2018/06/a-brief-history-of-t-groups.html
"Managers are hubs of communication, the better they communicate across these sphere boundaries, the more people they can communicate with, the more data they have, which, consequently leads to better decision making."
"As a manager, your job is that of a bullshit umbrella. You need to decide what crap your team needs to deal with and what crap can be ignored."
https://randsinrepose.com/archives/managementese/
Leaders are shock-absorbers:
https://www.edbatista.com/2022/10/leader-as-shock-absorber.html
Leaders need to ensure alignment:
"[Manager's] goals do not automatically become their employees' goals. On the contrary, much or most of a manager's job is to align these goals."
http://yosefk.com/blog/people-can-read-their-managers-mind.html
Voltaire is also attributed to saying that (in French of course). General Patton said it differently, and I quite like his take since he adds the aspect of time to it:
"A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan next week."
http://www.edbatista.com/2009/04/voltaire-patton-perfection.html
Status is a zero sum game. Also:
a perceived threat to one's status activates similar brain networks to a threat to one's life. In the same way, a perceived increase in fairness activates the same reward circuitry as receiving a monetary reward.
http://www.edbatista.com/2010/03/scarf.html