You probably think DUCK is some clever acronym, but it’s not. DUCK is just what it says. DUCK is duck. Quack; quack. This past week I was working to encourage a key leader and joked about him writing a book about DUCK leadership. But then I thought, “Why should he have all the fun?”
DUCK leadership is quite simple. It’s about letting the ill-equipped thoughts of others slide right off you – “like water off … a duck’s back.”
Not that we, as leaders, don’t have a responsibility to listen attentively and give serious consideration to every comment, critique, compliment and complaint thrown our way, but we are to do so with the capacity to weigh out such forms of admonition and take action on those that are well-founded.
When we fail to give merit to other’s perspectives, we allow pride, arrogance, and self-sufficiency to fester. When we live to pacify every voice in the wind we lack stability, conviction and character.
Often we will need the consultation of an objective third-party to help us determine if the commentary thrown our way deserves to instigate life adjustments or to ignite the exercise of DUCK. Ego-driven and or self-preservation-caused “blind spots” can keep us from seeing or receiving truth, especially truth that would offer refining challenge. Most often the ability to DUCK with legitimacy is a task only attained with the help of others.
It’s a self-desecrating feat to ignore compliment or critique that needs to be absorbed. It can be a self-destructive measure to embrace commentary that needs to be DUCKed.
As for the good folks to whom we apply DUCK, do they not deserve to continue to have merit and value in the eyes of the DUCKer? Certainly. Well in most cases at least.
And are they not owed the best discourse possible to elaborate upon the legitimacy of their being DUCKed? As difficult as it is, yes, they do. Especially in environments where integrity, honest communication, and authentic community are values. For the DUCKee it is easy to feel slapped with disregard and disrespect, and therefore feel isolated and devalued.
In other words, the DUCKer looses creditability with the DUCKee unless communication transpires. And in a world where communication halts are to be avoided, in a world of teamwork and flat organizational structures rather than hierarchical systems and prolific authoritarianism, breakdowns in communication are unacceptable.
In essence DUCK leadership is about avoiding the compulsion or conviction to be all things to all people, yet it is about the responsibility to without bias be thoroughly attuned to the perspectives of others. DUCK provides leaders the responsibility to entertain the thoughts of everyone, yet permission to live free from the impact of unfounded opinions.
Happy quacking.
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