Hello, Kind and Beautiful Human, I have a story for you…….
A long time ago, in a Disney leadership program that pulled in outside thinkers, I heard a John Maxwell concept that has stayed glued to my brain:
“Don’t send ducks to eagle school.”
Simple. Funny. Slightly brutal.
And… wildly useful.
Because most of us waste an absurd amount of time doing exactly that.
We keep trying to “coach” people into becoming something they’re not.
We keep promoting for the wrong reasons.
We keep “developing” the wrong problem.
We keep dragging a duck up a mountain and calling it leadership.
And then we act surprised when everyone is exhausted.
What Maxwell meant (in plain English)
A duck isn’t “bad.”
A duck is just a duck.
A duck thrives in a very specific environment:
clear structure
consistent routines
defined expectations
steady performance
lower ambiguity
An eagle isn’t “better.”
An eagle is just… built differently.
An eagle thrives when:
the target is fuzzy
the stakes are real
the environment is changing
the job requires judgment, not just execution
the leader is expected to create clarity, not wait for it
So the point isn’t “eagles good / ducks bad.”
The point is: stop confusing development with denial.
You can train skills.
You can’t train wiring.
The leadership lie: “If I just coach harder, they’ll become an eagle.”
This is the part where leadership gets messy.
If you’ve been a senior leader, you know this feeling:
You see potential in someone.
You want them to rise.
You invest.
You mentor.
You give them air cover.
You give them stretch assignments.
And they still… don’t soar.
Not because they’re lazy.
Not because they’re a bad person.
Because the role requires eagle behavior:
making decisions without complete info
holding tension without flinching
prioritizing in chaos
taking heat
being accountable for outcomes, not activity
And that’s not their natural habitat.
The real cost of “eagle school” for ducks
When you push a duck into an eagle role, you don’t “level them up.”
You usually get:
anxiety disguised as perfectionism
rigidity disguised as “standards”
defensiveness disguised as “communication issues”
micromanagement disguised as “quality control”
burnout disguised as “commitment”
And the saddest part?
They often blame themselves.
Meanwhile, the team pays the price.
This is where Radical Kindness actually shows up
Radical Kindness isn’t being “nice.”
It’s being honest and human at the same time.
Radical Kindness is saying:
“This role is asking you to be someone you’re not.”
“You’re not failing — you’re mismatched.”
“Let’s put you where you can win.”
That conversation is hard.
And it’s leadership.
The 2026 question I’m sitting with and using with my clients:
Where are we sending ducks to eagle school — and calling it development?
In my work, I see this in three places all the time:
Promotion decisions
rewarding tenure instead of readiness
promoting great individual contributors into people leadership with no appetite for it
Hiring
hiring for résumé prestige instead of role reality
hiring “eagles” into duck environments — then punishing them for being eagles
How we lead
expecting everyone to thrive in ambiguity
punishing people who need clarity instead of providing it
A quick gut-check (for you and your team)
Ask yourself:
In this role, is success more about execution or judgment?
Does the job require comfort with ambiguity — or the ability to create structure?
Is the environment stable — or constantly shifting?
When things go wrong, does this person own it — or explain it?
Do they gain energy from challenge — or from certainty?
If you’re honest about the answers, you’ll know what you’re dealing with.
This also connects to Ken Blanchard’s Raving Fans lesson: great service isn’t compliance — it’s empowered judgment, which is exactly what ‘eagle roles’ demand. This is one of my favorite customer experience books and I wanted to add in this call out to celebrate my learnings
The punchline
You can teach a duck a lot.
But you can’t teach a duck to be an eagle.
And you shouldn’t try.
Because the goal of leadership isn’t to turn people into something else.
It’s to put them in a place where they can do their best work — and help them do more of it.
That’s not soft.
That’s smart.
Go Soar or Swim - Your Choice!
In Community and Conversation,
Jim
Olive and Cricket say “Hi!”