It Takes Two To Tango

You're not just watching the dance; you're on the floor, stepping on toes. The piece drives home that leadership choices create the foundation of an organization, and when middle managers fall short it's a reflection of the system you designed and the people you hired, promoted, and coached. The metaphor of a fragile house built on a weak blueprint makes the argument concrete: you signed off on the design, so you own the result.

The article walks through real scenarios-a VP frustrated with a director who delivers but lacks business alignment, founders who neglect parts of the org while chasing product-market fit. In each case the author asks who ensured those leaders were pointed in the right direction. The answer is always the senior leader who set expectations, provided coaching, and built accountability structures. Ignoring a team for months doesn't let it magically self-correct; it entrenches mediocrity.

Leadership is framed as agency. Every choice to act-or to stay passive-shapes behavior. When you fail to hold someone accountable you teach that it's acceptable; when you kick the can down the road you signal what truly matters. The piece argues that reclaiming agency, asking "What am I doing to change this?" instead of blaming the team, creates momentum and lets you deliberately rebuild the org.

The final takeaway is pragmatic: you already have the power to reset the dance. By recognizing that the current state is a product of your decisions and then deliberately adjusting coaching, accountability, and alignment, you can turn a broken rhythm into a coordinated tango. The article forces leaders to own the system rather than blame fate, offering a clear path to higher performance.