What the Godfather teaches us about Leadership. Part 3.

16 October 2025

📍 50 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 & 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢, 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘺.

In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, the power wasn’t just in the room.
It was in the structure behind it.

Now - put aside the horse’s head in the bed, the vendettas, and the bodies in tollbooths…
there are real leadership lessons here. As was reinforced during my recent Sicilian Godfather pilgrimage.

And this week also marks the passing of Diane Keaton, who so memorably played Kay Adams / Corleone - the moral compass and emotional counterweight to Michael Corleone.

Now, the 2 Dons (Vito & Michael) didn't chase every detail.
They picked good people.
Gave them clear direction.
And then trusted them to execute.
In business, just like in the family, you can’t scale without trust.
And you can’t delegate without clarity.

Don Vito didn’t micromanage.
He knew the game.
He gave his lieutenants (Clemenza, Tessio, Tom Hagen) exactly what they needed; context, purpose, confidence - and then got out of their way.

I've seen it up close. Too many modern leaders make these mistakes:
▶️ They either hold on too tight
▶️ Or let go without being clear

But the art is in the balance:
✅ Set direction
✅ Be crystal clear on what matters
✅ Then trust your people to deliver

That’s how leadership multiplies.

Written by Jonathan Stern
ICF Certified Coach | Gallup CliftonStrengths Certified | Former MuleSoft ANZ Leader
I coach high-potential leaders and high-potential scale-ups.
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