Velvet Glove, with an Iron Fist | Three Leadership Parables

Laith Khoury
1 day ago
3 min read

Velvet Glove with an Iron Fist (Fair but Firm Leadership).

People have described my leadership style as “a velvet glove with an iron fist.”

It took me years to understand what they meant.

Today, I want to share a leadership parable that goes deeper than the usual clichés because most leaders don’t struggle with thinking; they struggle with thinking about the right things.

We get swallowed by the day-to-day noise… and forget to look in the mirror.

So let me tell you a story of three CEOs and the three wildly different outcomes.

1. The “Nice Guy” CEO | Good Intentions, Bad Decisions

Nice Guy CEO suffering the consequences of being a people pleaser

He led a 500-person company. Smart, capable, transformational. The kind of leader everyone liked.

During the December budgeting meeting, the sales manager explained why targets weren’t met:

External factors.
Market conditions.
Team morale.

He asked the CEO to lower targets the following year “to give the team achievable wins.”

It sounded reasonable. It sounded compassionate.

The CEO agreed.

The CFO nearly exploded.

Fast forward 12 months:

The company hit the lower targets…

…and still had to lay off 25% of the workforce.

Not because people underperformed.

But because low targets = low sales = low revenue.

And who paid the price?

Not sales.

Not leadership.

But the admin staff; The people who had nothing to do with the decision.

That CEO learned a painful truth:

Being “nice” to one department can devastate everyone else.

Leadership is not about comfort — it’s about consequences.

2. The Ruthless CEO | The Fear-Driven Culture

This one came from a finance background. Sharp mind. Zero patience.

When he walked toward the sales office, heels snapping like a drill sergeant approaching inspection, everyone knew what was coming.

His assistant held a folder with everyone’s numbers.

You could smell the anxiety.

Desk by desk:

“Why are you behind?”
“Explain this gap.”
“You hit your targets? Good. That means your targets were too low.”

Sweaty palms. Dry throats.

Fear everywhere.

And the results?

45% annual turnover in sales.

A Fortune 500-level disaster.

SHRM estimates replacing an employee costs 6–9 months of their salary.

Add broken customer relationships, lost continuity, and shattered morale…

The company ended the year in the red.

This CEO learned something too:

Fear may create urgency, but it destroys performance.

You can’t terrorize your way into profitability.

3. The Velvet-Glove/Iron-Fist CEO | Fair, Firm, and Uncompromising on Standards

This is the leader every company wishes they had.

Not soft.
Not harsh.
Fair, but firm.

He understands that every decision impacts:

employees
customers
leadership
shareholders
the community

When he walks into a room, people sit up; not out of fear, but out of pride.

They can’t wait to share how they saved money, how they drove revenue, and how their work pushed the business forward.

It’s not anxiety in the air…

It’s excitement.
It’s ownership.
It’s duty.

The 10 traits of this leader:

Not afraid of hard conversations.
Doesn’t shy away from warning letters.
Doesn’t enjoy firing people, but he will, quickly and decisively, when toxic behavior endangers the culture.
Reflects. He listens.
Admits mistakes.
- Expects the same from everyone else.
Builds internal talent first before looking outside.
Understands incentives.
Ties rewards to impact.
Aligns his vision with HR so that leadership development is a system, not a slogan.