I've found that the character and principles essential to leading troubled youth are important to leadership in any capacity. The consequences of a lack of respect and lack of unconditional positive regard are merely more difficult to ignore.

 

Having worked with alternative-education high school students; lead hot, fatigued farm workers; advised nontraditional University students, I find that unconditional respect and positive regard turns potentially adversarial relationships into filial and fraternal ones. Even though it may appear safe to disrespect and devalue professional adults, such an attitude is (most importantly) incorrect and, pragmatically, damaging to a whole team's effectiveness in the long run.

The management of computers and embedded systems requires extreme attention to detail and close management of resources. The management of "human resources" also benefits from such obsessive attention, yet disempowering others' autonomy and disregarding people's humanity is destructive and negates the advantage of mind over machinery.