Multi-headed Leadership Makes Changing An Organization Hard Whether It’s A Country, A Corporation, Or An Academic Medical Center
By
Leonard Zwelling
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/opinion/trump-iran-war-future.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/opinion/trump-netanyahu-iran-free-world.html
I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of the word Hydra. Here’s what Co-Pilot told me:
🐍 Mythological meaning
- A multi‑headed serpent slain by Hercules, where cutting off one head caused two more to grow. This is the oldest and most influential definition, originating in Greek mythology.
- This image leads to the metaphor of a problem that keeps regenerating or worsening when you try to solve it.
🧩 Metaphorical meaning
- A multifaceted, persistent, or recurring problem, especially one that becomes harder the more you try to eliminate it.
- Often used in politics, business, or everyday speech to describe issues with many “heads” or dimensions.
The references above the definition are all from The New York Times on March 2, following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel.
In the first article, Tom Friedman, my go-to guy for all things Middle Eastern, describes his four initial thoughts after the attacks.
- He hopes the war can actually topple the Islamic regime in Iran.
- He is quite certain that this task will be difficult. Israel still hasn’t even rid Gaza of Hamas. These zealots can be stubborn.
- The financial implications of the war, particularly on energy markets, could influence events.
- We Americans cannot be distracted from the real threats to our own freedom coming from the current occupant of the White House.
In the second article, Bret Stephens, another of my favorite columnists, comes down in support of the war mostly because the world is a better place without the Ayatollah. But is one death of the head of a government enough? Or, are all of today’s complex organizations which seemingly have one leader, really hydras in disguise?
Trump seems to be testing out the theory that slicing off the head of a government is enough to change the course of that nation. It does not seem to have worked yet in Venezuela. Can it work in Iran? We shall see.
The third piece above, is actually the most interesting of the three because I had no idea about the activities described.
It seems that the current Secretary of Labor, a former congresswoman named Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is under immense pressure because the inspector general of the Department of Labor is investigating her for “professional misconduct by” her “and her closest aides.” The secretary is alleged to have used federal resources to make personal trips and has been accused of “having an affair with a member of her security team.” The department is “described as a toxic workplace characterized by an absentee secretary, hostile aides, and a deeply demoralized staff.”
Those of you who read this blog know where I am going. That’s right—1515 Holcombe, but not quite yet.
Let’s start with President Trump, Mr. Netanyahu, and the new Middle East war. There are many who have come out in support of the war. They believe that Iran has never been more vulnerable and that the leadership in Tehran was not negotiating in good faith. They believe that the Iranians were committed to developing nuclear weapons and the missile systems to deliver them to North America.
There are just as many who wanted to give negotiations a chance and are not at all convinced that Mr. Trump can succeed with regime change without American troops on the ground, something MAGA world is resolutely against.
This is where the hydra analogy comes in. Both in Venezuela and now in Iran, Mr. Trump has cut off the head of a hostile government. Nothing has really changed in Venezuela. The same bad guys are in charge. Venezuela may just grow another head. The snake is even more likely to grow a new head in Iran, where there is a three-person committee supposedly running the country. That committee and the remaining clerics are undoubtedly capable of choosing a new ayatollah who may be even more hostile to Israel and the U.S. than the dead one, if that’s possible. If regime change is really Trump’s goal, how long will that take and will America have to intervene on the ground?
We, as Americans, need to hear from our president. What is the definition of victory and of regime change? Is a new ayatollah really enough?
There can be no doubt that Mr. Stephens is right. The world is better without the ayatollah in power—unless there’s just a new ayatollah. As the great Peter Townsend wrote: “Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.”
Finally, a bit about that Secretary of Labor and the manner in which she seems to be poisoning her department.
The toxic work environment that her employees claim she has created is precisely analogous to what Dr. Pisters has created at MD Anderson. If you want to read some real gobble-de-gook, read his email about his rationale for the re-branding of MD Anderson. I had only one response. HUH? (I’ll be posting more on this on Friday.)
If he feels that “Making Cancer History” needs to be replaced on the logo, perhaps because it is stale, perhaps because it was not his idea, or perhaps because he has a better one, great. Just say so. Personally, those of us who have been around for a while kind of liked Dr. LeMaistre’s tee shirt that said “Fighting Cancer. Now That’s a Job.”
Bringing MD Anderson into the hydra analogy, given the current leadership in the Texas Legislature, the Board of Regents, and the Chancellor’s office, replacing Pisters is not likely to improve the current toxic work environment at Anderson. It’s been getting worse and worse for twenty-five years. Who in Austin is likely to care enough about the faculty, given Austin’s war on higher education and the elimination of Faculty Senates, to take the time to find a great leader for Anderson? That’s right. No one. And who among those in Austin would know a good leader if they saw one? Right again. No one.
This concept of decapitation as the solution to all organizational problems, is not correct. The systems under which these inadequate leaders ascend is the real lesion.
In the United States we have a system that is supposed to prevent this. It is called the Constitution. Since no one seems to want to follow the directions therein, we, too, have a problem in the corner office.
Worse, I don’t see a Hercules in sight.
