I was reminded by your post of Lincoln's statement to McCellan when he refused to engage his army early in the Civil War.

Following is from a review of "Lincoln and McClellan"

"There was no more remarkable pair in the Civil War than Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan. At only 35 years old, McClellan commanded the Ohio troops early in the war, and won skirmishes for the Union in western Virginia. After the disastrous Union defeat at Bull Run in the summer of 1861, Lincoln sent word for McClellan to come to Washington, and soon elevated him to commander-in-chief of the Union army. But in the late summer and fall of 1861, things took a turn for the worst. Meticulous in his planning and preparations, McClellan began to delay attacking the enemy and developed a penchant for vastly overestimating the Confederate forces he faced. All of this hampered his ability to lead an aggressive force in a fast-moving battlefield environment. Finally losing his patience, Lincoln was famously quoted as saying, “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.”

Sadly history is replete with examples of inept leadership which fail to be learned by present day "leaders"