The reason it’s called Cat Herding is because everyone is trying to go in their own direction at the same time - like Brownian motion. This is because if you try to push a bunch of people who want to go in their own direction, then they’ll dislike that and head in their own direction.

If you consider the Goat/Sheep split - Goats are people wanting a pull approach, while Sheep are people wanting a push approach. If you push the people who want a pull approach, you find that all you do is give them energy to go in the direction they are pointing.

Push people will align with your direction but will require your energy; while pull people will supply the energy but will require you to help them align (think a magnetic attraction).

As to Leo’s cat-fight point…. “leading cats” is impossible by definition [see matrix]. If they’ve become cats, then you’ve failed. Instead you should be leading goats. That’s semantics - I think there’s a good point in Leo’s comment which is that it is easier to Herd Sheep than Lead Goats. Given that the danger of failing (Lost Sheep or Cats) is (I argue) the same, then it suggests that you should only try to Lead when you know you have a high Goat percentage. In equal scenarios, you should herd.

Or… and I suspect this is what happens that leads to people complaining about being pushed into management from being a techie… you make your Goats into Herders, and you try to Lead the Goats. ie) You reward the drive for independence with a group who will take direction well but require you to supply energy.

The problem we all know there is that there’s no reason why a Goat should be a good Shepherd.