The Art of Leadership
Understanding and Exercising Leadership in Today's World
Leadership is something that almost everyone is looking for. Leadership is something claimed by many, defined by a few, and demonstrated by an unprecedented few. In fact, we know a lot about leadership, but what confuses many is the application of leadership.
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| The Art of Leadership |
Despite the fact that there are leadership textbooks with many different theories of leadership (all of which are "key"), leadership is a very individual concept and is exercised in many different ways.
Leadership is sought by almost everyone. It is claimed by many, defined by a few, and exercised by an unprecedented number of people. In fact, we know a lot about leadership, but it is the application of leadership that confuses many.
Formal and Informal Leaders: Exploring Different Paths to Leadership
While leadership textbooks contain many theories of leadership (all of which are "key"), leadership is a highly individualized concept that is exercised in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of success. In fact, when utilized well, leadership is always possible.
However, when not used well, it can be counterproductive. So is this also a hypothesis? But let me share with you my thoughts on where leadership lies. I may not be able to define exactly what leadership is, but I believe that we can know it when we see it.
In the literature, we know that there are what we call "formal leaders" and "informal leaders". This is because "formal leaders" by definition occupy a position of authority (i.e., a supervisory position) and can be said to exercise leadership by themselves. An "informal leader," on the other hand, exercises leadership from a position not formally designated for leadership and, as a result, causes problems for the organization.
Level 5 Leadership: Passion, Vision, and Achieving Organizational Goals
How informal leaders come about is a mystery, but often it is due to a lack of leadership in "formal" positions. However, that does not mean that the "great man" theory holds (that when a crisis arises and no one is prepared to deal with it, someone else will step up and handle it). Why is someone who is not in a leadership position empowered by the group he or she belongs to exercise leadership?
Of course, there are several answers to this question, so let us examine some of them. A person who is a leader may be a confident (or at least act with confidence) person, a bit charismatic, and thus have the ability to provide logical answers to questions from the group and demonstrate that he or she has good ideas. This is often the case in groups discussing a particular issue. Especially when there is no "person in charge," it is often the person who is most passionate about the subject who becomes the leader.
Or, sometimes a person who is simply impatient to act will lead others into a particular course of action that may achieve a common goal. In this case, the group tends to favor the "visionary." The visionary may not have much vision, but that does not mean that he or she is incapable of pursuing a vision (or may not have one in the first place).
Another possibility, like the development of John Nash's game theory (on which the movie "A Beautiful Mind" is based), is that one of these groups recognizes that they can do things in a way that benefits everyone involved. The interest is not in improving, enriching, or recognizing the leader, but rather in achieving the goals of the group, which includes the entire organization.
Vision and Communication: Inspiring and Guiding Organizations
When you find these latter leaders, John Collins, in Good to Great, calls them "Level 5" leaders. These are people who are passionate about the achievement of the whole, not just themselves alone. These leaders do not blow their own horn and are not bustling about. They are too busy working toward meaningful goals to be distracted by such counterproductive things. They do, however, do special things that "prove" their leadership. Some of those things are what I want to focus this discussion on.
Leaders who are passionate about their vision (they always have a vision) take care to make sure that everyone in the organization knows what that vision is. It becomes not just a vision, but a tangible part of the environment, so indoctrinated into everyone that it goes home with the employees at night. And when the vision becomes the guidepost that guides the actions of everyone in the organization, everything that flows becomes a reflection of the vision.
Understanding and Developing Employees: The Key to Effective Leadership
Such a leader understands his or her employees, their personalities, their histories, and their passions. They are leaders because they provide the leadership to attract and retain the right people to "get the job done." They go back to W. Edwards Deming's theory, which is not necessarily a statistical process control technique, but rather Deming's "14 points," one of which is to ensure proper and ongoing training.
Cheerleading is a waste of time if the right people are given the job and the resources to get the job done. Because these workers are already getting out of bed in the morning and looking forward to going to work.
Motivation. No slogans, no mantras, no group meetings to cheer them on about their history. Because those who are "self-actualized" are also self-motivated. They know their job, they know what is expected of them, and they know they have a responsibility to other employees to do the best job possible. Part of the reason for this is that the person is involved in the development of his or her job and the responsibilities for that job, is informed about how his or her job fits into the overall scheme, and is intimately involved in the changes that take place in the company. Revolutionary, isn't it? No. It has been around for decades.
When leaders develop these employees and the managers who oversee them, they are able to do the visionary work, the goal-oriented work, and make the necessary course corrections as circumstances change. This "fine-tuning" is a skill that is not taught in any school, and it is so valuable.
Course Correction and Feedback: Adapting to Change and Ensuring Success
My history includes a 10-year tenure as a business manager in a manufacturing company. That division manager was a true visionary who took a lackluster, unmotivated, loss-making division and turned it into an energetic, proud organization that was ISO 9000 certified and on its way to profitability.
For the past 10 years, I have watched intently as that manager has guided the division in the direction of a clear vision. I can't say that all is right, but I have learned a lot from it. The division then became a model for the company, and the division manager became a regional manager so that he could apply his skills to other divisions.
He learned that his biggest job was to organize his team. He just got out of the way. Instead of showing what he did, he would provide team members with tools so they could get to where they wanted to be more quickly. If he had to do something that one of his team members should have done, then that team member was unnecessary and eliminated. That did not mean that mistakes would be tolerated, nor would any effort be made to ensure that the member was properly assigned and trained. But when it became clear that change was needed, it was done quickly and cleanly. It was a real pleasure to work there, but especially to see such unnamed leadership in action.
If we want to show leadership, there are a few things we can do as individuals
- stay focused on the primary goal of the company. Never be distracted.
- attract the right people for the job that needs to be done, not those who agree with you, and provide them with the training and tools to do that job.
- recognize the benefits of having people with different personalities. different skill sets as well as approaches that are critical to the company's success.
- if you have hired the right people, don't stand in their way. If you need to micromanage, don't need that person. However, this is not a big problem because if you do not treat them with respect, they will not stay anyway.
- remember to always refer back to the feedback loop in all processes to make sure things are working as expected and to make appropriate changes in a timely manner. Failure to do so will hasten failure throughout the organization. Remember that your feedback loop is only as valuable as the people you get feedback from. Listen to them.
- know when you have exceeded your limits and acknowledge it. Then get help to overcome them.
Each of us has the capacity to be a leader. But we can only become effective leaders if we share responsibility for achieving the goals of the organization without fear of failure. If those goals are our personal standards of achievement, then the organization will strive to succeed and achieve them. If not, we become transient leaders who get things done and fail by not sharing the credit and only pursuing the interests of the organization.