to James McGregor Burns, author of the book Leadership, who wrote: “Leadership is leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations—the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations—of both leaders and followers. And the genius of leadership lies in the manner in which leaders see and act their own and their followers’ values and motivations.”
General Colin Powell said, “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says possible.” In fact, observed author Oren Harari in The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, aspiring business leaders would do well to adopt Powell’s style. Powell captured his leadership approach in 18 lessons:
• Lesson 1. Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.
• Lesson 2. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
• Lesson 3. Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
• Lesson 4. Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
• Lesson 5. Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted, the leader must be doubly vigilant.
• Lesson 6. You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.
• Lesson 7. Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.
• Lesson 8. Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.
• Lesson 9. Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.
• Lesson 10. Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.
• Lesson 11. Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.
• Lesson 12. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
• Lesson 13. Powell’s Rules for Picking People: Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also, look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.
• Lesson 14. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers,who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
• Lesson 15. Part I: Use the formula P = 40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired. Part II: Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.
• Lesson 16. The commander in the field is always right, and the rear echelon is wrong unless proved otherwise.
• Lesson 17. Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it. Spend time with your families. Corollary: Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
• Lesson 18. Command is lonely.
Harari, who was a management professor at the University of San Francisco, said Powell engaged in “the kind of practical, mission- and people-based leadership that has translated into performance excellence and competitive success.” Powell didn’t use bluster to inspire his troops. He was polite and was “not interested in intimidating people. He [was] convinced that frightened people don’t take the initiative or responsibility and that their organizations suffer as a result.”
On the other hand, Harari said Powell didn’t mind making people angry—particularly in pursuit of organizational excellence. To repeat Lesson 1 above, “Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off,” Harari quoted Powell, who believed that good leaders must defy the status quo.
Harari closed The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell with this observation: “Leadership is not rank, privilege, titles, or money. It is a responsibility.”
Donald Phillips, the author of Lincoln on Leadership—Executive Strategies for Tough Times, points out the following of Lincoln’s principles on leadership:
• Get out of the office and circulate among the troops.
• Build strong alliances.
• Persuade rather than coerce.
• Honesty and integrity are the best policies.
• Never act out of vengeance.
• Have the courage to accept unjust criticism.
• Be decisive.
• Lead by being led.
• Set goals and be results-oriented.
• Encourage innovations.
• Preach a VISION and continually reaffirm it.
In modern days, Lincoln’s principle of “Get out of the office and circulate among the troops” is known to us as management by wandering around (MBWA), as dubbed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their 1982 book, In Search of Excellence. The principle has also been given other names and phrases, such as roving leadership, being in touch, and get out of the ivory tower. It is simply the process of getting out of the office and interacting with people. Peters and Nancy Austin, in A Passion for Excellence, define MBWA as “the technologies of the obvious.”
Leaders emerge in every life situation to guide others along a particular path of change and toward a final destination point. Effective leadership is not easy. History has shown us that the responsibilities and hazards of leadership are as great as their rewards. Studies in the field of leadership recognize and stress the need for building strong interpersonal relationships and bonds. In their book, Leaders, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus wrote that “leadership establishes trust,” that “leaders pay attention,” and that “they have the ability to trust others even if the risk seems great.”
One dictionary definition of “leader” describes a primary shoot of a plant, the main artery through which the organism lives and thrives. In much the same way, organizations prosper or die as the result of their leader’s ability to embody and communicate the organization’s vision. How the M&R leader influences others very much dictates the health of the M&R department and, ultimately, the entire organization.
Effective visions, according to Tom Peters, are inspiring. They should be “clear and challenging—and about excellence.” An effective vision consists of a concise statement or picture of where the organization and its people are heading and why they should be proud of it. An effective vision empowers people and prepares for the future while also having roots in the past.
Leadership creates a vision and energizes people to make organizations and people successful. Figure 2.3 shows the results of a survey ranking five key attributes of leadership:
1. Charisma
2. Competence
3. Communication
4. Energizing people
5. Vision (in creating)