One of the best speeches I have ever read is Charlie Munger’s 1986 address to the Harvard School. It was the first time I came across the wisdom of inversion. When you have a problem, Munger explains, think about what NOT to do. For instance if you want to be popular and happy, work out what will not NOT make you so – and then be sure to avoid those actions. Biznews.com’s prolific blogger Alexx Zarr has adopted a similar approach in this piece, the first in a series about leadership. To discover what a real leader is, he argues, let’s start with what he is not. Smart. – AH
By Alexx Zarr
It’s a new day and here we have another comment on the overworked, but slippery, concept of ‘leadership’. Bear with me.
In the recent past I have been thinking a lot about the notion of ‘leadership’. It keeps rearing its presence in my thoughts, in the on-line material that I read, the people I come into contact with who deal in leadership matters, the perceived lack of this ‘thing’ in our society, and also in a book I am re-reading, The Wisdom of Crowds.
The intention of this series is to subject our thinking to the collective wisdom of the crowd that gathers around such blogs. Surely, if we wrestle with it for a few rounds, unravel it bit by bit, we shall all understand it a little better. With a better collective understanding, I am hoping that we can all exercise better leadership, for ourselves and for the community at large. Surely, South Africa can do with it right now.
Relying on my intuition, I start off with the assumption that ‘leadership’ is important, it is a valuable thing. It is a social dynamic or characteristic that has the potential to make society, in general, better off.
But, what is this thing? Perhaps we can get close to it by agreeing what it is not. Here is my list of nots. It is not something inherited, or being the designated boss in any hierarchy. It also has nothing to do with designation, rank or title. It certainly has nothing to do with personal attributes, and it is not management. I reckon it is not simply about the exercise of any form of coercive power, either.
In addition, a corollary of the above factors, is that leaders are defined by their exercise of leadership. Finally, I suggest that leadership begins with self-leadership. One cannot exercise leadership without first leading oneself.
I hope I have now painted myself into a corner to venture a description of leadership. Leadership is a social practice that exercises influence over oneself and others to harness their maximum effort (or contribution) to achieve an agreed collective outcome, that benefits society.
Before getting carried away with all the other elements and questions I have, allow me to test the merits of my initial views.
I have assumed leadership is important (in business), but is it? I put this to the test by looking at what businesses and business consultancies regard as critical matters in business success. (I appreciate that I may raise different answers if I asked sports teams and political entities the same question.)
Here is the first view. BMGI states it is “…an operational strategy consulting firm focusing on Strategy, Innovation, Operational Excellence and Change Management”. It says the top ten business problems are: (i) Complexity, (ii) Diversity, (iii) Globalization, (iv) Information overload, (v) Innovation, (vi) Problem solving, (vii) Regulation, (viii) Supply chain, (ix) Technology, and (x) Uncertainty.
Forbes reckons there are eight great challenges facing every business, and these are: (i) Cash, borrowing, resource management, (ii) Finding right staff, (iii) Increased selection and competition, (iv) Integrity, (v) Marketing and customer loyalty, (vi) Problem solving and risk management, (vii) Regulation, and (viii) Uncertainty. Again, leadership does not appear, but there are some common factors with the preceding BMGI set.
The last of my lists comes from the Conference Board (CB), an entity founded in 1916. Its website states it “…is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society.”
The CB lists top ten challenges for 2013 : (i) Corporate brand and reputation, (ii) Customer relations, (iii) Global expansion, (iv) Global political risk / economic risk, (v) Government regulation, (vi) Human capital, (vii) Innovating, (viii) Operational excellence, (ix) Sustainability, and (x) Trust in business.
Surprise surprise, leadership is not on any of these lists. Neither is it mentioned on a few others I look at. OK, so maybe it is not perceived to be a problem, or a challenge. Perhaps it is unimportant.
Perhaps not. If one looks at business schools across the globe, leadership is a very strong theme of teaching. For the sake of brevity, allow me to use the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) as a single sample.
The GIBS MBA sets out the following elective courses: (i) The Moral Leader, (ii) Leading others…, (iii) Women in Leadership, (iv) Personal Leadership…, and (v) Strategic Leadership. To qualify for a PDBA, a prospective student requires ‘leadership potential’. On the iGIBS eight-subjects list, Leadership is the second item. Elsewhere in the GIBS advertisingware, the term ‘leadership’ arises multiple times.
So, in this first edition of Leadership 101, I have established what it is not, defined what it may be, and that despite me thinking it is important, and it being taught at top business schools it is not regarded as an important business issue for others.
In the next issues I shall tackle some of the following ideas. Is leadership time and place bound? Is there moral content to leadership? What is the relationship between the leader and the crowd? Can leadership exist in a monopoly arrangement? Does one have to forego position to secure leadership?
