The issues we’ve discussed here over the past weeks revolve around ill-considered or non-existent premises for individual leadership. These, as we’ve attempted to show, result in attempts to unthinkingly apply antiquated models today, or in dreamy notions that are propelled to our attention with great fanfare and excitement, but that then, lacking foundation, simply drift pointlessly and aimlessly away.
There is one thing we do fairly consistently, though. As we develop leaders in accordance with each succeeding leadership enthusiasm, we encourage them all to rely unquestioningly on those skills, and to assert them with a sure-footedness calculated to inspire the attraction and compliance of followers.
But if we can agree that people are less likely to follow an uncertain trumpet, does it follow that they should uncritically follow a certain one?
Here are some more questions for you:
- Why is it that we focus with such angst and hope on the reputed leadership characteristics without more carefully considering the question of whether there is a positive relationship between them and successful performance?
- Is it not entirely possible that there is no such relationship at all?
- Do we not have sufficient evidence, actually, that there is not?
- Alternatively, can the evidence not be interpreted to suggest that whatever relationship there is might be a negative one?
- Have you never known someone who had all the putative leadership traits – including the ability to get people to eagerly and willingly follow – but whose projects seemed in retrospect to be off the mark?
- Have you ever understood a colleague to be a universally well-regarded and genuinely successful “leader” who also, when you thought about it, had none of the generally touted evidences of personal leadership?
- What do you do, personally, when confronted with a promotion choice between someone whose record is unremarkable, perhaps even spotty, but who positively glistens with leadership charisma, and another whose contributions have been increasingly and demonstratively indicative of his growing worth and importance to the company, but who just doesn’t seem to look or act the part?
These point to only a few problems with the leadership dialogue as it is conducted today – and, what’s more, not even to the worst one. We will take a tour through some of these in the coming days.
Thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow.
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Today’s tip: Speaking of the power of overriding individual leadership, please see this Wally Bock piece on how that played out at Home Depot over the years.
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4 Comments
Jim,
You ask “Why is it ….?”. Because we are insane?
As defined by Einstein, insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Although I started out my management career using a form of top-down command, I never considered those “leadership characteristics” you refer to as being valid. I was fortunate to have since deceased Admiral Hyman G. Rickover as a constant example of how to achieve things normal people did not consider possible.
An example.
A certain high level manager was short, thin, and hunched over with very large bulgy bloodshot eyes that stared at you without blinking, very disconcerting. As he did this, he coughed occasionally and would whip out a large colored handkerchief and cough flem into it with some spraying out. His suits were baggy and many years out-of-date.
He was hired as a senior VP to head up a new group at a very large company. In order to make sure they got him, the company had to hire him some months before they were actually ready to create the new group. So while he waited they had him takeover a failing, very unprofitable subsidiary to close it down. This subsidiary made electronic parts for a large number of clients, parts which had very high failure rates. His task included making parts until customers could find alternative sources rather than just cutting them off.
Instead of closing down the subsidiary, this manager turned it around in a very short period of time, reduced failure rates to reasonable levels and turned it into one of the most profitable company subsidiaries. Harvard researchers were brought in to study this case of clearly superior performance and they were amazed by the very high morale and commitment evident in the large workforce.
The researchers remarked that this executive was the most well informed person about leadership and managing people they had ever encountered. After spending 3 months at the subsidiary, the researchers returned to Harvard to review other similar cases. They came across a previous study of an extremely poorly performing manager, a man whose description exactly fit that of their present subject. So they asked him if he was in fact that man. He related how another Harvard group had studied him a dozen years before and written him up as one of the worst possible managers based on very poor results. His boss gave him a copy of it and he became very mad. He eventually settled down and had to admit that he needed huge improvement so he started studying and trying hard to become a very effective manager. Thus the change and thus my belief that I could make a major change as well.
Best regards, Ben
Eminent philosopher Thomas Carlyle once noted that individuals seemed “hard-wired” for hero-worshipping or the creating of icons. The notion of icons is deeply imbedded within the psyche of most cultures. People often look for identification greater than their individual existence. These icons generally take on religious or mythological forms. The ideas behind Santa Clause, the Bogey Man and the Tooth Fairy have iconic impressions that serve to impact behavior. In short, icons serve not only as belief systems, but a means of altering or maintaining specific behavior.
Inherently, many people and products strive to become icons. No one really wants to spend the rest of his or her life attempting to convince individuals of the merit surrounding an idea. Detergent X is better for clothes because it not only gets the dirt out, it restores clothing to its original luster. If Detergent X can take on iconic or mythic meaning, then Detergent B does not stand a chance. Detergent B is not only challenging a product, but a way of life. Imagine you or your product being a way of life. Most people, products or services never become icons because there are certain criteria necessary to graduate to this level. The same notion is applied for graduating from Star to Superstar to Megastar to Legend.
Legendary status qualifies for becoming an icon. Becoming an icon is a process requiring a concerted effort with relentless determination. Establishing icon status requires certain steps to be achieved, which require:
1.Revolutionizing/changing the thinking of a particular idea, product or service– It isn’t the “me-too” mentality that brings about revolutions, but the “never been done before” mentality. If you see voids within your industry that experts say are necessary, you have just embarked on an opportunity for innovation. What opportunities exist to expand worldviews or differentiate a product or service being offered? Answers to this question, brings forth watershed events. It is much more challenging to revolutionize an industry than it is to follow the status quo. Largely, complacency and mediocrity are the nemesis to becoming an icon.
2.Capturing imaginations through constant and consistent imagery–Quite often, you may capture the imagination of individuals through graphic depiction or acute profundity. In other words, you get their attention through the pictures you create from the words you utter! Once the mind has been elevated, it creates perceptions from stimuli that stretches and ultimately influences thought and behavior. If you can spark the imagination of others to see the world from your viewpoint, you can impact behavior, which enhances iconic status.
3.Maintaining innovation over a long period of time–Longevity is the hallmark for becoming an icon. “Quick buck artists” and “Overnight sensations” are not the model for icons. It is a long, arduous process that withstands the test of time. While there is no set time, icons usually span two or more generations. Each generation is influenced differently, because the icon evolves to reflect the relevancy of that age group. While the icon may curtail its innovation, its track record is sufficient to draw on for an indeterminate amount of time. An icon often has enough reserves to continue to influence generations to come.
4.Creating stories and fables around exploits– Icons take on mythological forms by the aura created around them. Fables are created out of real life triumphs that become bigger than life when sparked by the imagination. Many great stories are based on some truth that becomes legendary though exaggerated repetition. What was once a simple act of perseverance takes on epic proportions of insurmountable feats. Every icon has a story of trial, defeat and final triumph that encapsulates the human spirit.
5.At the height of frenzy, become elusive and inaccessible–Humans as icons often stay in the limelight too long. The iconic idea is that of a good performance–always leave audiences wanting more! An icon preserves a memory as he or she preserves an image. It is essential to exit or become elusive while still on top. Once you stay too long and human frailties emerge, the icon diminishes. By becoming elusive and inaccessible, the crowd craves you more when all that’s left are the innovations, images and stories.
Becoming an icon requires a concerted effort steeped in relentless determination. The scarcity of icons is not because of its impossibility. The scarcity exists due to the time, dedication and energy needed to excel to such a level. A life committed to an undying desire to achieve the ultimate within an industry is open to all, but may all-consuming.
Edward Brown
Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute
http://www.charismatoday.blogspot.com
Hello Ben,
A wonderful example – especially enlightening in view of the perspectives from which you tell it.
Thanks!
Hello Edward,
You’ve provided an extensive and thoughtful defense of your position, here – as well as substantial advice on how to live the philosophy it represents.
While I obviously hold a differing opinion, I respect the sincerity with which you hold yours, the eloquence with which you express it, and your generosity in offering some of that here.
Thanks as always for your visit, your comments, and your own work and writing!
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