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While 50% of these qualities are based on
natural skills and abilities, the remaining half
clearly are best gained through experience.
Leadership Management Studies and rules
to follow;
A recent management study by the consultancy
firm Hay Group found that trust and confidence
in top leadership were rated as the
single most reliable predictors of employment
satisfaction in an organization.
This conclusion is again linked to communication,
where the key to winning that trust
and confidence are through communication i
the following three areas:
1)Helping employees understand the
company’s overall business strategy
2)Helping the employees understand how
they contribute in achieving important
business objectives,
3)Sharing information with employees on
how the company is progressing and how an
employee’s own division or group is doing
relative to business objectives
In principle these are relatively easy tricks to
teach.
However, vision and strategy are required
before you can communicate it. Therefore
experience, knowledge, commitment and
communication skills are prerequisites to
build up the confidence through these tasks.
Back to the definition: The problem with
defining leadership is that the above model
has to aspire to an ideal that mostly defies
realistic expectations; i.e.:
•The perfect leader must be pragmatic in
converting strategy into results (i.e. LTMA:
“Less Talk; More Action” and not NATO;
“No Action, Talk Only”).
•Maintain absolute moral integrity.
On Engineering projects, infrastructure development
jobs, planning and construction programs
etc it is therefore crucial that leaders
must follow solid plans which are not only
based on natural skills, but also on viable strategies,
technical specifications, legally binding
contracts and procedures which must be executed
accordingly..
A bit of History
The above might be a current blue print of
perfect leadership, but it is not the lesson of
history:
We have all read about ruthless dictators in
the past who considered themselves as successful
leaders. Even prior to the days of the
Romans they achieved what they wanted to
achieve...at any cost. No price was too high
for them to demonstrate their successful leadership
skils and ambitions and powers.
Those leaders had followers, not to mention
vision. Through their aides they were masters
of communication and had some unique and
successful decision making skills....however by
today’s standards, they were not role models.
More recently, even a universally acknowledged
successful leader such as Winston
Churchill hardly conforms to the ideal.
No one disputes his pivotal role during the
second World War,, but his peacetime record
as a leader was marked by failure and unpopularity.
When single-mindedness, motivational
bullheadedness and a polarized opinion was
required, there was no one better.
When moderation. Diplomacy and a balanced
view were appropriate, there were few worse.
In spite of this, to savor his legacy and give
tribute to his skills, the Churchill Centre was
founded in UK 1968 to foster leadership,
statesmanship, vision, courage and boldness
among democratic and freedom-loving
peoples worldwide, through the thoughts,
words, works and deeds of Sir Winston
Spencer Churchill.
Thus, he is hailed as a leader, as globally his
strong skills overshadowed his lack of vision
during peaceful and developing times.
A good leader must be a juggler.
The central dilemma of leadership and to all
those who aspire to it has been proven over
the years; i.e. “how to be all things to all the
people all the time”: which simply is not possible.
Therefore; don’t try it all at once...But
be a juggler in stead.
•What are these juggling skills?
The “Perfect Leader” must be prepared for a
delicate balancing act:
He must be decisive, but reflective. He must
have a strong vision, but always listen to
others. He must be ruthless when necessary,
but always be compassionate. The good leader
must communicate goals persuasively to
all parties, but still manage by consensus,. An
important skill is also frequently to switch
between defensive and aggressive strategies,
but yet to maintain overall direction; have an
indomitable will to achieve power and leadership
while retaining humility and modesty
with discretion.
Let us not forget also that a rare but important
quality of a leader is to combine generosity
alongside the more basic financial
instincts.
The challenge for this “Juggler” is therefore
that the above skills and techniques should
best be exercised with a sense of timing.
Back to the original question: Is a good leader
born as such or is he made over time?
Of all the above skills, most of them can be
taught. On the other hand: knowing which
skill to use at what time and at what strength
during the heat of the management battle is a
different matter.
This fact is recognized and .tackled by most
business schools and Management Colleges
through their teaching methodology of case
studies. This is the most effective method of
putting the skills they teach into context and
simulating that most essential and unreachable
of attributes before they are tested in
a real life situation where the wrong approach
can have unexpected and disasterous
effects, and not only receive a slap on the
wrist from a workshop lecturer.
Luck is also a factor
Education alone does not create a good leader.
However, education can surely teach you the
difference between Apple’s Steve Jobs, who is
nimble, perceptive, technically brilliant, a
highly skilled communicator and: universially
admired, and Mr Rick Wagoner, (the former
CEO of General Motors ) who infamously
took a private jet to Washington DC with is
hat in hand to plead for more money to “save
his company”.
In spite of all theories, skills, education and
experiences in the shaping of a leader, even
the best equipped, most rounded and skilful
of leaders must ultimately benefit from from
one quality of which they have no control:
In the often quoted words of
one legendary leader; Napoleon;
words which have been repeated
by others in peace and war.
When he was asked to define
the main attribute he was
looking for in the leaders of his
armies, he simply said:
“Give me lucky Generals”.
Surely, in today’s smaller but turbulent
world. We still need lucky generals.
Carl E Berentsen
Vietnam, May 2009
Prosjektledelse nr. 2 -2009 31