The Leadership Dilemma

Uploaded by mscheng

The more I read about leadership the more I think people are describing a utopian view of leadership rather than what great leaders really do.  First, the only think that really defines a leader is someone who has followers.  If you don’t have a least one follower you really are much of a leader. 

So would the most effective leaders be the ones with the greatest number of followers?  Perhaps but you might also want to factor in the amount a fanaticism in the legions of followers. 

Ghandi, Ghengis Kahn, William Wallace, George Washington, Pope Alexander and L. Ron Hubbard all had legions of fanatic followers.  What did they all have in common?  The only think I can think of is the ability to sell their vision to others.  I think you’ll also see them leading from out in front. 

The interesting thing is that the vision itself actually doesn’t really matter as long as you can sell it.  So leadership skills and principles can work for good or negative ends.  In fact, good intentions can often lead to the biggest disasters.  As they say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” 

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Dimensions of Corporate Culture

Corporate culture can have a lot to do with who you want to work for and who you want to buy from.  Think about the difference between shopping at Walmart, Costco, Target or even Nordstroms.  They even feel and sound different when you walk in.  I don’t want to talk here about which is better but to point out that they are obviously very different.  The same is true between cars companies, plastic manufacturers and even universities. 

So what makes them so different?  I think there are a number of dimensions but here are just a few. 

1. Leadership – does the company have strong visionary leadership or is it more of a competency, technocrat leadership? 
2. Risk Taking and Change – does the company reward and encourage risk taking or punish it?
3. Work Styles – is this a competitive, cooperative or collaborative environment?  Do you work in teams or alone?
4. Results – is performance measured and rewarded or not measured at all?
5. Norms and Work Rules – What are the companies formal and informal work rules, and how are the followed?
6. History – Where is the company located or founded?  What are the values of the community?
7. Decision-Making – How are decision made, who is involved?
8. Ideosyncracies – What are the odd and unusual traditions and rituals in this organization? All companies have a few.
9. Motivations of Leadership Team – The top leadership is driven by a lot of different things.  It’s not just all money and profit. 

I’m sure there are more.  It’s a little like a personality test.  Every time you read articles that seem to lump all business together or words like Big Oil or Big Pharma, take them with a grain of salt.  Each of this companies is very different.  People aren’t robots and neither are companies.

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Corporate Cultures

I’ve worked in more than a hundred different companies and they all do seem to have a unique “corporate culture.”  Actually it’s more like a corporate personality which is a hard thing to change.  There are rules, norms and values driven from the top but there are also a lot of informal things that connect people. 

 It’s interesting to see how a company like GE has created a change culture that is embedded in just about everything they do.  I was facinated about how DuPont carried over a saftey culture from the early 1800s.  And I liked how Disney approached everything as a stage show. 

I’d be interested in your stories about corporate culture.

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Charismatic Leadership – Old or New Style?

Do you need to be a warm fuzzy manager who is sensitive to his or her employees needs?  Do you need collaborative decision making? 

 Here is a clip from one of my new favorite TV shows, Kitchen Nightmares.  It really is an interesting look into how very small business sometimes works.  The star Gordon Ramsey was once rated as one of the ten worst bosses in the UK.  However, he is one of the most successful chefs in history.  He’s also overcome how to use certain language in the workplace.  You just have it bleeped out.  Bon Appetite

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