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The following article was published in the Charleston Post & Courier's Business Major, a featured monthly column in the Business Review Section on January 29, 2001. Modern leaders' resources plentyBy DOROTHY P. MOORE Special to The Post and Courier Business Major Owners and executives searching for ways to create the most productive work environment are always interested in the newest ideas on leadership and management. A recent review of books published between 1993 and 2000highlighted 32 influential works on business leadership, both scholarly and popular. The total does not include the large number of substantial lesser-known studies or the numerous book chapters or journal and press articles on leadership and any number of related motivational topics. Supplementing this listing is the avalanche of "how-to" popular books and a proliferation of audio and videotapes, all explaining how to become a more effective leader. Aside from checking out the latest volume on the bestseller list and then waiting for the next one or taking a refresher course in Management 101, finding one's way through the gambit of advice can be daunting. Warren Bennis is a distinguished professor of business and founding chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California. He has been involved in leadership research for four decades. In his "On Becoming a Leader," he makes an important distinction. "Managers," he says, "are the people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing." He believes that the most successful organizations in the 21st century won't be managed but led and the leaders will recognize that "the only capital that really counts is human capital." His audio cassette for his book, "Managing People is Like Herding Cats," suggests how you can learn to accomplish this feat on your way to work. The reality of serving in a leadership role within a corporate or entrepreneurial organization is always complex. To survive and prosper in real life, it is necessary to do things right, do the right things and see that all the right things get done. Understanding some basic principles can help you figure how to do all this. The first set of modern leadership theories that gained wide acceptance appeared about a hundred years ago, when large businesses arose as a consequence of the 19th-century industrial revolutions. Known then as scientific management and today called traditional management, the theories explained how systems of comprehensive rules and procedures should be established in organizations to govern workers who are to be directed by a centralized management whose orders flow down a hierarchical chain of command. The underlying principle was that people needed to be told what to do and closely supervised to do it. While this authoritarian style proved well-suited to stable organizations with fixed structures, it was far less successful half a century later when managers increasingly had to deal with rapid change, unpredictable external environments, a rising flood of information and constantly evolving technologies. Organizational efficiency in the age of the information revolution, said David Nadler and Michael Tushman in "Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture," now requires organizational creativity, and that means managing teams of people to use their collective abilities. Attention turned to finding leadership styles that did not leave people feeling they were controlled, managed or manipulated. One of the most comprehensive that came to the fore described the transformational leader, one who articulates an organizational vision that can be shared, gives subordinates power and encouragement, guides by motivating and serves as a role model. Rather than formalized and rigid procedures and visible demonstrations of power that marked the authoritarian leadership style, the emphasis now is on flexibility, the encouragement of employee innovation and the integration of people and ideas. As Bennis puts it, this new leader inspires change rather than imposing or simply reacting to it. Most managers who want to learn how to do better start with the popular offerings. A current favorite is Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," which is advertised as being based on timeless principles. Those who wish to go beyond the popular press may consider the offerings of the many leadership institutes. Some of the best known include the Wharton Center for Leadership & Change Management, the Ohio State University Leadership Center, the Center for Creative Leadership, in Greensboro, N.C., and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, which offers Leadership Strategies for Senior Executives. Nearly all the major research universities and most colleges have developed creative leadership programs for managers. Many also have made information available to the public. For a motivational pick-me-up you can access the Ohio State online Leadership Moments at www.ag.ohio-state.edu. Each week a featured column addressing a leadership moment appears online. These are also archived. To catch up on your leadership literature, you might want to turn to the Wharton Suggested Reading List. The current listing of 18 books introduces you to not only timely sources but also classics in the field. The Wharton Web site also provides a listing entitled "Leadership Programs of Other Organizations." Much of what you will read and see on the Web sites is derived from the basic principles underlying the concepts of transformational leadership. For Questions/Comments about this site, contact dot.moore@comcast.net. Site designed by Jackye Cocoros. |