A Different Way of Looking at the Leadership Environment
Picking Fresh, Ripe Leaders
Article 1 in a Series
By Two Guys From Stillwater, Minnesota
John Buettner and Bob Molenda
Have you ever felt that you needed a quick and simple tool so that you could evaluate candidates and select the best Leader? How about the time when you were on a committee to recommend the next school superintendent? The new super did the job, but broke a lot of “china” in the kitchen, then left. Remember how you felt when that one leader in your own organization demonstrated patience, honesty and openness in front of your work team? Bad leadership examples are easy to find in politics, religion and in corporations. There are good examples, too. Now, enter the information age and drag in social media. Ever wonder how all this chaos of the past twenty-five years is affecting the flock?
Your authors believe that we are on a ship travelling in an ocean filled with symbolic icebergs, mines and deadly hazards like Terrorism and Piracy. The ship is fast, communication and control equipment are functional, the water is cold and the power is more than adequate. The biggest problem is not any of the above, but the lack of competent leadership on the bridge or lack of training in recent, new technology in use on the ship . This is why everyone aboard the ship is anxious. If there is unsettled disagreement, disloyalty, unfair treatment of the crew and unresolved conflict on the bridge, or failure to keep updated on rapid changes, we, the rest of the ship’s company, our passengers and cargo will be at risk.
We feel it is about Leadership and this is your invitation to help. There are known Principles of Leadership and even Personality that still can be used or followed, but there are also other changes taking place all around us that have made the role of both Leaders and Followers more complicated. Uncontrolled changes such as remote work requirements and high speed information flow are a few of the leadership challenges. There are others. We are betting that you can easily add to the list.
We view the leadership crisis as particularly acute at the present time in the United States, but do you think it is also true in other parts of the world?
John and I decided to try to do something about the leadership crisis within our own finite “Circle of Influence”. We were disappointed in our discussions within our flock, who collectively complain about leaders and the leadership situation. Nobody offered a way to identify, fix or solve anything. Does this sound familiar to you?
So, the two of us agreed to try to do something about what we thought was a leadership problem. Our research went back to both ancient times and recent surveys about Leader Characteristics. These characteristics are still reliably used today, so something else must be going on that is creating today’s problems. Maybe it was time to look into some very basic things about Leadership and see how to include the changes?
So, get your pipe wrench and screwdriver! We are going to take apart some complicated plumbing and wiring, simplify it for ourselves, add some new parts, then make it deliver some efficient, clean energy to people and organizations within our separate circles of influence. Our common mission will give all of us a tool that can be used to choose, elect, improve or become better leaders and followers.
Here is what we have put together. It will be a series of articles on the topic of “A Different Way to Look at the Leadership Environment”. Why a series? Well, it is easier to command a minute or two of anyone’s attention than it would be to command sixty minutes. The topic is too big, important and interesting, so we broke it up into digestible and tasty pieces. If it sounds like “Wine and Cheese”, it is!
Here is the Vision: We will all come away with a better understanding of how to judge the leaders around us, including ourselves. What will it look like? You will know what is most important about being a good leader and how everyone measures up. We will show a simple survey and model and how it can become a tool for anyone to use. We will share what we have found out about what has changed in the past twenty-five years. Lots of questions will be asked that will make you think about yourself as a Leader, Follower, usually both. Your authors are not professional Leadership trainers. We are just a couple of guys who set a goal of doing something positive about a problem that everyone has observed.
Our goal is a pretty low bar for us to jump over. The good news is that we know we can achieve it. Within our circle of influence, we just want people to think carefully before they select, support, improve, approve, elect, recommend or appoint anyone as a leader.
If anyone else comes along and brings their own circle with them for the ride, we welcome you aboard and all will be regarded as the “Bonus” in our goal. We will have some fun along the journey and take a few side trips when we need a new part for the old truck, an oil change or an apple to enjoy. Digressions indeed, but they will only add some spice to the journey.
As stated earlier, there are just a few things to remember: Simplify, Add New Parts, Rewire, Tailor, Use.
Next Time: Article 2
