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Command & Control OR Collaborate & Serve |
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Leadership comes in many forms. We choose our form. There is a vast difference between authoritarian leadership exerted through command and control, and stewardship. Peter Block has told us that stewardship is "...to hold in trust the well-being of some larger entitiy--our organization, our community, the earth itself." How would your style of leadership change if you acted on the principle that you are trustee for your employees, your family and your community? Would you value non-tangibles? Evaluate actions for their long-term effect?
The interest approach (flashing) clarifies the interests that leaders hold in trust. How do you know what people want and need unless you get together and talk about it? Utilize the interest approach to implement the collaboration imperative. |
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command & control > collaborate & serve |
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Peter Block, STEWARDSHIP: CHOOSING SERVICE OVER SELF-INTEREST, Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (1993). Block guides us through the journey from contemporary leader to steward, outlining the main differences between the two philosophies. He cautions against cosmetic reform, and explains why the means are so important in instituting reform. Warren Bennis, ON BECOMING A LEADER, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1989. Bennis explores the leadership styles and challenges of 28 individuals and extracts lessons for a new generation of leaders. Ronald A. Heifetz, LEADERSHIP WITHOUT EASY ANSWERS, Belknap/Harvard University Press, 1994. Heifetz’ examination of leadership principles by example is useful for anyone who has found themselves being looked to for leadership. He explores the meaning of leadership and the social contract, values in leadership, the roots of authority, creating deviance on the frontline, and mobilizing adapative work, among other things. Michael Shandler and Michael Egan, Leadership for Quality, JOURAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (March 1994) at 66. Quality intiatives will fail if the leadership does not wholeheartedly embrace the new paradigm. Management must accept responsibility for the present and fight non-alignment at the top through consensus solutions. Tom Peters, Some execs could use an introduction to the real world, SAC BEE (Dec. 8, 1994) at C2. Why quantitative analysis without qualitative understanding is a time bomb . . . Gerald Graham, Pinning Down the Problem, SACRAMENTO BEE (Aug. 28, 1994) at F4. "More" communication does not work in the absence of increased trust. Susan Blouch and Janet Polach, Transforming the Executive, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Dec. 1995) at 48. True organizational change depends on true management commitment to change. Managers must turn inward and change their own paradigms before they can hope to effectuate organizational change. Some suggestions for getting started. John Huey, The New Post-Heroic Leadership, FORTUNE (Feb. 21, 1994) at 42. "Ninety five percent of magangers today say the right thing. Five percent actually do it." - James O’Toole, professor and leadership expert. Author Huey looks at some of O’Toole’s few to learn how these corporate chiefs learned to embrace change after their old paradigms were broadsided by a global, technology-smart, diverse, consenus-based, reeinvented business climate. Marian J. Thier, Create success out of chaos, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Sept. 1995) at 6. Control can act as a barrier to true learning; why setting others free within principled boundaries is the best form of leadership. Five principles for leaders who want to implement a learning atmosphere. Mindy Fetterman, Autocratic leaders now out of step, USA TODAY (Dec. 9, 1991) at 1B. Many of today’s leaders learned military-style management through necessity. This hierarchical model worked well for America’s newly emerging workforce then, but nonetheless is being replaced to meet contemporary business needs. James Belasco and Ralph Sayer, FLIGHT OF THE BUFFALO: SOARING TO EXCELLENCE, LEARNING TO LET EMPLOYEES LEAD, Warner Books, 1993. The authors "...offer a striking metaphor to summarize the dramatic change in the new employee. They liken the traditional structure to a herd of buffalo, following the directions of its leader, but unable to adjust when leaderless. This herd is compared to a flock of geese flying in formation, each bird self- directed but knowing the common direction, and able to take a turn at leading the V formation." (reviewed by William Kay, A Third Way). Carol Orsborn, Confucius Say..., SKY (Oct. 1994) at 22. Why the 3,000 year old text of the I Ching (subtitled The Book of Changes) is a powerful guidance tool for the new leadership paradigm. Bill Mandel, You want lazy? Check U.S. bosses Newspaper article (Sac Bee?) The author argues that American workers are actually more productive than Japanese workers; the problem with U.S. competitive standing may lie with short- sighted U.S. bosses. John F. Runcie, The ten commandments of leadership, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Oct./Nov. 1995) at 24. A leader’s guide on what NOT to do and why. Joseph A. Redman, Thinking about excellence in love (cross out) leadership, JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION (Oct./Nov. 1995) at 85. How to incorporate the elements of a happy relationship to leadership - applying the lessons of love to leadership. (no jealous, selfish, patience etc.) Eupsychian Management (Chapter II), THE THIRD FORCE at p. 92. Noted psychologist Abraham Maslow explores the differences between Douglas MacGregor’s theory of authoritative management (Theory X) and principled management (Theory Y) from within Non-Linear Systems, a digital voltmeter factory in Del Mar, CA, and concludes that Theory Y is the more useful. Geery S. Howe, Living the Vision, EXECUTIVE EXCELLENCE (August 1994) at 10. Howe explains why "attitude and effort can’t be separated if a business, a person, or a family are to survive times of chaos." He gives us five principles to guide our choices. EXECUTIVE EXCELLENCE, volume 11, no. 12 (Dec. 1994). Entire issue is devoted to the topic of leadership. JOURNAL FOR QUALITY AND PARTICIPATION, volume 19, no. 3 (June 1996). Subtitled "Moving It From The Head To The Hea rt, Hands and Feet", this issue contains several thought-provoking articles on implementing a new style of leadership. |