Managing Leadership^®

In recent years, as we continue to struggle to better understand and better apply the principles of management, many observers and analysts have “discovered” concepts about which Mary Parker Follett wrote in detail all of 80 years ago. Beginning her career in social work, Follett turned to the field of business management in the 1920s, and quickly became a highly regarded speaker and consultant in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, her influence was lost amid the turbulence of world events that followed her death in 1933, and the direction of her thinking was missed by less able successors.

It is disheartening to realize how much time we’ve lost by neglecting the wisdom of her thinking, and by failing to build ever more trenchant concepts on the firm foundations she left us. More unfortunate still, we have stumbled back into many concepts she pioneered so long ago without recovering the balance and perspective from which she discerned and considered them. Mary Parker Follett possessed the ability to discover powerful new ideas for organizational development without being captured, herself, by them. She comprehensively evaluated these new tenets and intelligently interpreted them both from their implications for the future – and their foundations in the present. No revolutionary world-changing, paradigm-shifting jargon for her, such as mars much of the writing about (her rediscovered) new concepts, today. Just solid, pointed, and effective commentary on how to improve our organizations and, through them, our societies and our lives.

Mary Parker Follett neglected little in her wide-ranging and still largely unamplified examinations of organizational life. At all levels, in a broad array of critical fields, she looked under the moral and material stones of organizational edifices and environments to discover what held them together, and what animated them. She pioneered the application of a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of business and management. She studied it all: organization, management, leadership, delegation, authority and responsibility, the integration of conflicting interests – and power. Her understanding of power is an important key to much of the insight she provided that still excites admiration – and, unfortunately, much miscomprehension – by organizational development thinkers, today. And it is with her thinking on power in organizations that we will begin our series of analyses of Mary Parker Follett’s work. Furthermore, in so doing, we will undoubtedly discover as well why she must be seen as a preeminent management theorist – for the 21st century.

Coming up for discussion:

The next scheduled post will be about Mary Parker Follet’s thinking on the topic of power, and how it works in organizations.

However, we will continue to interject, where it seems appropriate, with commentary on events in contemporary organizational life as they relate (or not) to the concepts of offered in Managing Leadership. Be sure to stop in and join us!

News about the book:

We invite you to stop by the weLEAD online magazine site to read the latest “highly recommended” review of Managing Leadership. See why founder and editor Greg Thomas says, “This well-written and challenging book is just what was needed. Let the debate begin!”

After reading this terrific review, be sure to stop by the home page of the “weLEAD Leadership Online Site.” Make sure you set aside plenty of time to explore all of this fascinating and instructive site – you’ll be glad you did!

Managing Leadership continues its run, well into its fifth month, as a highlighted book on the popular and highly regarded bookstore for the leadership community, LeaderShop – stop by and check it out, now! And while you’re there, be sure to explore this suite of fascinating sites dedicated to leadership; see them all from the parent site, LeadershipNow.com.

New reviews and endorsements for Managing Leadership continue to come in. Stop by the website to learn more about important reviews and notices about the book coming up in the next two months. While you’re there, sign up for the new, revised newsletter so you won’t miss out on these developments as they occur.

As always, we are very appreciative of your visit to our site. We enjoy your feedback and hope to see you all regularly!

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