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Category Archives: Managing Leadership

Book Review: The Search for Leadership

Monday, July 20, 2009

Books on individual leadership, rather amazingly, continue to come out, and continue to promise great things from the superlative leaders their secrets will help readers become. What they also all do, though, is assume that there is no controversy regarding the location of leadership: it is in individuals, and emanates from them into the organizations which they grace with their presence. Indeed, many of these observers go so far as to say that the organization exists to give expression to the leader’s leadership – or, at least, must reform itself around the unique ways each leader exhibits that leadership. William Tate, a consultant in the United Kingdom with a strong background as a senior manager, offers some long-overdue questions about these assumptions in his new book . . .

Misleading leadership

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

When you are in charge, however imposing your principle duties may seem, the most difficult problem you face is often the struggle to maintain perspective. That is, to remain focused on those duties, rather than to allow the hopes pinned on their accomplishment to deteriorate into hopes abjectly pinned on you . . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership | | Comments (4)

Business Evolution

Monday, March 9, 2009

Many of us have a tendency to anthropomorphize the concept of evolution. We think of it as animated by a sort of ingrained competitive instinct, or, perhaps, straining toward a pure standard of excellence, a state of perfection. But the truth is . . .

Also filed in Change, Culture, Design, Management | | Comments (3)

Delegating leadership

Friday, February 20, 2009

One of the problems with the word “leadership” is that it is pretty slippery. You can define it to mean whatever you wish to emphasize, under whatever circumstances you face, at any given moment. So, let’s just consider the two basic categories into which definitions of leadership, or its presumed components, tend to fall . . .

Also filed in Decision-making, Delegation, Management Skills | | Comments (6)

Unenlightening assumptions

Friday, October 24, 2008

There has been a lot of talk lately about liberal and conservative personalities. A political analysis of the presidential race in the United States recently offered a map of the political cultures of whole states. How useful is that? And on what basis do they draw their conclusions – whether about individuals or states?

Also filed in Culture, Personal Observations | | Comments (6)

Clarifying leadership

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The most sensible thing Peter Drucker ever said about leadership is this: “Leadership is all hype. We’ve had three great leaders in this century – Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.” He was right. Those guys had it all . . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Organizational Leadership | | Comments (5)

Comprehending leadership

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

One of the problems with traditional views of leadership is the tendency to confuse other characteristics with it. A common way we do this is by becoming so impressed by the seemingly powerful presence of one or another trait presumptively indicative of leadership as to uncritically assume that there is more behind it than there may actually be – sometimes even simply equating it with leadership, itself. . .