On Followership

We can agree that improving leadership will improve results; that is why it is important to study leadership.  “The flip side of leadership is followership.  It stands to reason that if leadership is important to performance, followership must have something to do with it too” (McCallum, 2013, para. 2).  Frankly leaders cannot lead without followers; they need each other.  But the comparative lack of study in this area points to the over emphasis of leadership I talked about in my first post.

Final Discussion Question from Ethics Leadership and Democracy, Brandman University: Definition of Ethics

Q: Now that you've sat through eight weeks of discussion, explain your definition of "ethics." This should be a more substantial definition than “doing the right thing”. Has it changed at all? What ethical perspective or principles do you most closely align with, e.g. Utilitarianism: Greatest good for the greatest number. Why?

A: In all honesty, I cannot say my definition has changed. I still believe that ethics are applying the standards of right and wrong to our actions. I will say that I see now that I identify most with Utilitarianism when making personal decisions, and when making decisions related to broader social questions like public policy and how I will vote, I tend to follow Rawls Justice as Fairness precepts (Johnson, 2012, p. 20-29). I still look to my values of compassion, integrity, service, and excellence as touchstones for my decisions. Of course the legal and moral frameworks inform and guide.

Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

The commercial tells us life is messy.  More than that it can be destructive.  For centuries philosophers, statesmen and clergy have sought to give us theories to handle the vagaries of life with certainty.  But they suffer from not being encompassing, and worse they are generally sterile thought experiments that do not work in the real world.

Joseph Badaracco wrote this book to provide managers practical guidance for making decisions when the courses of action are all the right thing to do within competing values.  He argues that these right versus right decisions are not well addressed by what he calls the “standard answers” of “follow the law, serve the shareholders, consult the company credo, do the right thing…” (Badaracco, 1997, p. ix).

My Most Valuable Leadership Lesson

It has been way too long since I posted.  I must do better.

Many of you know that I am a retired US Air Force Reservist, having made the rank of Lt Col.  I did not get there on my own.  A lot of great people helped me on the way.  Officers in the military are the managers and executives who decide direction, and strategy.  It is a lot of authority, because lives are at stake.  But there is a difference between "acting in charge" and "being in charge."  Thankfully in ROTC, I was taught that a brand new second lieutenant will fail by acting in charge of enlisted folk who have more experience.

That was the major take-away from ROTC.  Sure we spent many hours discussing leadership, management, organizational theory, command responsibility, supervision, force employment.  A lot of us felt our oats when we pinned on.  But we also were warned and humbled to know our place and respect the enlisted folks who could also mentor us.

People-Centered Model of Business

By: Ramla Akhtar, CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

I have mentioned the work of Dr. Fernando Flores many times before in this blog. I also keep an eye out for other authors that speak on similar topics to gauge how Fernando’s work is influencing the broader conversation.  Recently I thought I had stumbled on something that was evidence of this influence. A paper entitled Why Do We Do Business? Introducing PC MOB – The People-Centered Model of Business, by Ramla Akhtar.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. The paper was posted in her blog on 6 May 2006. What disappoints me is there seems to be no further development of this model. Ms. Akhtar calls it a first draft, and invites comments and suggestions. I wish there was more, because this has potential. As it stands, there is a lot missing.

Building Trust

Image: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot

Trust in the workplace has been a hot topic for some time. At some level, we all know what it means to trust, and that trust is important. We have also seen the ‘fall back, I will catch you’ exercise for building trust in teams (usually on a sitcom where the catcher is distracted at the last second creating a predictable laugh-track moment). We can recognize when trust is lacking: micromanagement, not wanting to bring up bad news for fear of reprisal, overly burdensome red tape, etc.

Ignore Culture at Your Peril

Image: jscreationzs

Edgar Schein, MIT Professor of Management and author of Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View, contends that many of the problems confronting leaders can be traced to their inability to analyze and evaluate organizational cultures.  Attempts to create a new vision, or make wholesale organizational changes, fail because they run counter to the culture.  Major changes must at least address culture, and they may even require work to change the culture.