“Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

Benjamin Franklin, on humility.

It is universally agreed that leadership is the single most influential determinant of the success of any organization. On the other hand, it is also agreed that our business, government, and educational institutions continue to perform in ways that are less than satisfactory. Taken together, these two facts raise serious questions about why the leadership needs of our society are not being met. 

It’s not that the problem hasn’t been addressed— books, articles, seminars, and training programs on the subject abound. Leadership development is a multi-billion dollar business, and yet the dysfunctions that plague the institutions on which our democracy so depends on persist. Like many, I find this state of affairs troubling and worthy of serious examination. Let’s start with a look at the efforts to promote leadership development.

No shortage of research on the subject

Over the past century there has been a virtual explosion of activity aimed at unearthing information that would help understand and promote leadership development. Private business, government, and educational institutions have all been involved, often in collaboration with one another. The result has been an avalanche of theoretical models, statistical information, and developmental programs designed to address the issue, and assure a steady stream of high quality leaders for the future. Why, despite so much attention directed to the problem, do our deficiencies in this area persist?

Leadership is often confused with management

One reason that is, that it is now understood, that “leadership” and “management” are best viewed as two distinct domains. The terms are often used interchangeably, but it pays to distinguish them as two separate functions within an organization. Experts on success in business, such as Warren Bennis and Peter Drucker, have frequently warned us that many organizations under-perform because they are well managed, but poorly led. Organizations that consciously acknowledge and act on this distinction fare much better than those that ignore it, so more careful attention needs to be given to equating these two functions.

What distinguishes leadership from management?

Management involves keeping order and systematically regulating resources by manipulating them, and herein lies part of our problem. Management is best applied to inanimate resources, such as money, materials, and information— things that have no capacity for independent thought or emotional reactions. It is an essential function, but should not be confused with leadership.

Dealing with people in this fashion may work in the short run, but generates serious problems down the road. Why? Because where people are concerned, issues associated with dignity, enthusiasm, commitment, and creativity inevitably arise. If your competition is actively addressing the human side of its operations and you aren’t, you’ll eventually find your organization falling behind in productivity and market share.

Leadership involves inspiring people to be the best they can be, rather than simply regulating their activities. Being a visionary and having a great strategic plan is a good start, but actively engaging each and every employee in its implementation is an essential next step.

One way to accomplish this is to seek their input into its development, by inquiring how you can help them to do their jobs better. Surveys of employees consistently tell us that many of them say that they could be more productive if circumstances would allow, but feel stifled by policies and procedures that appear contradictory and counterproductive. If you use their input to find ways that you can help them, it will be to your benefit as well as theirs.

Cultivating a genuine spirit of service

Another way of inspiring employees is by exemplifying the attitudes and approaches to work that you expect from them. Modeling is an incredibly powerful tool that costs little to deploy. Pitching in at times and working alongside employees indicates that their roles in your organization are important while suggesting that they are partners rather than underlings. It also gives you a sense of the obstacles that your subordinates face, which you may very well be able to do something about.

Why do ineffective practices persist?

Many people in key positions count on their formal authority or “position power” as their primary source of influence over others. Those who operate in this manner are often simply unaware that they are being insensitive and then are mystified when they get less than enthusiastic responses from those that they attempt to lead. They therefore conclude that problem lies in their subordinates and little can be done other than attempting to regulate them even more.

Elevate your own level of self-awareness

Successful leaders generally display high levels of self-awareness, coupled with a strong sense of timeless principles such as fairness, reciprocity, and honesty. Long-term organizational guru Stephen R. Covey emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, as does Daniel Goleman, whose work on “emotional intelligence” (EQ) is revolutionizing organizations.

Leadership development

Truly effective leadership requires levels of self-knowledge and adherence to ethical principles that are unusually well developed— most of us are heirs to human limitations that have plagued our species since the dawn of history. The best leaders are those who take special steps to guard against their own potentials for egotism, defensiveness, and self-centeredness. While nobody’s perfect, we can all improve to the extent that we really want to.

This suggests a very clear approach to leadership development— understanding one’s own strengths and shortcomings first, and then very consciously applying that knowledge in a program of personal growth. The tools for accomplishing both of these ends exist, for those who would take advantage of them.

My company (Redwood Enterprises) partners with Innermetrix, an assessment firm based in Tequesta, Florida that specializes in business-related assessments that provide professionals with profiles of areas of function in which they are more and less masterful. The purpose of this is to help professionals to maximize their self-awareness.

After this we then work out a plan for professional growth that is tailored to their needs and areas in which they wish to grow. It’s an approach that is successfully being applied by thousands of executives to improve the performance of their organizations by first improving themselves. When implemented properly, it works.   

Humility and authenticity

To use self-awareness constructively, one must have a genuine desire to grow and improve. This means putting urges to hold the self in high esteem aside and doing some serious soul searching. Unfortunately, we’re embedded in a popular culture that suggests the opposite, leading people to “fake it ‘til they make it.” This is a dangerous philosophy in that it can encourage self-deception and arrogance, both of which are destructive to human relations and to organizations. 

Authenticity and genuineness are rooted in timeless ethical principles that do not change with fads, fashions, and technology. Experts on leadership warn us that being an effective leader invariably requires a dedication to continuous personal growth.

Character:  The great intangible commodity

Research has shown that technical knowledge and skills alone are not sufficient for successful leadership, nor are sheer drive, determination, and force of will. However, when these are coupled with self-awareness, genuineness, and principles, they predict levels of success that can be astonishing.

These principles of effective leadership have been illuminated by recent research in the social and organizational sciences, but they certainly didn’t originate there. The importance of ethics and virtues has been a central issue in proverbs, fables, and the Bible, all of which have preceded the results of recent research. It used to be called wisdom.

Rooted in faith

While our human frailties, expressed in acts of greed, exploitation, and petty politics often obscure the basic virtues, we’re all at our best when we acknowledge and implement those virtues on a daily basis. One fact that surfaces repeatedly is that successful leadership, the kind that leaves a legacy that is genuinely respected, is more often than not associated with a belief in a benevolent Creator. 

The founders of our country exemplified and expressed the importance of faith, ethics, and virtues as they conceived and crafted the Constitution. In our “postmodern” world, which places a high value on moral and social relativism (i.e., treating radically differing values and perspectives as equally valid), there is no clear place for timeless wisdom or virtues.

Reexamining education

Our educational system, which emphasizes this postmodernism, needs a serious reexamination. We count on public education as a vehicle for developing the kind of leadership that we need to sustain our democracy. Its current emphasis on unbridled social relativism is undermining the very value system that brought it into being. If we are to develop the kinds of leadership that we need to sustain our democratic institutions, we’ll need to take a serious look at getting back to basics.

Perhaps business leaders need to take a more active role in affecting public education. As it is, few employers are particularly satisfied with how it is preparing young people for the workforce, as our institutions have elevated self-esteem and personal preferences above the appreciation of ethics and virtues. It’s time for a bold new direction—one that will take us back to the future.