The Georgia Scroll
April 1999
On Leadership
By: Gordon Sherman
Leadership,not management, makes the primary difference in all successful organizations,
be they large, middle size, small, government, non-government, public, private, non-profit
or for profit. Having said that, why is it so? Is it an opinion, theory or fact? It
is a fact borne out by much practical experience, not lonely in the workplace, but in the
military, government, corporations, athletic teams and even in street gangs.
Over the years in our technical, organizational and business society and culture, we have
developed a highly precise and defined management profession. Management purportedly is
based on a power ethic that is intended to insure competence, control and balance of power
among units/groups that compete, and may even develop rivalry. However, while pushing for
the ultimate in results, this focus can tend to cause individuals in the unit/group to
compromise integrity to achieve certain outcomes not conducive to the betterment of
service/benefit/product to be produced and delivered. Consequently, ultimate customer
benefit/service is, or could be, adversely affected.
Contrasting the management approach with leadership, simple definitions proscribe that
"…managers do things right" and…" leaders do the right
thing." Managers come more from the control point of view, by the book/numbers
route, which stymies creativity, imagination and many times teamwork. Such leads to an
overly bureaucratic organization, wherein employees do not feel good about themselves or
their work activities.
In today's society/culture, leadership is more important than
managerial or technical qualifications. While I do not downplay the need for both
managerial and technical expertness, leadership is more important and is required at all
levels. Most of the problems arising in companies, business and government at all levels
today is not technical or managerial; it involves problems of leadership affecting human
capital. Leaders can not, and do not, sit around and wait for someone to tell them what to
do, or what they want, or wait for their supervisors to do their thing. A leader will step
out and be creative, imaginative and say to others, "Follow Me!" This moves the
business unit/organization to something you see way down the road versus just
concentrating on today's issue(s) and/or problems.
But, in order to lead, there are certain principles practiced by all good leaders, at any
level, or with whatever personal style they may have. They can be defined and explained in
many different ways, but here is how I do it:
Commitment: Undivided attention to purpose. Almost a fixation. This is no half-hearted emphasis. It is all meaningful and guides the leader and the group in every attribute. Coupled with competence, concern and care, it moves the unit towards success.
Vision: The leaders know where he/she is going. There is no question about where he/she wants to be - - no wavering.
Inspiration: A leader inspires others to self-motivation to achieve;
refusing to
lose. Such is contagious. Moreover, it includes the capacity to stimulate individuals and
groups to participate and share fully work and ideas toward common goals and objectives.
Continual Learning: A leader never stops learning from
all experience. We must have
And build a "smarter workforce". As Thomas A. Stewart notes in the 3/17/97
Fortune Magazine, "[This is] the age of intellectual capital, and the most valuable
parts of jobs are the human tasks: sensing, judging, creating, building relationships.
Human capital grows two ways: when the organization uses more of what people know and when
more people know more stuff that is useful to the organization".
As General Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "I'll tell you what
leadership is. It is persuasion and conciliation - - and education - - and patience".
Well, what does all this mean to corporate America? It means that all employees need to be
committed; have a full understanding of the business' vision; be inspirational,
self-motivated and practice continual learning.. Through these principles, each and
everyone can be a leader, a knowledgeworker, participating together to grow and develop,
not only themselves individually, but the company as a whole into an outstandingly
successful operation.
When all is said and done, the real thinking that counts for individuals and organizations
is how people are treated. So, if you will take time to think and reflect on this,
practice these principles daily, you and the company will achieve much greater success.
Such is not hard to do, but it takes tenacious practice. And as Peter Block stated in The
Future of Workplace Learning and Performance, Training and Development (May 1994),
"Learning and performing will become one and the same thing. Everything you say about
learning will be about performance. People will get the point that learning is
everything". Which, it is! Remember leaders do the right thing. Try this
prescription. If you do, I think you will find success for yourself and the company. But
you will have to practice diligently and with commitment. Good luck!
Gordon Sherman, former Social Security Regional Commissioner, 1975-1999: currently
Principal in TheSherman Group, Leadership Management and Financial Consultations; and
Director of several public and private non-profit and for profit entities.
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Last modified: June 22, 2001