By Ric Shriver
I read recently that in 2023 there were over 1200 books about leadership published, each one I am sure conveying valuable opinions and perspectives on the topic. An overwhelmed reader might find themselves thoroughly confused and undecided about which books to read, which postulates to embrace, and what tactics might be applicable to their respective leadership roles.
In essence, leadership reflects the ability of an individual to, through the exercise of influence, set clear expectations, create alignment, and ensure successful business outcomes. Sounds simple, right? It is not, and I believe one of the key reasons it is often difficult to lead is due to the lack of a solid management foundation and structure.
I learned many years ago in my undergraduate business management curriculum that management consisted of four key elements: evaluation, planning, organizing, and controlling.
- A good manager understands what must be evaluated, internally and externally.
- They understand what must be planned for based on the careful evaluation of the internal and external environment.
- They must organize their resources to ensure the most efficient and effective delivery of results focused on service, quality, and value to the customer or client.
- In the process of organizing the resources within their organizations, they must control how those resources are used to ensure the desired successful outcomes.
In the structure described in this paragraph, they must be able to tap into their ability to clarify a vision, set clear expectations, monitor and align assigned resources, and continuously ensure flawless outcomes. This latter accountability reflects what leadership is all about.
But what I have found is that many organizations, and many leaders, dislike focusing on the management needed to support a successful business. The topic of leadership, and the many derivations therein, creates a much greater fascination for many leaders who disdain the discipline and rigor required for effective management and supporting structures.
Management is often perceived as not sexy, not stimulating, not thought provoking or inspiring. It is much more fun to have never-ending discussions about transformational leadership practices, emotional intelligence, mastery of change, endless descriptions of leadership styles, and micro-aggression!
This predisposition to the “soft” side of our business responsibilities has been further fueled by the “leadership intellectuals” and gurus who consistently produce books and journals focused on the latest fads occupying the agendas of the multitude of conferences organized throughout the nation, most of which thrive on entertaining and colorful presentations and displays designed to further confuse leaders in every discipline while producing little positive impact.
Jeff and I had the opportunity to work with an “old school” leader during the genesis of the high-tech revolution. His name was Dr. William Thomason. Dr. Thomason held a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from a prestigious South Central U.S. University, but his philosophies and beliefs stayed very much “down-to earth.”
One of his foundational manuscripts was The Anatomy of an Enterprise. In that document, Dr. Thomason laid out the following fundamental ingredients that needed to be in place in order for an enterprise to be successful:
1) A well-defined purpose or mission.
2) Well-structured and clear goals and objectives in support of the purpose.
3) Objective processes and practices to regularly and clearly define the opportunities existing in the market(s) served by the enterprise.
4) Well-structured and efficient business processes to consistently produce the desired service, quality, and value outcomes desired by the target markets.
5) A well-organized structure for the needed resources to properly support the core business processes.
6) Strong and logical financial budgeting and planning for both capital and operational expenditures, both of which ensured a focus on profitability and growth.
7) A clear understanding and rigor for ensuring regulatory compliance based on the unique operating environment(s) of the enterprise.
8) And finally, strong and effective internal and external communication capabilities to ensure ongoing alignment of resources and processes internally and a positive external image of the enterprise.
Dr. Thomason also purported that good managers within an enterprise would have well-established principles supporting effective delegation, well-defined responsibilities, accountability, and boundaries for authority.
The Anatomy of an Enterprise had little to say about emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, micro-aggression, leadership styles, or dynamic change management practices. That is most likely why most leaders never heard of The Anatomy of an Enterprise.
My belief is that effective and transformative leadership cannot happen without the structure and discipline outlined in Dr. Thomason’s manuscript. Without that structure, the multitude of soft leadership skills “best practices” are worthless.
I often perceive many of the espoused “best leadership practices” to be nothing more than “shiny objects” designed to capture the attention of inquiring minds. What the focus on these “shiny objects” has done is to create a multi-billion-dollar industry which has done very little to enhance and reinforce strong business enterprises throughout the industrialized world.
In our book, Leadership Whack-A-Mole, Jeff and I have outlined in each chapter some of the foundational management structures and disciplines that can support effective leadership best practices that are aligned with the mission, vision, and values of the companies leaders thrive in.
By reinforcing the need for structure and discipline within the organization, leaders can expend more energy interacting with the members of their respective teams and with their customers. It is that interaction with the team and customers that reflects the essence of leadership and enables the enterprise to realize successful outcomes in an adaptive and holistic fashion.
