Leading People from the Middle

In the summer of 2000, we sent our kids—ages 22, 19, and 16— to Europe for a summer. One night I received a call from them informing me that they had left Budapest so that they could arrive in Prague early the next morning, which, apparently, is the best time to get into a youth hostel or a “no-star” hotel. For a month they finessed their way across Southern and Eastern Europe, communicating with us daily through whatever technological device was cheapest. Working the technology system is like riding a bike for these kids. During their trip I ran into a high-school senior who said, “Hey Bill, I got a call on my cell phone yesterday. It was your Ben, calling from Barcelona.” He can act like a big shot for 50 cents. Managing the cultures didn’t pose too many problems for our young travelers either. They are sensitive and fearless. Borders, boundaries and distance function as details of minor consequence for their generation. So, why did we send our kids to Europe with only Eurorail passes, a very loose itinerary, and one rule—communicate with us somehow everyday? One reason was to help them develop 21st century navigational tools. They are citizens of a very different world than the 20th century one that their parents understand. In 1999 Thomas Friedman claimed that globalization and technology have ushered in an era in which “The world is 10 years old” (The Lexus and the Nexus Anchor Books, 1999). Five years later (age 15 for the world) his book The World is Flat (Farrar, Staus and Giroux, 2005) describes an astonishing level of global parity that technology and geopolitics are bringing us at a breathtaking pace. Organizations big and small in the 21st century will differ in a host of ways from their ancestors, but I suspect no changes will rival the magnitude of impact caused by globalization and technology. Leadership needs will inevitably undergo changes as direct and indirect forces of globalization and technology bend the old organizational rules. This claim is not exactly a news flash, but not everyone knows how to respond. As a rule, you can get kicked just as hard by overreacting to technology changes as you can by being late. I heard about a university library that, in the early ‘80s, crowned microfiche as the technology of the 21st century, then dropped several million on a massive conversion. Oops. Over the course of the 20th century, scholars asked four fundamental questions as they saw leadership move from the big office on the top floor to every person in the organization. Their questions are still worth asking. • What are the traits found in the most successful leaders? • What leadership styles seem to be most effective • Are there situations in which some styles work better than others • What kind of leadership can transform an organizational culture into one in which every person exercises leadership? The 21st century Organization The structure and culture of most large organizations changed dramatically in the 20th century. And, not surprisingly, these shifts ran parallel to the changes that took place in 20th century leadership styles. Both decentralized. Organizational structure and leadership moved decision-making closer to the customer. It is impossible to understand the last century’s sea changes in leadership without seeing them in the context of big shifts in organizational structure. Chapter one traces the most fundamental 20th century change in the relationship between a company’s corporate center and the points at which goods and services are delivered. Essential 21st century Leadership Qualities I have identified six qualities that I believe will empower the person who leads any organization through the first part of this century. The most effective leadership in the new century will be: • Paradoxical: The nimble leader who knows when to tote the lunch pail and when to lift the scepter, the leader who moves humbly among all people until it is time to step forward with unshakeable confidence, rallying the people with a simple, “Let’s roll.” • Secure: Leaders who delight so much in the accomplishments of others that they barely notice their own strong role in the success; leaders whose selflessness energizes all those around them. • Communicative: Leaders who realize that silence is more deadly than it is golden, that good decisions come from good information and that “no information” speaks volumes. • Inspiring: Leaders who find their way to the sanctuary of our souls; leaders who can knit heart and mind into a compelling mandate. • Virtuous: Leaders whose uncompromising goodness quietly beckons the most valuable gift that any follower gives to any leader – trust. • Driven and Rhythmic: Leaders with the capacity to find their highest productivity groove, the flow of life and work in which currents work together toward personal and professional fulfillment.