I don’t know whether it’s the state of our current presidency or the never-ending presidential nomination process, but I’m a victim of “leadership fatigue.” This is why whenever I pick up my mail these days to find yet another major tome on leadership written by a retiring boomer, espousing all the virtues of “command and control” leadership, I shuffle it right off to the “donate to library” pile.
I have a real problem with the idea that leaders have to fit a certain mold. Yep. Here in the U.S. we have a president who “fit the mold.” That worked out real well, huh? And now we have to listen to how a presidential candidate can’t be a woman, can’t be black, can’t be old, needs more experience, needs less experience, needs to keep his or her preacher, husband and/or staff under control. Needs to be more positive, needs to be more negative, needs to be . . .
The idea of fitting leaders into a preconceived notion of how they should be has always struck me as strange. If Sony or Apple had relied on focus groups and asked Joe and Jane Schmoe on Main Street how they wanted to listen to their music, we would never have had the Walkman or the iPod. How could we have known that’s what we wanted? And this is how I feel about leadership.
A leader should be someone with the ability to think differently–someone who can change a system that has become dysfunctional because he or she is not tied to the original system. Such a person might not know now exactly how he or she is going to change it, but I’d like to think we are a country where leaders are people with the will and insight to make changes where needed.
For me, it’s a bit like the difference between running a small business and being an entrepreneur. Right now we are a country run like a small business. The franchise exists, and we’ve been trying to find the right person who fits the franchise. An entrepreneur, on the other hand, looks at the current business model and changes things, brings efficiencies to an outdated system and challenges us to try new things.
So this week and next I’ll look at two books about presidents who did this. Were they the best presidents? That’s definitely open for debate. Were they the worst? Far from it. We’re arguably living that at the moment, which is why we’ve become a franchise operation desperately in need of a new business model and leadership plan.
While you may not agree with their politics, here’s the first of two books I think we need to consider for our business and for our country.
Written by John A. Barnes, John F. Kennedy on Leadership: The Lessons and Legacy of a President is a look back at how Kennedy changed the rules of the presidency to fit his persona and build his legacy. I read this book two years ago, but I’m still drawn to it. Maybe it’s because of my statements above. JFK didn’t ask what he could do for the U.S. franchise. Instead, he questioned whether the franchise was really doing it for us. (O.K., I’m no JFK when it comes to speech writing, but I just had to toss that in there.)
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that I always like learning a little history along with some business skills. The book takes us through the Kennedy years and shows how JFK changed the rules of compaigning, challenged tradition, turned weaknesses into strengths, worked positively with the media, wrote speeches that reached his audience and crafted a particular image. At the end of each chapter is a summary of lessons to be learned if you want to do the same.
A few of the takeaways that have stuck with me:
- Questioning the status quo: Progress is change, and no leader ever became great without breaking rules.
- Turning liabilities into pluses, making the best of miscalculations and misjudgments, and staying educable: There is value in mistakes, and there is always more to learn.
- Making decisions: Although you solicit and incorporate many viewpoints, know that the buck stops with you.
- Presenting an idealized view of what the future can be: Some may feel that “vision” is a tired concept, but properly crafted and communicated, it is a powerful motivator.
- Finding your own “Bobby”: In building your team, surround yourself with people who not only are trustworthy and competent but also who make your job easier.
- Being the coolest person in the room: In times of crisis, take the reins. Your people will be looking to you; give them confidence.
Top Shelf Bottom Line: Whether you are an entrepreneur, a business leader, politician or simply a deep thinker, there are some great leadership lessons here that transcend all styles.
Next week: John Adams.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.4 Responses to “Leadership Fatigue”
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May 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 am
I was on Yahoo and found your blog. Read a few of your other posts. Good work. I am looking forward to reading more from you in the future.
Tom Stanley
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Huh, that’s funny–I saw you post this same blog post months ago.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:28 am
http://www.franchiseinc.com/ebook/page2/index.html
a great book ur readers can use
May 5th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Good catch Bubba Gump — Doh! Let’s just say I had major fatigue of everything and missed that I had run a version of this review a few months ago. I have just been so inundated with leadership books lately, and the whole John Adams thing got me thinking about my favorite leadership book in a different way, that when I did a quick scan of my posts and didn’t find it, I was surprised. So I grabbed the rough draft I found of the review in a word doc and fixed it up. My apologies to readers for the repetition. Needless to say, I have just finished reading 2 new books and will be talking about John Adams next, so hopefully I’ll have no more “blogging fatigue.”
Diane