TO Dave at Dow Chemical.
I like your list of tacit leadership characteristics. Especially since I
see many of them in my own personality! BUT....
Even sharing and acting with these traits, my superior felt I failed in
one position I was placed into after a stint overseas. While I worked
from respect, brought considerable humor and demystification to a
tradition-bound department which had seen five managers in four years, I
was missing something, too.
I would observe that leadership in certain instances requires insightful
patience. Perhaps I moved to fast for the culture of the moment. It
seems MY manager did not fully understand the scope of my immediate and
long-term tasks in the department.
Whatever the reasons, I failed in his opinion, and was moved into a
position where I martialed many of my talents to co-lead my company
through a successful ISO 9001 implementation.
A successful leader, then, also needs an eye for the big picture. While
that sounds like the cliche it is, I'm afraid it's also a truism. Unless
you can discern the broader environment THROUGH which you must lead, you
may get stuck in a hierarchical labyrinth without the critical ball of
thread. Am I skirting an issue mired in the concept of politics? Alas,
perhaps. I think power (politics) is as central to organizational process
as anything; and we integrate it into our conversations less than other
facets of LO, because it's so fraught with...with...with what?
-- Barry Mallis Total Quality Resource Manager MARKEM Corp. Keene NH 03431 bmallis@markem.com