Leading quietly

Another way...leading quietly

In his view of 'leadership', Joseph Badaracco says that 'it is more than a set of highly pragmatic tactics. It is a way of thinking about people, organisations, and effective action. It is a way of understanding the flow of events and discerning the best ways to make a difference.

Joseph Badaracco writes, "Every profession and walk of life has its great figures, leaders, and heroes. Think of the men and women who create or transform major companies, the political leaders who reshape society, the firefighters who risk their lives to save others. We exalt these individuals as role models and celebrate their achievements. They represent, we feel, the true model of leadership."

"But do they really? I ask this because, over the course of a career spent studying management and leadership, I have observed that the most effective leaders are rarely public heroes. These men and women aren't high-profile champions of causes, and don't want to be. They don't spearhead ethical crusades. They move patiently, carefully, and incrementally. They do what is right—for their organisations, for the people around them, and for themselves— inconspicuously and without casualties."

"I have come to call these people quiet leaders because their modesty and restraint are in large measure responsible for their impressive achievements. And since many big problems can only be resolved by a long series of small efforts, quiet leadership, despite its seemingly slow pace, often turns out to be the quickest way to make an organisation—and the world—a better place...."

"My understanding of this approach to leadership emerged after I carefully examined scores of situations in which someone, typically a manager in an organisation, faced a difficult ethical challenge and solved it in a practical, responsible way. I found that in these situations, individuals rarely took bold, courageous steps. They didn't articulate values and inspire a large number of people to follow them. They had little interest in self-sacrifice. Often, they weren't even sure how to ... get a handle on the problem in front of them."

"As individuals, these men and women were modest and unassuming, sceptical or shrewdly realistic, and had a healthy sense of their own self-interest. They weren't charismatic, had little power, and didn't see themselves as leaders in the conventional sense. Their idea of action was working behind the scenes—patiently, carefully, and prudently...."

"Quiet leaders understand that some situations require direct, forceful, courageous action, and a few even call for heroism. Hence, it is critical to have a sense of when and how these tools should be used and to understand their limits and risks."

"In general, however, quiet leaders see their approach as the most useful way to deal with difficult problems that come their way. They view strong measures and heroism as a last resort, not the first choice or the standard model. This is why Navy fliers, the brave men and women who land streaking jets on aircraft carriers, are told in training that `there are no old, bold pilots.' In other words, preparation, caution, care, and attention to detail are usually the best approach to everyday challenges..."

"Put differently, quiet leadership is more than a set of highly pragmatic tactics. It is a way of thinking about people, organisations, and effective action. It is a way of understanding the flow of events and discerning the best ways to make a difference. And, in a small way, quiet leadership is also an act of faith: an expression of confidence in the ultimate force of what [Albert] Schweitzer called 'small and obscure deeds.' In fact, this implicit faith is something quiet leaders share with great leaders and heroes—most of whom worked quietly and patiently, for years or decades, laying the groundwork for their celebrated achievements."

In my view, Badaracco's position is better thought of as excellent management because the many concepts of 'leadership' as they are understood and applied in organisation theory today are largely flawed. Our efforts would be better spent on continuing to clarify 'management' rather than continuing with the vagueness of 'leadership'. The individual manager (leader??) as the total unit of analysis is not really going to assist organisational performance or management practice in the long run. What about the employees, followers and antagonists? For more on this see The mystery of "leadership" from a previous edition of Headway.

Extracts from: Leading Quietly, Joseph L. Badaracco, Jnr., Harvard Business School Press, 2002

Fear of failure and short-term results dominate motivation of Australian managers

Australian managers are more concerned with covering their backsides than looking after their companies, according to a study of 35,000 managers in Australia and New Zealand. Their leadership style is oriented towards fear of failure and denial of responsibility rather than pursuing the company's goals and developing good staff relations. Also, there is little succession planning, leaving companies without a long-term focus and direction.

The damning report was conducted by the organisational development

company Human Synergists International (HSI).

HSI director Quentin Jones says the study identified two distinct styles of leadership: "avoidance", characterised by fear of engagement, withdrawal from taking responsibility and a preference to defer decision-making; and "conventional", characterised by dealing with situations and people aggressively—finding fault, seeking to control and competing against others. Neither is associated with achieving good results. (Extract The Age, 26/4/03, My Career, Kate Farrelty)


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