--l-_ �

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS

( 1989, 2003)

As we survey the path leadership theory hos token, we spot the

wreckage of "trait theory," the "great man" theory, and the "situa­

I
tionist" critique, leadership styles, functional leadership, and, finally,
leaderless leadership, to soy nothing of bureaucratic leadership,

I
charismatic leadership, group-centered leadership, reality-centered

I
leadership, leadership by objective, and so on. The dialectic and
reversals of emphases in this creo very nearly rival the tortuous twists
and turns of child-rearing practices, and one can paraphrase
Gertrude Stein by saying, "a leader is a follower is a leader."

--Administrative Science Quarterly

,EADERS COME IN EVERY SIZE_, shape, and disposition-short, tall, neat,

loppy, young, old, male, and f<;male . Nevertheless, they all seem to share
ome, if not all, of the following ingredients:

o The first basic ingredient of leadership is a guiding vision. The leader

has a clear idea of what he or she wants to do-professionally and
personally-and the strength to persist in the face of setbacks, even
failures. Unless you know where you're going, and why, you cannot
possibly get there. That guiding purpose, that vision, was well illus­
trated by Norman Lear.

["his work originally appeared in On Becoming a Leader (Addison-Wesley, 1989.).

rhis version is from the revised edition ('Basic Books, 2003).
Clinton has the talent and the drive co do so. Whether he has the requi­
site integrity-a quality th_at transcends tradition<1l notions of propriety­
remains co be seen.
President George W. Bush is another work in progress. He took office
without a clear·public mandate and was soon faced with the unprece­
dented events of 9/11. He proved to be a better crisis manager than his
critics dre.amed possible. Bue a year later, he was championing a war with
Iraq that a significant minority opposed and the United States had slipped
into the worst recession since the Carter administration. Put in Shake­
spearean terms, it was not yet cleai; in 2002, whether America's fun-lov­
ing, Texas-style Prince Hal would evolve into an American Henry V.
Like Clinton, "W." represents a new generation of leaders, whose cn1-
cible was not World War II, but the more ambiguous proving ground of
the 1960s and early '70s, with their sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and mistrust
of traditional authority. No one yet knows who the great leaders of that
generation will be, or the distinctive leadership styles they will create,
given their era and its distinctive values.
The Greeks believed that excellence was based on ?- perfect balance of
cros and logos, or feeling and thought, which together allow us to under­
stand the world on all levels, from "the concrete contemplation of the
complete facts." True understanding derives from engagement and from
the full deployment of ourselves. As John Gardner once said, talent is one
thing, while its triumphant expression is another. Only when we are fully
deployed are we capable of that triumphant expression. Full deployment,
engagement, hone and sharpen. all of one's gifts, and ensure that one will
be an original, not a copy.

Leaders, Not Managers

I tend to chink of the differences between leaders and managers as the dif­
ferences between those who master the context and those who surrender to
it. There are other differences, as well, and they are enormous and crucial:
o The manager administers; the leader innovates.
o The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
o The manager maintains; the leader develops.
o The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses
on people.
o The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
o The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range
perspective.
 o The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
o The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the
leader's eye is on the horizon.
o The manager imitates; the leader originates.
o The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
o The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her
own person.
o The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

To reprise Wallace Stevens, managers wear square hats and learn through
training. Leaders wear sombreros and opt for education. Consider the dif­
ferences between training and education:

EDUCATION TRAINING
inductive deductive
tentative firm
dynamic static

understanding memorizing
ideas facts
broad narrow
deep surface
:ci;t

experiential rote
active passive
questions answers
process content
strategy tactics

alternatives goal
exploration prediction
discovery dogma
active reactive

injciative direction
whole brain left brain