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Phoenix Leadership for
Business
An Executive’s Strategy for
Relevance and Resilience
Phoenix Leadership for
Business
An Executive’s Strategy for
Relevance and Resilience

By
Val Gokenbach, DM, RN, MBA, RWJF, NEA‑BC
Foreword by Dr. Jean Ann Larson, FACHE, LFHIMSS, FIISE, OCC

A PRODUC TIVIT Y PRESS BOOK


First edition published in 2019
by Routledge/Productivity Press
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK

© 2019 by Val Gokenbach


Routledge/Productivity Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Printed on acid-free paper

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-54261-7 (Hardback)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been
made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the valid-
ity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright
holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this
form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we
may rectify in any future reprint.

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Trademark Notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gokenbach, Valentina, author.


Title: Phoenix leadership for business : an executive’s strategy for
relevance and resilience / Valentina Gokenbach.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York : Taylor & Francis, [2019] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018031771 (print) | LCCN 2018035045 (ebook) | ISBN
9781351008327 (e-Book) | ISBN 9781138542617 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Interpersonal relations. | Self-confidence. | Personnel management.
Classification: LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | LCC HD57.7 .G645 2019 (print) | DDC 658.4/092–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018031771

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at


http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
No successful leader excels on their own, but rather with the
support and coaching of caring mentors. I have had many mentors
throughout my career who have helped me grow and succeed.
I dedicate this book to all of my amazing mentors. I love and
appreciate you all for helping me get to where I am now.
Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................... xv
Author .......................................................................................................xix
1 Status of Organizational Leadership in the United States............1
Leadership: An Awesome Responsibility....................................................1
Concept of a Plane Crash............................................................................2
Leadership Is the Answer to Quality, Safety and Effectiveness.................3
Are Leaders Born or Made?.........................................................................5
Difference between Leadership and Management.....................................5
Evolution of Leadership Theory..................................................................6
Industrial Revolution................................................................................6
Human Resource Era...............................................................................7
Leadership Approaches................................................................................7
Autocratic/Authoritarian...........................................................................7
Democratic/Egalitarian............................................................................8
Transactional............................................................................................8
Contingency Theory................................................................................9
Followership.............................................................................................9
Servant....................................................................................................10
Coaching.................................................................................................10
Transformational....................................................................................11
Organizational and Personal Effects of Ineffective Leadership................12
Causes of Ineffective Leadership...............................................................13
Inexperience...........................................................................................13
Lack of Knowledge of Self.....................................................................13
Complacency..........................................................................................13
Resistance to Change.............................................................................14
Ego Issues...............................................................................................14
Inability to Communicate a Vision........................................................14

vii
viii ◾ Contents

Ineffective Responses to Challenges.....................................................14


Inability to Read the Political Landscape.............................................. 15
Case for the Phoenix Leader..................................................................... 15
Application to Practice...............................................................................16
2 The Phoenix Leader.................................................................... 17
Story of the Phoenix..................................................................................17
Classic Arabian Phoenix........................................................................18
The Bennu..............................................................................................18
Fenghuang..............................................................................................18
Hou-Ou..................................................................................................18
Native American Thunderbird...............................................................19
Characteristics of the Phoenix...................................................................19
Attributes of the Phoenix Leader..............................................................19
Strong Sense of Self...............................................................................19
Effective Interpersonal Relationships....................................................20
Ability to Build an Empowered Workforce...........................................20
Innovative...............................................................................................20
Resilience................................................................................................20
Reason for becoming a Phoenix Leader...................................................21
Relevance................................................................................................22
Resilience................................................................................................22
Personal Growth and Success................................................................23
Contribution to Great Work...................................................................23
3 Attributes of the Phoenix Leader, a Strong Sense of Self..........25
Values.........................................................................................................25
Where Do Values Come From?..................................................................26
Alignment of Values and Behaviors..........................................................27
Finding Your Personal Values: An Exercise..............................................28
Values-Based Leadership...........................................................................30
Authenticity Defined..................................................................................30
Hollis’s 10 Steps to Authenticity................................................................31
Authentic Leadership.................................................................................33
All about Ego.............................................................................................34
Ego Defined............................................................................................34
Superego.................................................................................................34
Id.............................................................................................................34
Ego..........................................................................................................35
Contents  ◾ ix

Ego as the Enemy......................................................................................36


Common Ego Traps to Avoid....................................................................36
Application to Practice...............................................................................38

4 Attributes of the Phoenix Leader: Effective Interpersonal


Relationships..............................................................................41
Emotional Intelligence Defined.................................................................41
The Story of Nikki.................................................................................42
Emotional Intelligence, the Science...........................................................44
First Brain...............................................................................................44
Emotional Brain.....................................................................................44
Rational Brain.........................................................................................45
Value to Leadership...................................................................................45
Emotional Intelligence and the Phoenix Leader.......................................46
Social Intelligence Defined........................................................................46
Social Intelligence, the Science..................................................................46
Value to Leadership...................................................................................48
Social Intelligence and the Phoenix Leader..............................................51
Strong Communication Skills.....................................................................51
Attention Span............................................................................................52
Types of Learners.......................................................................................53
Tactile Learners......................................................................................53
Audio Learners.......................................................................................54
Visual Learners.......................................................................................54
Communication Expectations of Various Generations.............................54
Silent Generation....................................................................................55
Baby Boomers........................................................................................55
Generation X..........................................................................................56
Generation Y..........................................................................................56
Putting It All Together............................................................................57
Communication Infrastructure..................................................................57
Objectives of a Communication Plan....................................................57
Flow of Information...............................................................................58
Information Distillation..........................................................................58
Information Drift....................................................................................60
Gossip.....................................................................................................60
Chain of Command................................................................................61
Communication Standards.....................................................................61
x ◾ Contents

What Should Be Communicated?..........................................................63


Value of Feedback..................................................................................63
Formats...................................................................................................64
Application to Practice...............................................................................64
5 Attributes of the Phoenix Leader: Building an Empowered
Workforce...................................................................................67
Empowerment Defined..............................................................................68
How They Work and the Processes Employed........................................68
Where They Work......................................................................................69
When They Work.......................................................................................69
How They Complete Their Work..............................................................70
Leader’s Responsibility in Building an Empowered Workforce...............71
Set Expectations.....................................................................................71
Define Responsibilities...........................................................................72
Understand Your Staff............................................................................73
Encourage Knowledge Sharing.............................................................74
Encourage Risk-Taking and Innovation.................................................74
Empowerment in the Work Environment.................................................74
Effects of Empowerment on the Workforce..............................................75
Organizational Trust...............................................................................75
Improved Work Satisfaction...................................................................75
Organizational Commitment..................................................................75
Enhanced Financial and Workforce Metrics..........................................76
Improved Quality and Safety.................................................................76
Customer Satisfaction.............................................................................76
Building an Infrastructure for Empowerment...........................................77
How to Begin the Construction of an Empowerment
Infrastructure..............................................................................................78
Review of My Most Successful Model.......................................................83
Overview of the Comprehensive Model...............................................83
Membership on the Hospital PNC.........................................................84
Rotation of Members..............................................................................84
Reason for Cohorts.................................................................................84
Monthly Schedule and Standard Agenda..............................................85
Framework for the Agenda........................................................................85
Outcomes...................................................................................................86
Your Model.............................................................................................87
Application to Practice...............................................................................87
Contents  ◾ xi

6 Attributes of the Phoenix Leader: Interdisciplinary Team


Leadership..................................................................................89
Team Defined ............................................................................................90
Stages of Team Formation.........................................................................92
Forming..................................................................................................92
Storming.................................................................................................93
Norming..................................................................................................93
Performing..............................................................................................94
Adjourning..............................................................................................94
Other Leader Responsibilities....................................................................94
Team Selection.......................................................................................95
Orientation of New Members....................................................................95
Art of Delegation........................................................................................96
Advantages of Effective Delegation.......................................................96
Delegation Extends Your Productivity...............................................96
Delegation Empowers People............................................................97
Delegation Can Grow People............................................................97
How to Delegate Well................................................................................97
Measurement of Success of the Team.......................................................99
Objective Measurements........................................................................99
Subjective Measurements.......................................................................99
Celebration of Success............................................................................. 101
Virtuoso Teams........................................................................................ 101
Application to Practice.............................................................................103
7 Attributes of the Phoenix Leader: Change Agency...................105
Change Agency Defined..........................................................................105
Types of Change...................................................................................... 107
Evolutionary Change............................................................................ 107
Forced Change.....................................................................................108
Invented Change..................................................................................109
Change Theories......................................................................................109
Lewin’s Change Theory.......................................................................109
Lippitt’s Model of Change.................................................................... 110
Kotter’s Change Model......................................................................... 111
Gokenbach’s Model of Empowered Change....................................... 111
Innovation Defined.................................................................................. 116
12 Different Ways for Companies to Innovate.................................... 117
Offerings............................................................................................... 117
xii ◾ Contents

Customer.............................................................................................. 117
Processes.............................................................................................. 118
Presence................................................................................................ 118
Levels of Thinking................................................................................... 119
Cultural Competence...........................................................................122
Edgar Schein’s Model of Organizational Culture....................................123
Artifacts and Symbols..........................................................................123
Espoused Values...................................................................................124
Underlying Assumption.......................................................................124
Steps to Effective Cultural Change..........................................................125
Application to Practice.............................................................................126

8 Virtues, Attributes and Competencies of the


Phoenix Leader.........................................................................127
Virtues......................................................................................................127
Cardinal Virtues.......................................................................................128
Courage................................................................................................128
Perseverance.........................................................................................129
Wisdom.................................................................................................130
Justice................................................................................................... 131
Traditional Virtues....................................................................................132
Faith......................................................................................................132
Hope.....................................................................................................133
Charity..................................................................................................133
Relevant Virtues.......................................................................................134
Humility................................................................................................134
Honesty................................................................................................136
Balance.................................................................................................136
Components of Balance.......................................................................137
Spirituality............................................................................................138
Meditation.............................................................................................138
Relationships.........................................................................................139
Physical Activity....................................................................................139
Nutrition................................................................................................ 140
Financial Stability................................................................................. 140
Other Attributes of Successful Leaders.................................................... 141
Fearlessness.......................................................................................... 141
Powerful............................................................................................... 142
Types of Power................................................................................. 143
Contents  ◾ xiii

Positional Power....................................................................................... 143


Legitimate............................................................................................. 143
Reward.................................................................................................. 143
Coercive................................................................................................144
Informational........................................................................................144
Personal Power.........................................................................................144
Expert...................................................................................................144
Referent................................................................................................. 145
Assertiveness.................................................................................... 145
Inclusivity..........................................................................................146
Consistency.......................................................................................146
Application to Practice.............................................................................148
9 Foundational Behaviors of the Phoenix Leader....................... 149
Visibility and Accessibility....................................................................... 149
Create Visibility for Your Staff............................................................. 151
Role Modeling.......................................................................................... 151
Advantages of Role Modeling.............................................................. 152
Proactivity versus Reactivity.................................................................... 153
Use of Data.............................................................................................. 153
Do Not Fear Big Data.......................................................................... 154
Study All Problems and Deficiencies.................................................. 154
Share the Data Widely......................................................................... 154
Plan Interventions around the Data.................................................... 155
Build a Comprehensive Approach....................................................... 155
Use Special-Cause Variation in Your Analysis.................................... 155
Develop Data-Sophisticated Leaders................................................... 156
Develop Data-Sophisticated Staff........................................................ 156
Communication of Vision and Mission................................................... 157
Vision Defined...................................................................................... 157
Mission Defined................................................................................... 157
Modern Approaches to Vision and Mission Statements...................... 158
Aligning the Organization................................................................ 159
Application to Practice.............................................................................160
Visibility and Accessibility and Role Modeling...................................160
Use of Data and Proactive Approaches...............................................160
Communication of Vision and Mission...............................................160
10 Becoming a Phoenix Leader.....................................................163
Self-Reflection........................................................................................... 163
xiv ◾ Contents

How to Self-Reflect...............................................................................164
Gratitude...............................................................................................164
Continuous Evaluation of Goals, Strategies and Approaches.................166
Lifelong Learning.....................................................................................166
Formal Approaches.............................................................................. 167
Informal Approaches........................................................................... 167
Mentors................................................................................................. 167
Develop an Effective Personal Brand......................................................168
Benefits to Personal Branding............................................................. 169
Secrets to Developing a Successful Brand.......................................... 169
Deliver What You Promise but Don’ t Promise What You Can’ t
Deliver.................................................................................................. 170
Ingredients of an Effective Personal Brand......................................... 170
Application to Practice............................................................................. 171
Conclusion................................................................................................ 172
References....................................................................................... 175
Index............................................................................................... 181
Foreword

Being a leader of any enterprise is more challenging than ever before. Just
when we think we have it all figured out, new challenges present them-
selves and we are suddenly faced with having to reinvent ourselves as
leaders. Dr. Val Gokenbach’ s book, Phoenix Leadership for Business An
Executive’s Strategy for Relevance and Resilience , offers a life line to leaders
seeking inspiration and innovative approaches as they face an ever-increasing
complex environment.
I first met Val when I was working as a process engineer in a large
southeast Michigan-based health system in charge of leading the organiza-
tion’ s process improvement efforts. The organization had almost 16,000
employees at the time, and I was beginning to feel a bit in over my head.
Val arrived as a new leader and her can-do attitude felt like a breath of
fresh air. When I told her what I was trying to accomplish, she was the first
person to encourage me and have faith in my ability to deliver on what I
was trying to do; all the while asking pointed and challenging questions
that allowed me to think out loud and share concerns and strategies with a
broader audience.
It has been many years since Val and I first worked together, but she
served as a mentor, colleague and friend as we both rose through the orga-
nization and began work on our doctorates sharing a passion for leadership
and a keen appreciation of its impact upon organizational culture and the
people who devote themselves tirelessly to the practice of being leaders. We
also moved away to other organizations and opportunities, but we’ ve always
stayed in touch and I’ ve admired her continued success from afar.
I feel honored to write this foreword for Val’ s book because she is a
leader who lives and leads authentically and passionately. I have observed
her ability to lead and inspire others even through the very challenging
times of one of the most serious economic downturns in our recent history.

xv
xvi ◾ Foreword

She has faith in her colleagues and leads them to do more than they ever
think they are capable of doing. After years of studying leadership, organi-
zational change and observing many leaders – some good, some bad – Val
is one of the best leaders I have seen who can live her values and achieve
stellar results while inspiring excellence in others.
When I read about other’ s ideas about leadership – or any other topic for
that matter – I want to know about the author as a person. Do they have
not only the not only the educational credentials but do they also have valu-
able lived experience that I can learn from? Have they been where I want to
go and do they have practical wisdom to write about how I might approach
my challenges? You will find that Val describes leadership and organizational
theory very succinctly and applies them clearly and brilliantly to health-
care. Kurt Lewin, who Val quotes in the book, once said, “ there is nothing
so practical as a good theory.” And this is true throughout the book as Val
weaves theory with her own experience, stories and approaches to everyday
leadership challenges.
So, whether you are an experienced leader or an emerging leader, you
will find this book to be of value to you as you come into your own as an
effective leader. This book takes you from leadership theory to practical
application of that theory. If you are a new leader, the book will ground
you in classic leadership theory. And, if you are an experienced leader, Val
provides a great overview and refresher course in leadership and organiza-
tional theory. She also generously shares her extensive personal and profes-
sional experience based upon her more than 30 years as a senior leader and
through compelling personal and professional stories. Most importantly, each
chapter concludes with a chance for you to reflect upon and apply the con-
cepts to your professional situation and setting.
Dr. Val Gokenbach’ s Phoenix Leadership for Business An Executive’ s
Strategy for Relevance and Resilience describes the attributes of a Phoenix
Leader that we can all aspire to and intentionally develop. Through the
metaphor of the Phoenix, each attribute is covered in depth giving you the
awareness and skills to build that attribute in yourself as a leader. The attri-
butes include:

◾◾ Strong sense of self


◾◾ Effective interpersonal relationships
◾◾ Ability to build an empowered workforce
◾◾ Innovation
◾◾ Resilience
Foreword   ◾ xvii

Phoenix Leadership will engage you whatever your background and


help you reinvent yourself as a leader to meet the ongoing challenges in
your organization. Reading it is like inviting a wise consultant in to be your
trusted advisor, coach and friend as Val has been to me and many other
leaders. She shares her journey of holistic personal and professional leader-
ship helping you lead yourself and your organization. I know you are going
to find this book as practical and valuable as I have.
Best wishes on your leadership development journey,

Dr. Jean Ann Larson, FACHE, LFHIMSS, FIISE, OCC


Chief Leadership Development Officer, University of Alabama at
Birmingham Health System and School of Medicine,
CEO of Jean Ann Larson and Associates, a boutique Leadership
Development Consultancy Practice
National speaker and author of several books
Author of Organizational and Process Reengineering: Approaches for
Healthcare Transformation , winner of the Healthcare Information and
Management Systems Society 2015 Book of the Year Award
Author

Dr. Val Gokenbach has a true passion for leadership and has been in
administrative positions for more than 30 years. She currently is the vice
president and chief nursing officer for Baylor Scott and White Health and the
owner of Dr. Val Leading Leaders Consulting Group, dedicated to improv-
ing the quality of leadership in organizations. As a senior executive, she has
managed an expansive span of responsibility, which included nursing and
several support departments, such as radiology, respiratory therapy, radia-
tion oncology, nuclear medicine, oncology services, neurodiagnostic ser-
vices, employee health, integrative medicine, schools of allied health, patient
service departments and emergency services. Her greatest accomplishment
has been leading the nursing team to the receipt of the prestigious Magnet
accreditation awarded on January 14, 2004, for nursing and organizational
excellence and reaccreditation in 2008.
Val has also been involved in several community initiatives and served
as the creator of Safety City USA, the first freestanding, nonprofit interactive
learning facility for the community, dedicated to the reduction of pediatric
trauma, and Nurses 4 Detroit, a foundation for philanthropic nurses in the
southeast Michigan area. Currently, she is an independent consultant in the
areas of organizational structure and leadership growth and development.
She also served as the medical administrator for Mitch Albom Charities,
where she ran the SAY Detroit Family Health Center, dedicated to the care
of the homeless and uninsured women and children, and the Have Faith
Mission, an orphanage in Haiti.
She also lectures on leadership topics and is active on several advisory
and leadership boards throughout the country. A well-known author, she
released her own wellness book, Tap Dancing through Life: Seven Steps to
Finding Your Rhythms and the Life of Your Dreams . She is also featured in
Chicken Soup for the Nurse’ s Soul: A Second Dose and Nurse Executive: The
Four Principles of Management from Springer Publishing.

xix
xx ◾ Author

She possesses a doctoral degree in management (DM) and organizational


leadership, a master of business administration (MBA) and a bachelor of sci-
ence in nursing (BSN), and she is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse
Fellow, was a Magnet commissioner for the American Nurses Credentialing
Center and was an alumnus for Leadership America.
Chapter 1

Status of Organizational
Leadership in the
United States

Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go;


they merely determine where you start.
Nido R. Qubein

Leadership: An Awesome Responsibility


I began my leadership career in healthcare when I was appointed manager
of an intensive care unit 1 year after my graduation from nursing school. I
was promoted because my director said that I had leadership abilities and
I was the best clinical nurse. As I was planning my next move up the lad-
der of leadership, I decided that I would go back to school for my master
of business administration (MBA). At that time, most of the chief executive
officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) were MBAs. Degrees in
healthcare administration were just emerging, and I felt that if I wanted to
speak the language of the leaders, I needed the same educational back-
ground that they had.
The MBA program was very difficult but fascinating to me, but what was
especially valuable to me was that I was attending with students from a
variety of industries, such as manufacturing, service and sales. This provided

1
2 ◾ Phoenix Leadership for Business

a wealth of diverse learning experiences that taught me to think in differ-


ent ways. In my studies on quality improvement, focusing on the works of
Edwards Deming and others, I learned the concept of the widget. A widget
is nothing more than a word to apply to any unit of production in the world
of manufacturing. When Deming and others spoke of zero defects, it was to
prevent financial loss due to the improper manufacturing of whatever widget
that was in production. These defective parts, if used, can lead to national
recalls, safety concerns for consumers and the potential for legal exposures
in the event of an injury.
What was illuminating for me at the time was the notion that in health-
care, our unit of production, or our widget, is the patient. The profound
difference, however, is that a patient, unlike an inanimate widget, is far more
complex and has a high degree of variability, making it very difficult for
those of us in healthcare to develop processes that meet the specific needs of
all patients. Other compounding complexities of patient care include under-
standing and dealing with emotions, knowledge base, culture, diversities,
family concerns, finances, language differences and other unique attributes
of the particular individual. In other words, the complexity and unpredict-
ability of the human being makes the delivery of healthcare very challeng-
ing. If a company produces a batch of widgets that cannot be used and is
therefore discarded, there is a financial loss to the organization for product,
resources and time. If there is a breech in the delivery of healthcare, it can
result in the injury or death of a patient, which is a tremendous responsibil-
ity for healthcare providers. As healthcare executives, we must continue to
strive for zero defects, which in our industry translates to the highest degree
of quality and safety. Unfortunately, in my career I have worked with indi-
viduals that looked upon patients as widgets, and even in the care area
observed staff that focused on tasks while forgetting the emotional needs of
the patient. These concepts can apply also to service organizations that have
high personal touch points with consumers and other businesses. It is critical
that all organizations strive for continued quality and safety in their prod-
ucts and services. To illustrate this point, I like to use the concept of a plane
crash that creates a visual for why quality and safety are so important.

Concept of a Plane Crash


The news of a plane crash is always troubling to hear. We are impacted
by the massive loss of life, especially if the incident involves a large plane.
Status of Organizational Leadership in the U.S. ◾ 3

We feel for the families that are left behind and for what their lives will be
like without their loved ones. The reality is that every injury or death for
a patient secondary to medical error is a plane crash for that patient and
family, yet the emotional impact to us does not seem to be the same, but it
should be. A similar analogy can be made in any business. Products need
to be safe for the consumer; manufacturing facilities need to be safe for
workers. Any breach in quality and safety can kill or injure people—a plane
crash for them and their families.
The statistical comparison is profound. The Aviation Safety Network
(ASN) is one of the organizations that are responsible for tracking statistics
on the safety of aviation. In 2014, the ASN reported 761 deaths in 12 com-
mercial aviation accidents. In 2015, the number was much less, at 265 deaths.
The year 2015 was recognized as the safest in aviation. This translates to
0.24 deaths per 1 million departures.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM), in their report To Err Is Human, reported
that 98,000 patients die every year secondary to mistakes in hospitals. The
inspector general for Health and Human Services in 2010 reported that
in Medicare patients alone, the number of injury or death incidents was
180,000. The last report from the Journal of Patient Safety anticipates that
the numbers may be grossly understated and could be as high as 210,000–
440,000. It is much safer to fly than it is to seek healthcare. This information
underscores the need for effective leadership in healthcare, as well as what
an awesome responsibility healthcare leaders bear.
The U.S. Department of Labor (2016) has shown an increase in employee
deaths from 2013 to 2017 despite regulation and safety requirements. The
employee injury rate in 2017 per 100 full-time workers was a staggering 7.7.
The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission (2017) reports stagger-
ing rates of injury and death in consumers in a multitude of product catego-
ries. Every one of these represents a plane crash for the individual and their
families.

Leadership Is the Answer to Quality,


Safety and Effectiveness
The important concepts of quality, safety and effectiveness in organiza-
tions will not be realized without the engagement and effective leadership
of staff, who at the point of service make magic happen. The literature
strongly suggests that engaged staff are more focused at work and provide
4 ◾ Phoenix Leadership for Business

safer and higher-quality work (Gallup, 2016b). Unfortunately, the environ-


ment in many organizations does not support a nurturing and enjoyable
work environment. Human resource research has repeatedly identified that
staff disengagement and turnover is a result of the employee’s desire to leave
their manager, and very little turnover is for other reasons, such as moving,
money or promotions. Gallup’s report on the state of the American work-
force in 2013 identified that most employees across the country are dissatis-
fied with their workplace. They published that

◾◾ Eighteen percent of the workforce is actively disengaged or disgruntled.


◾◾ Fifty-two percent of employees are identified as “present” but not
engaged.
◾◾ Thirty percent of the employees are identified as engaged and inspired
by their work and their leaders.

This represents a tremendous dearth of leadership skill in all industries. If


we translate this into organizations alone, a staggering 70% of our employee
base is not working at their capacity, leading to a loss of productivity. The
report further explains that as much as $550 billion in productivity is lost
due to the 18% that are disengaged. Compound this over time and the
effect on profitability is staggering. It means that quality and safety could be
greatly impacted as well when employees are not present.
A good friend of mine said that the flavor of the sundae always starts at
the top. My experience as a healthcare executive and my experiences in the
consulting arena have proven this to be true. No organization is going to be
successful unless the leaders are effective. In my mind, leadership is a sci-
ence with a body of theories and research that, when studied and applied,
improve the chance of organizational success. One of our challenges is
that we do not necessarily promote capable leaders. Especially in the clini-
cal areas, such as medicine and nursing, there is the tendency to promote
the best clinicians, thinking that the ability to be a great clinician automati-
cally transfers to the likelihood that they will be an effective leader. I have
seen practices in other industries where individuals move into the next-level
position due to an opening despite leadership capabilities—when they have
“paid their dues.” We compound this problem by not providing the appropri-
ate leadership education and development. This is due to the lack of insight
into the importance of leadership development on the part of the organi-
zation. Focusing on leadership development is one of the key elements to
organizational success, but in my experience, it is one of the vital strategies
Status of Organizational Leadership in the U.S. ◾ 5

easily sidelined with budgetary constraints or other organizational priorities.


Especially in times of organizational challenges, leadership development is
exactly what is needed.

Are Leaders Born or Made?


As I was growing up, my mother used to tell me that I was a natural-born
leader because I ruled the neighborhood kids and always told them what
to do, and what was amazing to her was that they listened to me. My per-
spective on this had nothing to do with my effective leadership skills but
rather the fact that I wanted to keep them away from my stuff. To that end,
I was the one who organized play based on my desires. What was interest-
ing is that my friends were always accepting of my recommendations. For
years, leadership and behavioral theorists have been debating the question
of whether leaders are born or made. The research now suggests that lead-
ers are not born but can be made and developed with appropriate pro-
grams that focus on teaching, mentoring and learning. Bernard Bass (2008)
had identified several characteristics inherent in successful leaders but also
believed that these can be observed, and many of them acquired over time.
Research published in Psychology Today reported that characteristics of suc-
cessful leaders include assertiveness, risk-taking, extraversion, emotional
intelligence and social intelligence (Arvey et al., 2006). Arvey et al. also
believed that these characteristics can be studied and acquired over time
with the right programs and guidance.

Difference between Leadership and Management


Stephen Covey identified the difference between leadership and man-
agement when he stated, “Effective leadership is putting first things first.
Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” More simply put, man-
agement is doing and leading is inspiring. John Kotter described that there
is a profound difference between managing and leading despite the fact
that the terms are oftentimes used interchangeably. This is important to
note. Kotter further described the function of management as one of plan-
ning, goal setting, and budgeting, staffing and other operational tasks. What
is important to realize is that when the operational tasks are completed,
they needed to be executed in a successful and effective way. Success
6 ◾ Phoenix Leadership for Business

will not be achieved unless the leader can inspire the staff to engage in
the plans and be involved in the successful execution. There are many
examples of people that I have worked with that were very good at the
operational planning but struggled with execution. Not all good managers
are leaders, but there is a greater likelihood that good leaders will be good
managers (Kotter, 2002).

Evolution of Leadership Theory


In order to better understand modern leadership theories, it is important to
look over the evolution of leadership over time. This reflection of the past
sets the stage for the transformation of leadership theories over the years.
Our focus begins with the Industrial Revolution.

Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began following the end of the Civil War, with the
introduction of industry, manufacturing and growth of companies providing
goods and services to local consumers. Prior to the Industrial Revolution,
the United States was primarily agricultural. Newly created technologies,
such as the cotton gin and steam engines, further advanced industry growth.
Manpower was now needed to work in the factories and run the new
machines, which led to the hiring of employees in exchange for wages.
The rapidly increasing demands for goods increased production pres-
sure and the need to extend hours in the factories. This demand resulted in
longer shifts, unbearable heat and an absence of safety measures, oftentimes
resulting in injury and death to workers. Employees were viewed as a means
to an end, with little attention paid to their human value. Children were
also exploited, and there were no labor laws to protect any of the workers.
Leadership adopted an autocratic approach, with all decisions made by the
leaders, who pushed their workers to produce despite the conditions and
minimal wages.
In the early 1950s, American workers began to rebel against their employ-
ers, creating bargaining units and unions to use collective power and
pressure through work stoppage and strikes. These formalized unions pro-
vided a forum for the workers to be heard and force changes in leadership
approaches. These pressures on leadership gave rise to the human resource
era of leadership.
Status of Organizational Leadership in the U.S. ◾ 7

Human Resource Era


The United States continues to reside in the human resource era, character-
ized by an appreciation of workers for their contribution to the success of
an organization. This was also coupled with competitive pay and benefit
packages, including vacation and sick time, healthcare and tuition reimburse-
ment. Workplace satisfaction now is a key driver for employees seeking new
jobs. The draw of nurses to Magnet hospitals is an example of such attrac-
tion to organizations that appreciate their staff. There are still examples of
autocratic approaches to leadership, but the healthcare industry continues
to move away from this type of leadership. There are a variety of leader-
ship approaches that can be applied to the right work environment or
circumstance.

Leadership Approaches
In order for leaders to apply the appropriate leadership strategy, it is impor-
tant to understand some of the common theories, the category of worker
that these approaches are more effective with and the situations in which to
apply them. Bass (1990) has identified the following as common approaches.

Autocratic/Authoritarian
Lewin et al. conducted the first research on this approach to leadership in
1939. The work was updated by Kendra Cherry in 2016. They characterized
this approach to leadership as one of total, individual control by the leader,
with no advice from others or followers, thus providing authoritarian control
over a group. They identified that the application of this approach is neces-
sary when there is a need for strong leadership or in crisis situations when
it is imperative to make quick, decisive choices. Disasters and emergency
situations are good examples of when this approach is needed and most
effective.
There are, however, several downsides to this type of leadership if
applied to all scenarios over time. It is easy to abuse this power, causing
resentment among the employees secondary to the controlling and dictato-
rial tone of the leader. Also, since the leader in this situation is making all
the decisions based on their thoughts and experiences, it is easy for them to
lack creative and innovative thoughts due to this insulation. Highly educated
8 ◾ Phoenix Leadership for Business

and capable healthcare workers require the ability to grow and contribute in
their work environment, so this type of leadership is stifling to them, render-
ing it not appropriate for a professional workforce.

Democratic/Egalitarian
Democratic leadership is one of the participatory approaches that allows
for the staff to take a more active role in decision-making. Research has
identified this approach to leadership as one of the most effective, lead-
ing to higher productivity, increased innovation, strong contributions
from staff and improved engagement and morale (Cherry, 2016a). Despite
the positive research on democratic leadership, there are some potential
downsides as well. This approach works in situations where the employ-
ees are skilled and well educated, which makes it appropriate for the
healthcare setting. If the leader is not effective and the employees are not
prepared to contribute effectively to decision-making, there could be con-
fusion and lack of direction. Last, the term democratic leadership does not
necessarily mean that the staff have ultimate control over the decisions,
but that they can contribute suggestions and their knowledge to those
decisions. It is important that the staff does not misunderstand the expec-
tations. It is critically important, however, that the leader listens to their
contributions.

Transactional
Transactional leadership was first described by Max Webber in 1947 as a
highly structured approach to leadership whereby the leader gives some-
thing to the follower in exchange for something the leader needs. This could
be reward or punishment. Bass (2008) further studied transactional leader-
ship and identified the following tenets:

◾◾ Transactions are rewards contingent on the process of setting clear


expectations and workers meeting them.
◾◾ Transactional leadership is passive, whereby the manager does not
interfere with the workers or the workflow unless an issue arises.
◾◾ Transactional leadership is not a participative approach.

There are examples of transactional leadership as a component in all


organizations. Employees get paid for their work and are rewarded via
Another random document with
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in his note-book a list of the ladies who, he thought, might be fit
candidates for the honour he intended them, the merits of the
multitude being settled, in his mind, in exact accordance with the
supposed extent of their treasures. Let not the reader mistake the
term. By treasure he neither meant worth nor beauty, but the article
which can be paid down in bullion or in bank-notes, possessing the
magic properties of adding field to field, and tenement to tenement.
One after another the pen was drawn through their names, as
occasion offered of scrutinising their means more clearly, or as lack-
success obliged him, until the candidates were reduced to a couple;
to wit—Miss Jenny Drybones, a tall spinster, lean and ill-looking,
somewhat beyond her grand climacteric; and Mrs Martha Bouncer, a
brisk widow, fat, fair, and a few years on the better side of forty.
Miss Jenny, from her remote youth upwards, had been
housekeeper to her brother, a retired wine merchant, who departed
this life six years before, without occasioning any very general
lamentation; having been a man of exceedingly strict habits of
business, according to the jargon of his friends; that is to say, in plain
English, a keen, dull, plodding, avaricious old knave.
But he was rich, that was one felicity; therefore he had friends. It is
a great pity that such people ever die, as their worth, or, in other
words, their wealth, cannot gain currency in the other world; but die
he did, in spite of twenty thousand pounds and the doctor, who was
not called in till death had a firm grip of the old miser’s windpipe,
through which respiration came scant and slow, almost like the
vacant yawns of a broken bellows.
Expectant friends were staggered, as by a thunder-stroke, when
the read will, too legal for their satisfaction, left Miss Jenny in sure
and undivided possession of goods and chattels all and sundry.
For the regular period she mourned with laudable zeal, displaying
black feathers, quilled ruffles, crape veils, and starched weepers, in
great and unwonted prodigality, which no one objected to, or cavilled
about, solely because no one had any business to do so.
It was evident that her views of life from that era assumed a new
aspect, and the polar winter of her features exhibited something like
an appearance of incipient thaw; but the downy chin, wrinkled brow,
and pinched nose, were still, alas! too visible. Accordingly, it is more
than probable that, instead of renewing her youth like the eagles, she
had only made a bold and laudable attempt to rifacciamento, in thus
lighting up her features with a more frequent and general succession
of smiles.
No one can deny that, in as far as regards externals, Miss Jenny
mourned lugubriously and well, not stinting the usually allotted
number of calendar months. These passed away, and so did black
drapery; garments brightening by progressive but rapid strides. Ere
the twelve months expired, Miss Jenny flaunted about in colours as
gaudy as those of “the tiger-moth’s deep damasked wings,”—the
counterpart of the bird of paradise, the rival of the rainbow.
Widow Martha Bouncer was a lady of a different stamp. Her
features still glowed in the freshness of youthful beauty, though the
symmetry of her person was a little destroyed by a tendency to
corpulency. She dressed well; and there was a liveliness and activity
about her motions, together with an archness in her smile, which
captivated the affections of the tobacconist, rather more than was
compatible with his known and undisguised hankering after the so-
called good things of this life, the flesh-pots of Egypt.
Mrs Bouncer was the widow of a captain in a marching regiment;
consequently she had seen a good deal of the world, and had a
budget of adventures ever open for the admiration of the listening
customer. Sometimes it might even be objected, that her tongue went
a little too glibly; but she had a pretty face and a musical voice, and
seldom failed in being attended to.
The captain did not, as his profession might lead us to surmise,
decamp to the other world, after having swallowed a bullet, and
dropped the death-dealing blade from his blood-besmeared hand on
the field of battle, but quietly in his bed, with three pairs of excellent
blankets over him, not reckoning a curiously quilted counterpane.
Long anticipation lessens the shock of fate; consequently the grief of
his widow was not of that violent and overwhelming kind which a
more sharply-wound-up catastrophe is apt to occasion; but, having
noticed the slow but gradual approaches of the grim tyrant, in the
symptoms of swelled ankles, shrivelled features, troublesome cough,
and excessive debility, the event came upon her as an evil long
foreseen; and the sorrow occasioned by the exit of the captain was
sustained with becoming fortitude.
Having been fully as free of his sacrifices to Bacchus as to the
brother of Bellona, the captain left his mate in circumstances not the
most flourishing; but she was enabled to keep up appearances, and
to preserve herself from the gulf of debt, by an annuity bequeathed to
her by her father, and by the liberality of the widows’ fund.
Time passed on at its usual careless jog-trot; and animal spirits,
being a gift of nature, like all strong natural impulses, asserted their
legitimate sway. Mrs Martha began to smile and simper as formerly.
Folks remarked, that black suited her complexion; and Daniel Cathie
could not help giving breath to the gallant remark, as he was
discharging her last year’s account, that he never before had seen her
looking half so well.
On this hint the lady wrought. Daniel was a greasy lubberly civilian
to be sure, and could not escort her about with powdered collar,
laced beaver, and glittering epaulettes; but he was a substantial
fellow, not amiss as to looks, and with regard to circumstances,
possessing everything to render a wife comfortable and snug. Elysian
happiness, Mrs Martha was too experienced a stager to expect on
this side of the valley of death. Moreover, she had been tossed about
sufficiently in the world, and was heartily tired of a wandering life.
The height of her wise ambition, therefore, reached no higher than a
quiet settlement and a comfortable domicile. She knew that the hour
of trial was come, and sedulously set herself to work, directing
against Daniel the whole artillery of her charms. She passed before
his door every morning in her walk; and sometimes stood with her
pretty face directed to the shop window, as if narrowly examining
some article in it. She ogled him as he sat in church; looking as if she
felt happy at seeing him seated with the bailies; and Daniel was never
met abroad, but the lady drew off her silken glove, and yielded a
milk-white delicate hand to the tobacconist, who took a peculiar
pleasure in shaking it cordially. A subsequent rencontre in a stage
coach, where they enjoyed a delightful téte-à-téte together for some
miles (procul, ô procul esto profani), told with a still deeper effect;
and everything seemed in a fair way of being amicably adjusted.
Miss Jenny, undismayed by these not unmarked symptoms of
ripening intimacy, determined to pursue her own line of amatory
politics, and set her whole enginery of attack in readiness for
operation. She had always considered the shop at the cross as the
surest path for her to the temple of Bona Fortuna. Thence driven, she
was lost in hopeless mazes, and knew not where to turn.
She flaunted about, and flashed her finery in the optical observers
of Daniel, as if to say, This is a specimen,—ex uno disce omnes,—
thousands lie under this sample. Hope and fear swayed her heart by
turns, though the former passion was uppermost; yet she saw a
snake, in the form of Mrs Bouncer, lurking in her way; and she took
every lawful means, or such as an inamorata considers such, to
scotch it.
Well might Daniel be surprised at the quantity of candles made use
of in Miss Jenny’s establishment. It puzzled his utmost calculation;
for though the whole house had been illuminated from top to
bottom, and fours to the pound had been lighted at both ends, no
such quantity could be consumed. But there she was, week after
week, with her young vassal with the yellow neck behind her,
swinging a large wicker-basket over his arm, in which were
deposited, layer above layer, the various produce of Miss Jenny’s
marketing.
On Daniel, on these occasions, she showered her complaisance
with the liberality of March rains; inquiring anxiously after his
health; cautioning him to wear flannel, and beware of the
rheumatics; telling him her private news, and admiring the elegance
of his articles, while all the time her shrivelled features “grinned
horrible a ghastly smile,” which only quadrupled the “fold upon fold
innumerable” of her wrinkles, and displayed gums innocent of teeth,
—generosity not being able to elevate three rusty stumps to that
honour and dignity.
There was a strong conflict in Daniel’s mind, and the poor man
was completely “bamboozled.” Ought he to let nature have its sway
for once, take to his arms the blushing and beautiful widow, and
trust to the success of his efforts for future aggrandisement? Or must
strong habit still domineer over him, and Miss Jenny’s hook, baited
with twenty thousand pounds, draw him to the shores of wedlock, “a
willing captive?” Must he leave behind him sons and daughters with
small portions, and “the world before them, where to choose;” or
none—and his name die away among the things of the past, while
cousins ten times removed alike in blood and regard, riot on his
substance? The question was complicated, and different
interrogatories put to the oracle of his mind afforded different
responses. The affair was one, in every respect, so nicely balanced,
that “he wist not what to do.” Fortune long hung equal in the
balance, and might have done so much longer, had not an unforeseen
accident made the scale of the widow precipitately mount aloft, and
kick the beam.
It was about ten o’clock on the night of a blustering November day,
that a tall, red-haired, moustachioed, and raw-boned personage,
wrapt up in a military great-coat, alighted from the top of the
Telegraph at the Salutation Inn, and delivered his portmanteau into
the assiduous hands of Bill the waiter. He was ushered into a
comfortable room, whose flickering blazing fire mocked the
cacophony of his puckered features, and induced him hastily to doff
his envelopments, and draw in an arm-chair to the borders of the
hearthrug.
Having discussed a smoking and substantial supper, he asked Bill,
who was in the act of supplying his rummer with hot water, if a Mrs
Bouncer, an officer’s widow, resided in the neighbourhood.
“Yes,” replied Bill, “I know her well; she lives at third house round
the corner, on the second floor, turning to the door on your right
hand.”
“She is quite well, I hope?” asked the son of Mars.
“Oh! quite well, bless you; and about to take a second husband. I
hear they are to be proclaimed next week. She is making a good
bargain.”
“Next week to be married!” ejaculated the gallant captain, turning
up his eyes, and starting to his legs with a hurried perplexity.
“So I believe, sir,” continued Bill very calmly. “If you have come to
the ceremony, you will find that it does not take place till then.
Depend upon it, sir, you have mistaken the date of your invitation
card.”
“Well, waiter, you may leave me,” said the captain, stroking his
chin in evident embarrassment; “but stop, who is she about to get?”
“Oh, I thought everybody knew Mr Daniel Cathie, one of the town-
council, sir; a tobacconist, and a respectable man; likely soon to
come to the provostry, sir. He is rather up in years to be sure; but he
is as rich as a Jew.”
“What do you say is his name?”
“Daniel Cathie, Esq., tobacconist, and a candlemaker near the
Cross. That is his name and designation,—a very respectable man,
sir.”
“Well, order the girl to have my bed well warmed, and to put pens,
ink, and paper into the room. In the meantime, bring me the boot-
jack.”
The captain kept his fiery feelings in restraint before Bill; but the
intelligence hit him like a cannon-shot. He retired almost
immediately to his bed-chamber; but a guest in the adjoining room
declared in the morning, that he had never been allowed to close his
eyes, from some person’s alternately snoring or speaking in his sleep,
as if in violent altercation with some one; and that, whenever these
sounds died away, they were only exchanged for the irregular tread
of a foot measuring the apartment, seemingly in every direction.
It was nine in the morning; and Daniel, as he was ringing a shilling
on the counter, which he had just taken for “value received,” and half
ejaculating aloud as he peered at it through his spectacles—“Not a
Birmingham, I hope”—had a card put into his hand by Jonas
Bunting, the Salutation shoeblack.
Having broken the seal, Daniel read to himself,—“A gentleman
wishes to see Mr Cathie at the Salutation Inn, on particular business,
as speedily as possible. Inquire for the gentleman in No. 7.—A
quarter before nine, A.M.”
“Some of these dunning travellers!” exclaimed Daniel to himself.
“They are continually pestering me for orders. If I had the lighting up
of the moon, I could not satisfy them all. I have a good mind not to
go, for this fellow not sending his name. It is impudence with a
vengeance, and a new way of requesting favours!” As he was
muttering these thoughts between his teeth, however, he was
proceeding in the almost unconscious act of undoing his apron,
which having flung aside, he adjusted his hair before the glass,
carefully pressed his hat into shape, and drew it down on his temples
with both hands; after which, with hasty steps, he vanished from
behind the counter.
Arriving at the inn, he was ushered into No. 7 by the officious Bill,
who handed his name before him, and closed the door after him.
“This is an unpleasant business, Mr Cathie,” said the swaggering
captain, drawing himself up to his full length, and putting on a look
of important ferocity. “It is needless to waste words on the subject:
there is a brace of pistols, both are loaded,—take one, and I take the
other; choose either, sir. The room is fully eight paces,” added he,
striding across in a hurried manner, and clanking his iron heels on
the carpet.
“It would, I think, be but civil,” said Daniel, evidently in
considerable mental as well as bodily agitation, “to inform me what
are your intentions, before forcing me to commit murder. Probably
you have mistaken me for some other; if not, please let me know in
what you conceive I have offended you!”
“By the powers!” said Captain Thwackeray with great vehemence,
“you have injured me materially,—nay, mortally,—and either your
life, sir, or my own, sir, shall be sacrificed to the adjustment.”
While saying this, the captain took up first the one pistol, and then
the other, beating down the contents with the ramrod, and
measuring with his finger the comparative depth to which each was
loaded.
“A pretty story, certainly, to injure a gentleman in the tenderest
part, and then to beg a recital of the particulars. Have you no regard
for my feelings, sir?”
“Believe me, sir, on the word of an honest man, that as to your
meaning in this business, I am in utter darkness,” said Daniel with
cool firmness.
“To be plain, then,—to be explicit,—to come to the point, sir,—are
you not on the eve of marrying Mrs Bouncer?”
“Mrs Bouncer!” echoed the tallow-chandler, starting back, and
crimsoning. Immediately, however, commanding himself, he
continued:—“As to the truth of the case, that is another matter; but
were it as you represent it, I was unaware that I could be injuring any
one in so doing.”
“Now, sir, we have come to the point; rem tetigisti acu; and you
speak out plainly. Take your pistol,” bravoed the captain.
“No, no,—not so fast;—perhaps we may understand each other
without being driven to that alternative.”
“Well then, sir, abjure her this moment, and resign her to me, or
one of our lives must be sacrificed.”
While he was saying this, Daniel laid his hands on one of the
pistols, and appeared as if examining it; which motion the captain
instantly took for a signal of acquiescence, and “changed his hand,
and checked his pride.”
“I hope,” continued he, evidently much softened, “that there shall
be no need of resorting to desperate measures. In a word, the affair is
this:—I have a written promise from Mrs Bouncer, that, if ever she
married a second time, her hand was mine. It matters not with the
legality of the measure, though the proceeding took place in the
lifetime of her late husband, my friend, Captain Bouncer. It is quite
an affair of honour. I assure you, sir, she has vowed to accept of none
but me, Captain Thwackeray, as his successor. If you have paid your
addresses to her in ignorance of this, I forgive you; if not, we stand
opposed as before.”
“Oh ho! if that be the way the land lies,” replied Daniel, with a
shrill whistle, “she is yours, captain, for me, and heartily welcome. I
resign her unconditionally, as you military gentlemen phrase it. A
great deal of trouble is spared by one’s speaking out. If you had told
me this, there would have been no reason for loading the pistols.
May I now wish you a good morning! ’Od save us! but these are
fearful weapons on the table! Good morning, sir.”
“Bless your heart, no,” said Captain Thwackeray, evidently much
relieved from his distressing situation. “Oh no, sir; not before we
breakfast together;” and, so saying, before Daniel had a moment’s
time for reply, he pulled the bell violently.
“Bill, bring in breakfast for two, as expeditiously as possible—(Exit
Bill). I knew that no man of honour, such as I know or believe you to
be (your appearance bespeaks it), would act such a selfish part as
deprive me of my legal right; and I trust that this transaction shall
not prevent friendly intercourse between us, if I come, as my present
intention is, to take up my abode among you in this town.”
“By no means,” said Daniel; “Mrs Bouncer is yours for me; and as
to matrimonials, I am otherwise provided. There are no grounds for
contention, captain.”
Breakfast was discussed with admirable appetite by both. The
contents of the pistols were drawn, the powder carefully returned
into the flask, the two bullets into the waistcoat pocket, and the
instruments of destruction themselves deposited in a green woollen
case. After cordially shaking each other by the hand, the captain saw
Mr Daniel to the door, and made a very low congé, besides kissing
his hand at parting.
The captain we leave to fight his own battles, and return to our
hero, whose stoicism, notwithstanding its firmness, did not prevent
him from feeling considerably on the occasion. Towards Mrs
Bouncer he had not a Romeo-enthusiasm, but certainly a stronger
attachment than he had ever experienced for any other of her sex.
Though the case was hopeless, he did not allow himself to pine away
with “a green and yellow melancholy,” but reconciled himself to his
fate with the more facility, as the transaction between Thwackeray
and her was said to have taken place during the lifetime of her late
husband, which considerably lessened her in his estimation; having
been educated a rigid Presbyterian, and holding in great abhorrence
all such illustrations of military morality. “No, no,” thought he; “my
loss is more apparent than real: the woman who was capable of
doing such a thing, would not content herself with stopping even
there. Miss Jenny Drybones is the woman for me—I am the man for
her money.” And here a thousand selfish notions crowded on his
heart, and confirmed him in his determination, which he set about
without delay.
There was little need of delicacy in the matter; and Daniel went to
work quite in a business-like style. He commenced operations on the
offensive, offered Miss Jenny his arm, squeezed her hand, buttered
her with love-phrases, ogled her out of countenance, and haunted
her like a ghost. Refusal was in vain; and after a faint, a feeble, and
sham show of resistance, the damsel drew down her flag of defiance,
and submitted to honourable terms of capitulation.
Ten days after Miss Jenny’s surrender, their names were
proclaimed in church; and as the people stared at each other in half
wonder and half good-humour, the precentor continued, after a
slight pause, “There is also a purpose of marriage between Mrs
Martha Bouncer, at present residing in the parish, and Augustus
Thwackeray, Esq., captain of the Bengal Rangers; whoever can
produce any lawful objections against the same, he is requested to do
so, time and place convenient.”
Every forenoon and evening between that and the marriage-day,
Daniel and his intended enjoyed a delightful tête-à-tête in the lady’s
garden, walking arm-in-arm, and talking, doubtless, of home-
concerns and Elysian prospects that awaited them. The pair would
have formed a fit subject for the pencil of a Hogarth,—about “to
become one flesh,” and so different in appearance. The lady, long-
visaged and wrinkled, stiff-backed and awkward, long as a maypole;
the bridegroom, jolly-faced like Bacchus, stumpy like an alder-tree,
and round as a beer-barrel.
Ere Friday had beheld its meridian sunshine, two carriages, drawn
up at the door, the drivers with white favours and Limerick gloves,
told the attentive world that Dr Redbeak had made them one flesh.
Shortly after the ceremony, the happy couple drove away amid the
cheering of an immense crowd of neighbours, who had planted
themselves round the door to make observations on what was going
on. Another coincidence worthy of remark also occurred on this
auspicious day. At the same hour, had the fair widow Martha yielded
up her lily-white hand to the whiskered, ferocious-looking, but
gallant Captain Thwackeray; and the carriages containing the
respective marriage-parties passed one another in the street at a
good round pace. The postilions, with their large flaunting ribbon-
knots, huzza’d in meeting, brandishing their whips in the air, as if
betokening individual victory. The captain looking out, saw Miss
Jenny, in maiden pride, sitting stately beside her chosen tobacconist;
and Daniel, glancing to the left, beheld Mrs Martha blushing by the
side of her moustachioed warrior. Both waved their hands in passing,
and pursued their destinies.—Janus; or, the Edinburgh Literary
Almanac.
THE HAUNTED SHIPS.

By Allan Cunningham.
Though my mind’s not
Hoodwinked with rustic marvels, I do think
There are more things in the grove, the air, the flood,
Yea, and the charnelled earth, than what wise man,
Who walks so proud as if his form alone
Filled the wide temple of the universe,
Will let a frail mind say. I’d write i’ the creed
O’ the sagest head alive, that fearful forms,
Holy or reprobate, do page men’s heels;
That shapes, too horrid for our gaze, stand o’er
The murderer’s dust, and for revenge glare up,
Even till the stars weep fire for very pity.

Chapter I.
Along the sea of Solway—romantic on the Scottish side, with its
woodlands, its bays, its cliffs, and headlands; and interesting on the
English side, with its many beautiful towns with their shadows on
the water, rich pastures, safe harbours, and numerous ships—there
still linger many traditional stories of a maritime nature, most of
them connected with superstitions singularly wild and unusual. To
the curious, these tales afford a rich fund of entertainment, from the
many diversities of the same story; some dry and barren, and
stripped of all the embellishments of poetry; others dressed out in all
the riches of a superstitious belief and haunted imagination. In this
they resemble the inland traditions of the peasants; but many of the
oral treasures of the Galwegian or the Cumbrian coast have the
stamp of the Dane and the Norseman upon them, and claim but a
remote or faint affinity with the legitimate legends of Caledonia.
Something like a rude prosaic outline of several of the most noted of
the northern ballads—the adventures and depredations of the old
ocean kings—still lend life to the evening tale; and, among others, the
story of the Haunted Ships is still popular among the maritime
peasantry.
One fine harvest evening I went on board the shallop of Richard
Faulder, of Allanbay, and committing ourselves to the waters, we
allowed a gentle wind from the east to waft us at its pleasure towards
the Scottish coast. We passed the sharp promontory of Siddick, and
skirting the land within a stone-cast, glided along the shore till we
came within sight of the ruined Abbey of Sweetheart. The green
mountain of Criffell ascended beside us; and the bleat of the flocks
from its summit, together with the winding of the evening horn of
the reapers, came softened into something like music over land and
sea. We pushed our shallop into a deep and wooded bay, and sat
silently looking on the serene beauty of the place. The moon
glimmered in her rising through the tall shafts of the pines of
Caerlaverock; and the sky, with scarce a cloud, showered down on
wood, and headland, and bay, the twinkling beams of a thousand
stars, rendering every object visible. The tide, too, was coming with
that swift and silent swell observable when the wind is gentle; the
woody curves along the land were filling with the flood, till it touched
the green branches of the drooping trees; while in the centre current
the roll and the plunge of a thousand pellecks told to the experienced
fisherman that salmon were abundant.
As we looked, we saw an old man emerging from a path that
winded to the shore through a grove of doddered hazel; he carried a
halve-net on his back, while behind him came a girl bearing a small
harpoon, with which the fishers are remarkably dexterous in striking
their prey. The senior seated himself on a large gray stone, which
overlooked the bay, laid aside his bonnet, and submitted his bosom
and neck to the refreshing sea breeze; and taking his harpoon from
his attendant, sat with the gravity and composure of a spirit of the
flood, with his ministering nymph behind him. We pushed our
shallop to the shore, and soon stood at their side.
“This is old Mark Macmoran, the mariner, with his granddaughter
Barbara,” said Richard Faulder, in a whisper that had something of
fear in it; “he knows every creek, and cavern, and quicksand in
Solway,—has seen the Spectre Hound that haunts the Isle of Man;
has heard him bark, and at every bark has seen a ship sink; and he
has seen, too, the Haunted Ships in full sail; and, if all tales be true,
has sailed in them himself;—he’s an awful person.”
Though I perceived in the communication of my friend something
of the superstition of the sailor, I could not help thinking that
common rumour had made a happy choice in singling out old Mark
to maintain her intercourse with the invisible world. His hair, which
seemed to have refused all acquaintance with the comb, hung matted
upon his shoulders; a kind of mantle, or rather blanket, pinned with
a wooden skewer round his neck, fell mid-leg down, concealing all
his nether garments as far as a pair of hose, darned with yarn of all
conceivable colours, and a pair of shoes, patched and repaired till
nothing of the original structure remained, and clasped on his feet
with two massive silver buckles.
If the dress of the old man was rude and sordid, that of his
granddaughter was gay, and even rich.
She wore a boddice of fine wool, wrought round the bosom with
alternate leaf and lily, and a kirtle of the same fabric, which almost
touching her white and delicate ankle, showed her snowy feet, so
fairy-light and round that they scarcely seemed to touch the grass
where she stood. Her hair—a natural ornament which woman seeks
much to improve—was of a bright glossy brown, and encumbered
rather than adorned with a snood, set thick with marine productions,
among which the small clear pearl found in the Solway was
conspicuous. Nature had not trusted to a handsome shape, and a
sylph-like air, for young Barbara’s influence over the heart of man;
but had bestowed a pair of large bright blue eyes, swimming in liquid
light, so full of love, and gentleness, and joy, that all the sailors, from
Annanwater to far St Bees, acknowledged their power, and sung
songs about the bonnie lass of Mark Macmoran. She stood holding a
small gaff-hook of polished steel in her hand, and seemed not
dissatisfied with the glances I bestowed on her from time to time,
and which I held more than requited by a single glance of those eyes
which retained so many capricious hearts in subjection.
The tide, though rapidly augmenting, had not yet filled the bay at
our feet. The moon now streamed fairly over the tops of Caerlaverock
pines, and showed the expanse of ocean dimpling and swelling, on
which sloops and shallops came dancing, and displaying at every
turn their extent of white sail against the beam of the moon. I looked
on old Mark the Mariner, who, seated motionless on his gray stone,
kept his eye fixed on the increasing waters with a look of seriousness
and sorrow in which I saw little of the calculating spirit of a mere
fisherman. Though he looked on the coming tide, his eyes seemed to
dwell particularly on the black and decayed hulls of two vessels,
which, half immersed in the quicksand, still addressed to every heart
a tale of shipwreck and desolation. The tide wheeled and foamed
around them; and creeping inch by inch up the side, at last fairly
threw its waters over the top, and a long and hollow eddy showed the
resistance which the liquid element received.
The moment they were fairly buried in the water, the old man
clasped his hands together, and said—
“Blessed be the tide that will break over and bury ye for ever! Sad
to mariners, and sorrowful to maids and mothers, has the time been
you have choked up this deep and bonnie bay. For evil were you sent,
and for evil have you continued. Every season finds from you its song
of sorrow and wail, its funeral processions, and its shrouded corses.
Woe to the land where the wood grew that made ye? Cursed be the
axe that hewed ye on the mountains, the bands that joined ye
together, the bay that ye first swam in, and the wind that wafted ye
here! Seven times have ye put my life in peril; three fair sons have ye
swept from my side, and two bonnie grandbairns; and now, even
now, your waters foam and flash for my destruction, did I venture
my frail limbs in quest of food in your deadly bay. I see by that ripple
and that foam, and hear by the sound and singing of your surge, that
ye yearn for another victim, but it shall not be me or mine.”
Even as the old mariner addressed himself to the wrecked ships, a
young man appeared at the southern extremity of the bay, holding
his halve-net in his hand, and hastening into the current. Mark rose,
and shouted, and waved him back from a place which, to a person
unacquainted with the dangers of the bay, real and superstitious,
seemed sufficiently perilous: his granddaughter, too, added her voice
to his, and waved her white hands; but the more they strove the
faster advanced the peasant, till he stood to his middle in the water,
while the tide increased every moment in depth and strength.
“Andrew, Andrew!” cried the young woman, in a voice quavering
with emotion, “turn, turn, I tell you. O the ships, the haunted ships!”
But the appearance of a fine run of fish had more influence with the
peasant than the voice of bonnie Barbara, and forward he dashed,
net in hand. In a moment he was borne off his feet, and mingled like
foam with the water, and hurried towards the fatal eddies which
whirled and reared round the sunken ships. But he was a powerful
young man, and an expert swimmer: he seized on one of the
projecting ribs of the nearest hulk, and clinging to it with the grasp of
despair, uttered yell after yell, sustaining himself against the
prodigious rush of the current.
From a sheiling of turf and straw within the pitch of a bar from the
spot where we stood, came out an old woman bent with age, and
leaning on a crutch. “I heard the voice of that lad Andrew Lammie;
can the chield be drowning, that he skirls sae uncannily?” said the
old woman, seating herself on the ground and looking earnestly at
the water. “Ou ay,” she continued, “he’s doomed, he’s doomed; heart
and hand never can save him; boats, ropes, and man’s strength and
wit, all vain! vain! he’s doomed, he’s doomed!”
By this time I had thrown myself into the shallop, followed
reluctantly by Richard Faulder, over whose courage and kindness of
heart superstition had great power; and with one push from the
shore, and some exertion in sculling, we came within a quoit-cast of
the unfortunate fisherman. He stayed not to profit by our aid; for
when he perceived us near, he uttered a piercing shriek of joy, and
bounded toward us through the agitated element the full length of an
oar. I saw him for a second on the surface of the water; but the
eddying current sucked him down; and all I ever beheld of him again
was his hand held above the flood, and clutching in agony at some
imaginary aid. I sat gazing in horror on the vacant sea before us; but
a breathing-time before, a human being, full of youth, and strength,
and hope, was there: his cries were still ringing in my ears, and
echoing in the woods; and now nothing was seen or heard save the
turbulent expanse of water, and the sound of its chafing on the
shores. We pushed back our shallop, and resumed our station on the
cliff beside the old mariner and his descendant.
“Wherefore sought ye to peril your own lives fruitlessly,” said
Mark, “in attempting to save the doomed? Whoso touches these
infernal ships never survives to tell the tale. Woe to the man who is
found nigh them at midnight when the tide has subsided, and they
arise in their former beauty, with forecastle, and deck, and sail, and
pennon, and shroud! Then is seen the streaming of lights along the
water from their cabin windows, and then is heard the sound of
mirth and the clamour of tongues and the infernal whoop and halloo,
and song, ringing far and wide. Woe to the man who comes nigh
them!”
To all this my companion listened with a breathless attention. I felt
something touched with a superstition to which I partly believed I
had seen one victim offered up; and I inquired of the old mariner—
“How and when came these haunted ships there? To me they seem
but the melancholy relics of some unhappy voyagers, and much more
likely to warn people to shun destruction, than entice and delude
them to it.”
“And so,” said the old man with a smile, which had more of sorrow
in it than of mirth; “and so, young man, these black and shattered
hulks seem to the eye of the multitude. But things are not what they
seem: that water, a kind and convenient servant to the wants of man,
which seems so smooth, and so dimpling, and so gentle, has
swallowed up a human soul even now; and the place which it covers,
so fair and so level, is a faithless quicksand out of which none escape.
Things are otherwise than they seem. Had you lived as long as I have
had the sorrow to live; had you seen the storms, and braved the
perils, and endured the distresses which have befallen me; had you
sat gazing out on the dreary ocean at midnight on a haunted coast;
had you seen comrade after comrade, brother after brother, and son
after son, swept away by the merciless ocean from your very side;
had you seen the shapes of friends, doomed to the wave and the
quicksand, appearing to you in the dreams and visions of the night;
then would your mind have been prepared for crediting the strange
legends of mariners; and the two haunted Danish ships would have
had their terrors for you, as they have for all who sojourn on this
coast.
“Of the time and cause of their destruction,” continued the old
man, “I know nothing certain; they have stood as you have seen them
for uncounted time; and while all other ships wrecked on this
unhappy coast have gone to pieces, and rotted, and sunk away in a
few years, these two haunted hulks have neither sunk in the
quicksand, nor has a single spar or board been displaced. Maritime
legend says, that two ships of Denmark having had permission, for a
time, to work deeds of darkness and dolour on the deep, were at last
condemned to the whirlpool and the sunken rock, and were wrecked
in this bonnie bay, as a sign to seamen to be gentle and devout. The
night when they were lost was a harvest evening of uncommon
mildness and beauty: the sun had newly set; the moon came brighter
and brighter out; and the reapers, laying their sickles at the root of
the standing corn, stood on rock and bank, looking at the increasing
magnitude of the waters, for sea and land were visible from St Bees
to Barnhourie.
“The sails of the two vessels were soon seen bent for the Scottish
coast; and with a speed outrunning the swiftest ship, they
approached the dangerous quicksands and headland of Borranpoint.
On the deck of the foremost ship not a living soul was seen, or shape,
unless something in darkness and form resembling a human shadow
could be called a shape, which flitted from extremity to extremity of
the ship, with the appearance of trimming the sails, and directing the
vessel’s course. But the decks of its companion were crowded with
human shapes; the captain, and mate, and sailor, and cabin boy, all
seemed there; and from them the sound of mirth and minstrelsy
echoed over land and water. The coast which they skirted along was
one of extreme danger; and the reapers shouted to warn them to
beware of sandbank and rock; but of this friendly counsel no notice
was taken, except that a large and famished dog, which sat on the
prow, answered every shout with a long, loud, and melancholy howl.
The deep sandbank of Carsethorn was expected to arrest the career
of these desperate navigators; but they passed, with the celerity of
waterfowl, over an obstruction which had wrecked many pretty
ships.
“Old men shook their heads, and departed, saying, ‘We have seen
the fiend sailing in a bottomless ship; let us go home and pray:’ but
one young and wilful man said, ‘Fiend! I’ll warrant it’s nae fiend, but
douce Janet Withershins, the witch, holding a carouse with some of
her Cumberland cummers, and mickle red wine will be spilt atween
them. ’Od, I would gladly have a toothfu’! I’ll warrant it’s nane o’
your cauld sour slae-water, like a bottle of Bailie Skrinkie’s port, but
right drap-o’-my-heart’s-blood stuff, that would waken a body out of
their last linen. I wonder whaur the cummers will anchor their craft?’
“‘And I’ll vow,’ said another rustic, ‘the wine they quaff is none of
your visionary drink, such as a drouthy body has dished out to his
lips in a dream; nor is it shadowy and unsubstantial, like the vessels
they sail in, which are made out of a cockle-shell, or a cast-off
slipper, or the paring of a seaman’s right thumb-nail. I once got a
handsel out of a witch’s quaigh myself;—auld Marion Mathers of
Dustiefoot, whom they tried to bury in the old kirkyard of Dunscore;
but the cummer raise as fast as they laid her down, and naewhere
else would she lie but in the bonnie green kirkyard of Kier, among
douce and sponsible folk. So I’ll vow that the wine of a witch’s cup is
as fell liquor as ever did a kindly turn to a poor man’s heart; and be
they fiends, or be they witches, if they have red wine asteer, I’ll risk a
droukit sark for ae glorious tout on’t.’
“‘Silence, ye sinners,’ said the minister’s son of a neighbouring
parish, who united in his own person his father’s lack of devotion
with his mother’s love of liquor. ‘Whisht! Speak as if ye had the fear
of something holy before ye. Let the vessels run their own way to
destruction: who can stay the eastern wind, and the current of the
Solway sea? I can find ye Scripture warrant for that: so let them try
their strength on Blawhooly rocks, and their might on the broad
quicksand. There’s a surf running there would knock the ribs
together of a galley built by the imps of the pit, and commanded by
the Prince of Darkness. Bonnily and bravely they sail away there; but
before the blast blows by they’ll be wrecked; and red wine and strong
brandy will be as rife as dykewater, and we’ll drink the health of
bonnie Bell Blackness out of her left foot slipper.’
“The speech of the young profligate was applauded by several of
his companions, and away they flew to the bay of Blawhooly, from
whence they never returned. The two vessels were observed all at
once to stop in the bosom of the bay, on the spot where their hulls
now appear: the mirth and the minstrelsy waxed louder than ever;
and the forms of the maidens, with instruments of music and wine-
cups in their hands, thronged the decks. A boat was lowered; and the
same shadowy pilot who conducted the ships made it start towards
the shore with the rapidity of lightning, and its head knocked against
the bank where the four young men stood, who longed for the
unblest drink. They leaped in with a laugh, and with a laugh were
they welcomed on deck; wine cups were given to each, and as they
raised them to their lips the vessels melted away beneath their feet;
and one loud shriek, mingled with laughter still louder, was heard
over land and water for many miles. Nothing more was heard or seen
till the morning, when the crowd who came to the beach saw with
fear and wonder the two Haunted Ships, such as they now seem,
masts and tackle gone; nor mark, nor sign, by which their name,
country, or destination, could be known, was left remaining. Such is
the tradition of the mariners.”
Chapter II.
“And trow ye,” said the old woman, who, attracted from her hut by
the drowning cries of the young fisherman, had remained an auditor
of the mariner’s legend; “and trow ye, Mark Macmoran, that the tale
of the Haunted Ships is done? I can say no to that. Mickle have my
ears heard, but more mine eyes have witnessed since I came to dwell
in this humble home by the side of the deep sea. I mind the night
weel: it was on Hallow-e’en, the nuts were cracked, and the apples
were eaten, and spell and charm were tried at my fireside; till,
wearied with diving into the dark waves of futurity, the lads and
lasses fairly took to the more visible blessings of kind words, tender
clasps, and gentle courtship.
“Soft words in a maiden’s ear, and a kindly kiss o’ her lip, were old
world matters to me, Mark Macmoran; though I mean not to say that
I have been free of the folly of daundering and daffin’ with a youth in
my day, and keeping tryst with him in dark and lonely places.
However, as I say, these times of enjoyment were past and gone with
me; the mair’s the pity that pleasure should flee sae fast away,—and
as I couldna make sport I thought I would not mar any; so out I
sauntered into the fresh cold air, and sat down behind that old oak,
and looked abroad on the wide sea. I had my ain sad thoughts, ye
may think, at the time; it was in that very bay my blythe gudeman
perished, with seven more in his company; and on that very bank
where ye see the waves leaping and foaming, I saw seven stately
corses streeked, but the dearest was the eighth. It was a woful sight
to me, a widow, with four bonnie boys, with nought to support them
but these twa hands, and God’s blessing, and a cow’s grass. I have
never liked to live out of sight of this bay since that time; and mony’s
the moonlight night I sit looking on these watery mountains, and
these waste shores; it does my heart good, whatever it may do to my
head. So ye see it was Hallow-e’en; and looking on sea and land sat I;
and my heart wandering to other thoughts soon made me forget my
youthful company at hame. It might be near the howe hour of the
night; the tide was making, and its singing brought strange old-world
stories with it; and I thought on the dangers that sailors endure, the

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