Centroids -- Retired Marine Corps general Anthony Zinni has a new book called "Leading the Charge." Saw / heard him on C-Span yesterday. The theme, as the title suggests, is leadership and the new role of leaders in complex organizations in the modern world. About which Zinni has a good deal of invaluable experience and insight to share. Whether the book is as good as his talk is not something I can say. Reviews have mostly been critical, primarily for reasons of style, a less than scholarly approach, and repetition of a good number of conclusions from similar books of the past. But his talking points deserve serious consideration. The favorable review reproduced below gives an overall impression, but let me focus on just a few salient matters. Zinni said that the best way to reflect on effective leadership is to recognize that an able leader uses three forms of thinking to get the job done : ( 1 ) Critical Thinking, that is, hard analysis, problem identification the way a doctor or field commander assess a situation, no nonsense anywhere- ( 2 ) Systems Thinking, seeing the whole system in which a problem exists, and ( 3 ) Creative Thinking, finding new solutions using one's understanding in novel ways, through original approaches. Later he also discussed "Strategic Thinking," so I take it, developing a researched plan of action that can actually reach one's objective. This is closely related to "Futures Thinking, " basing one's decisions on what at least seem to be reliable prognoses of the future one must deal with. Eventually, said Zinni, an accomplished professional can get to the place where star quarterbacks arrive in the NFL, intuitive decision making. That is, having experience of such quality that really smart decisions can be made almost instantaneously. There is a learning curve, of course. Think of a rookie QB. He is still learning how the game is played at the pro level. He is memorizing charts, still making decisions that might have worked well enough at the college level but that don't cut it playing against the Ravens or Steelers. Etc Next you get to the starting QB level, which is quite good, but not what is most needed to win championships. The quarterbacks in that category are few and far between, but it is this kind of excellence that everyone wants the most. And where rewards stop being arithmetic and become geometric. -------------------------------------------------------------- Seems to me that this is smart thinking and worth our while to reflect upon. But I have some questions. Maybe the model breaks down when it should be the strongest. True enough, sports metaphor can be very useful. But there are cases where it is utterly useless. I also saw a program on the History channel about Einstein. The anniversary of his birth was observed recently. And Einstein was anything but a QB making tough calls in the blink of an eye. He set incredibly hard tasks for himself that he knew would take years to accomplish. On a more mundane level, I also recall the mess at US Gypsum, years ago, when management got impatient with the time taken by the architects when laying out cubicle arrangements and office assignments when the company was moving into its new HQ building. So they turned the task over to the building super, someone with , to say the least, a poor understanding of all the factors the architects were trying to deal with --egos, effective communication between departments, established pecking orders, the kind of lighting most needed for certain types of jobs, etc. The building super got the job done in record time but , needless to say, there were far more problems created in the aftermath of his seat of the pants decisions than all the benefits of time savings by a factor of ten. In this case, too, the QB paradigm is ludicrous. I also wonder about women professionals. How avidly do most women watch sports ? For that matter, many men aren't all that interested, either. There was another C-Span show about theologian and papal biographer George Weigel. He is someone nobody can say is anything but a serious scholar. Yet he is, he freely admits, is a sports enthusiast. In his words, he spends an inordinate amount of time watching grown men hitting, kicking, throwing or catching a ball of some kind. About which , to put it in such terms, I sympathize viscerally. At least concerning Chicago teams and my favorite college squads. But clearly there are times when sports metaphor is inappropriate and dysfunctional. What are better metaphors for men who have little interest in sports, or for or people who, like Einstein, simply cannot think that way and accomplish anything, or for most ( an overwhelming % ) women ? These reservations noted, Zinni's model seems like a good idea. Three ways of thinking for people in leadership. Plus the need to think strategically and futuristically. Then put it all together in some way that, when all is said, gets the job done to best possible effect. Now if only I could take my own advice. Billy PS A final reflection. Zinni made much of the new Army under General Petraeus. Zinni recalled one day in Iraq in the command center. While, yes, part of the scene involved what you'd expect, orders for troop deployments, situation reports about areas of conflict, etc, much of the attention of the soldiers ( officers, anyway ) was focused on such matters as setting up a clinic in a Baghdad neighborhood, fixing a damaged neighborhood swimming pool, and helping merchants re-open their shops. Zinni's point was that all businesses these days are similar to this situation. Gone are the days when a business can be just a business. Any company worth anything must also be concerned about pubic relations, community citizenship, the infrastructure where it operates, and dozens of related matters Therefore, although maybe this falls under the heading of Creative Thinking, we also need to be able to do Re-conceptualizing Thinking. ========================================================== kplcatalog.ci.ankeny.ia.us Leadership: past, present, and future, April 26, 2009
The authors walk the reader through, provide insights to, and discuss possible solutions to some of the many pressing leadership challenges of the new century, with much focus placed on the changes that have taken place in the world following the end of the Cold War twenty years ago. From the perspective of Tony Zinni, who has leadership in the realms of military, diplomacy, and business, the manner in which systems and organizations operate has changed, and due to a variety of factors a new and different archetype of leader needs to emerge in order to be effective. Zinni explains that much of the substance for this book had its origins attempting to answer questions from book tour audiences for his earlier work called "The Battle for Peace". In that book, Zinni explained how the world had changed since 1989. It was frequently inquired whether a different type of leaderhip is now needed, and after initially answering to the effect that "the principles of good leadership are timeless and continue to apply", he realized that "these people are telling [him] something, not asking [him] something...they're out there in the trenches where they're seeing failing or ineffective leadership, and they're wondering if this is just a bad patch of bad leaders or something more serious". According to Zinni, "eleven new or newly molded qualities are the core elements modern leaders need if they are going to create a culture of leadership and be successful in today's challenging world", and discussions on each of these form the bulk of the text: (1) have self-knowledge, (2) possess ethical sense, (3) listen to, understand, and relate to the newly led of this generation, (4) understand the environment, (5) understand and control their organization, (6) operate at a fast pace, (7) be more curious, broadly knowledgeable, and widely educated than leaders of the past, (8) communicate articulately, (9) develop different and stronger decision-making skills than their predecessors, (10) lead in times of crisis and change, and (11) think and act strategically. One of the strengths of this book is the ease with which Zinni is apparently able to traverse his varied experiences of the last few decades in order to apply what he has learned to what he sets out to communicate. He seems more at ease discussing his military experience, but he is able to successfully demonstrate to the reader the eleven qualities of modern leaders within the corporate domain as well, focusing to a great extent on his time as an executive at DynCorp International. The author writes that "in most leadership books written today by prominent leaders, academics, or self-help gurus, we see similar lists of qualities or principles", for example, "the secret to success lies in following the author's 'Seven Ls of Leadership' or 'Five Pillars of Successful Leadership'", and "it would be hard to argue with the theory, but something is missing". Further, he has "no doubt that scientific studies can accurately reflect the reality of leadership" and he does not "object to efforts to teach leadership techniques or to develop good people with desirable attributes" for such training "can enhance a leader's leadership skills, and we can certainly use more good people". However, he explains that "we must never forget that character development, leadership education, and technical training, however useful, are no substitutes for the real experience of leading" and on this note, "leadership experiences left unexamined are useless and wasted". On his chapter on the need for self-knowledge, Zinni writes that "loyalty in and of itself is not a core value. It must always be a value secondary to integrity and honesty. The whistleblower who stands on principle should be honored and valued far more than the individual who remains blindly loyal in the face of immoral, unethical, or criminal behavior. Too often the merely loyal get respect and rewards while the honorable whistleblower gets cast out into the darkness. That's the flaw in the idea that if you're disloyal, you've committed the ultimate sin. No. If you're dishonest and you lack integrity, you've committed the ultimate sin. Loyalty can't stand on its own. From integrity, honor, and honesty, loyalty will follow, as will many other values, such as trust. But you can't say 'My principle core value is loyalty to the leadership and the institution'". One of the most effective chapters in this book presents the author's views on how listen to, understand, and relate to the newly led of this generation: "I don't believe you can be an effective leader if you don't care about your people. You must value them as family. You must have a genuine interest in their well-being and in who they are and what makes them tick. This is truer than ever before. It is difficult to relate to emerging generations with vastly different outlooks and perceptions from ours, but it's critical to try to do so if we are to maximize the great potential they possess. The new generation of successful leaders gets this, and it is paying off for them." In his chapter on understanding the environment, the author discusses the "classic error of believing that knowing a lot means you control a lot. We collect massive amounts of information. Great! But what counts is what we do with it. [He has] sat through hundreds of exhausting op center briefs filled with thousands of PowerPoint slides attempting to satisfy commanders' insatiable demands for more stats and data. All too often, commanders come to believe that command of the data equates with command of the environment. A potentially deadly mistake." In discussing his experience as a young officer in Vietnam, his mentioning of how "all the impressive stats and color-coded maps didn't match the reality [he] was experiencing" reminded me of one of my past project managers who tweaked and tweaked the algorithms behind his spreadsheet until the cells turned their portion of the executive dashboard green. In the last chapter, on strategy, the author writes that if he were to "advise a young aspiring leader about making himself more effective and attractive to his bosses, [he] would recommend demonstrating his ability to think and analyze over a very wide range. He should be able to clearly describe his environment, to see and articulate future positions for his enterprise in that environment, and to set a course for his enterprise to achieve success". And within just a few short paragraphs of his afterword, Zinni lays out his summary of advice to young professionals seeking to lead. If the potential reader does not have time to review the entire text, reading these last portions of the book are highly recommended. Overall, this book is very well written, and suggested for anyone seeking leadership advice from someone who has been (literally) in the trenches.
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