Understanding the Essence of Leadership

"Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

— Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th president of the United States

At one time, leadership was considered simply a position of authority. Over time, that viewpoint has changed considerably. The new paradigm of leadership implies that leadership involves a position of responsibility — responsibility for setting the vision of an organization; responsibility for putting into place a process whereby the vision can be achieved; responsibility for motivating and inspiring others in the pursuit of greater goals than they themselves might have believed possible; responsibility for establishing a value system and an institutional culture that reflects the organization's vision and the strategic plan for achieving that vision; and finally, responsibility for providing both momentum and urgency for achieving the organization's goals.

What, then, is a precise definition of the term "leadership"? In reality, no irrefutable definition of leadership exists, despite the fact that countless volumes have been written on the topic. Frankly, there are almost as many definitions put forth concerning the subject as there are individuals willing to share their opinion on the matter.

Personally, my professional experiences and observations have led me to believe that leadership might best be defined as the ability to influence the behavior and actions of others to achieve an intended purpose. As such, being a successful leader requires the presence of several specific traits and qualities (many of which are discussed in subsequent chapters of this book).

For those individuals looking to better understand the concept of leadership, however, a dilemma arises: no single, itemized recipe for leadership exists. Not only do leaders come in a variety of sizes, genders, ethnicities, personalities, and backgrounds, the mix of the traits and qualities required to lead successfully in a given situation tends to vary from situation to situation and individual to individual.

For a while, the emergence of "quantitative managerialism" (an approach that mostly involved the reduction of all tasks to bureaucratic routine) seemed to be the norm for the appropriate focus of leadership. "Quantitative managerialism" is based on the belief (however valid or erroneous) that quantifiable routines have the capacity to be productive with interchangeable managerial parts. The fundamental premise of this approach is that structured leadership is not needed, just middle management's ability to understand the basic process.

Not surprisingly, however, the search for "leaders" remains an ongoing and somewhat ambiguous process. This search is usually conducted by people who, while they can't tell you exactly what leadership is, "know it when they see it."

In professional football, for example, this search is conducted by those general managers and team owners who believe that there is a single process, scheme, or system that will be successful (i.e., produce the desired number of wins annually), regardless of the coaches or players needed to implement a successful program. Many teams look only to "steal" a coach away from a proven system in the ill-grounded hope that he can bring that system with him and transform a losing organization into a winning one. Unfortunately, many teams look more at a coveted system than they do the individual. Hence, they are doomed to repeat the process through failure after failure.

In reality, no definitive answer exists as to which managerial structure offers an NFL team the best chance of being successful. However, whatever form the paradigm takes, there is one constant that must be in place. At the center of the decision-making process, there must be a primary figure who has extensive knowledge of and expertise in the game. The capabilities of that person will be the measuring stick of the organization. That individual's history of experience, having a basic intellect, and being able to take a proactive, anticipatory approach that enables that person to relate to any point of reference within the organization will be the touchstone for top management and the organization as a whole.

In my opinion, sound leadership is exhibited in three fundamental ways: mentally, emotionally, and physically. It is important to note that each must be adhered to in appropriate measure in order to maintain the overall balance that leadership requires.

First, in order to be a leader you must have a basic knowledge of the environment in which you are expected to lead. In his book, Why We Win, Billy Packer presents the results of his interviews with a variety of very successful coaches, and asks them all the same questions. It is fascinating to see the similar mind-set of people with varying backgrounds, ranging from Bob Knight to Joe Gibbs to Tommy Lasorda to Pat Summitt. Each in their own way isolated a fundamental knowledge of their profession as being at the core of their abilities to lead. None, however, intimated that they alone had some intuitive ability or knowledge that separated them from their peers.

Too many individuals mistakenly believe that successful coaches possess fundamental knowledge that provides them with a level of intellectual superiority that affords them the ability to instantly assess a predicament, and out of some sheer burst of individual brilliance formulate the right course of action in every situation. This type of genius may indeed exist, but I have never seen it. What I have witnessed firsthand are individuals like Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Denny Green, Dan Reeves, and others, who possess a fundamental understanding of their profession after years of study and countless experiences with the painful process of trial and error. Though they may not have individually always had the right answer to every dilemma, they did know how to go about finding the appropriate solution to a particular problem.

Possessing the essential mental attributes for a leadership role may collectively involve something as simple as knowing enough to ask the right questions. As someone once observed, "While you go about learning the tricks of the trade, don't forget to learn the trade." This fundamental knowledge leads to the "synergy" that Winston Churchill spoke of when he observed: "The genius of a great leader consists in the constant harmony of holding a variety of great purposes in mind all at once."

Next, you must have a passion for the work you do. All leaders have passion for their calling in life. There's a story told of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, who one day was traveling in his car visiting some of his restaurants, one of his common habits....