Why Are Leaders in Such Short Supply?
Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, authors of
Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? wrote: Given the hunger for leadership, why are leaders in such short supply? We think there are two fundamental reasons.
First, organizations desire leaders but structure themselves in ways that kill leadership. Too many organizations—in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors—are machines that destroy leadership.
They encourage either conformists or role players with an impoverished sense of who they are and what they stand for. Neither makes for effective leaders.
Second, our understanding of leadership is blinkered. The main body of leadership literature focuses on the characteristics of leaders. The underlying assumption is that leadership is something we do to other people. But we believe leadership should be seen as something we do
with other people. Leadership should always be viewed as a relationship between the leader and the led.
Comments
I think leaders are in such short supply because companies have stopped developing their internal talent. It seems much more expedient to hire someone who claims to already have great leadership skills. Unfortunately many of these don't stick around long enough in any one company to reap the consequences of their actions.
If companies really want great leaders, then they must invest and grow their own.
Posted by: Bill Quinn | December 29, 2006 02:17 AM
Hey Michael,
Great Post!
I pioneering a personal training business twenty five years ago - which at the time was the the first of it's kind in Australia...
My philosophy is:
Be the leader people need. Whether or not you want to be a leader, once you become a business owner with employees... you're the leader.
So lead!
Don't be vague, indecisive and inconsistent... if you can't lead, they won't follow.
Make decisions... do the tough stuff.
Be a role model.
If you want a cool book to read on the subject, check out John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. It rocks.
"A leader who has no followers... is merely going for a walk" - John C. Maxwell
Keep up the great writing Michael.
Craig Harper
john@craigharper.com.au
http://www.craigharper.com.au
Posted by: Craig Harper | December 29, 2006 05:31 AM
Do employers have confidence that from the corporate executive down to the line supervisor, their employees are in the hands of competent leaders. Employers must ask themselves this question: Would I want my son or daughter working in this environment for this person because their entire psychological/emotional well being and physical safety are in the hands of these people every day? So given this reality, it is unbelievable to imagine that there is such a dearth of leadership everywhere.
Posted by: Matthew Laos | December 29, 2006 11:16 AM
Hi Michael, it seems that many times even though a business may label someone a leader what they really want is an automaton. They want someone who will do what they want done but don't want to take the rap for. They really don't want someone who thinks for themself because they may not think the way they do. They may fail to see that by having someone who has some complimentary but not identical traits actually adds to the overall leadership rather than detracting from it. The yin and the yang go together because they work together but many in upper management are too busy or too uninterested to explore that possibility. Real leaders become frustrated by this and that, in my opinion is why there is a shortage of real leaders. We wear them out.
Linda
Posted by: linda zdanowicz | December 29, 2006 06:13 PM