Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge

Abstract: Though much has been written about leadership, little of it has been of lasting value or significance. This book, however, provides thoughtful insights into the art and science of leadership. In the book, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus reflect on the demands that are placed on leaders in the present day, and identify the strategies for leading organizations effectively in these complex and turbulent times.

 

About the Author: Warren Bennis, a renowned Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California and a consultant for various MNCs and governments around the globe, has authored/co- authored many books on Leadership and Management. Though much has been written about leadership, little of it has been of lasting value or significance. This book, however, provides thoughtful insights into the art and science of leadership. In the book, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus reflect on the demands that are placed on leaders in the present day, and identify the strategies for leading organizations effectively in these complex and turbulent times.

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Strategy III: Trust through Positioning

Trust is essential for an organization to function. Like leadership, trust is hard to define. In a sense, trust is based on predictability. Leaders who make their positions known and keep to them are trusted by their followers. Thus, the authors emphasize the importance of position (knowing what is right and necessary in an organizational context) and its role in engendering trust. While vision is 'thought,' positioning is 'action' - action necessary for implementing the vision. Positioning is a result of the things the leader does, constantly and predictably, to establish trust and make his vision clear to the followers. The behavior of an effective leader exemplifies his vision. There are two reasons for emphasizing the management of trust through positioning. The first reason has to do with 'organizational integrity,' a concept the authors explain by drawing upon the work of Elliot Jacques, M.D. According to the authors, every organization incorporates four concepts: one, the manifest organization, or the organization that is depicted on the organization charts; two, the assumed organization, or the organization as it is perceived by its constituents; three, the extant organization, or the organization that is revealed through systematic investigation, say, by a consultant; and finally, the requisite organization, or the organization as it would look if it were in tune with the reality of its environment. Organizational integrity exists when all the four concepts are closely aligned in an organization.

The second reason for dwelling on the management of trust through positioning is related to constancy. Successful innovation, so vital to the success of organizations today, requires the ability to persist in the face of failure - in other words, constancy, or ability to 'stay the course'. Positioning is also applicable at the level of the organization. Here, positioning refers to the 'process by which an organization designs, establishes, and sustains a viable niche in its external environments.' Like living organisms, organizations require appropriate niches in the environment to live and grow. Positioning involves creating an appropriate niche for the organization in a complex, rapidly changing environment. Leaders adopt different strategies to position their organizations appropriately.

Positioning and the Learning Organization
To survive, organizations must be capable of adapting rapidly to changes in their environment. For this, learning is essential. The authors distinguish between two kinds of learning: maintenance learning, which equips a person or organization to deal with known and recurring situations; and innovative learning, which is directed to coping with emerging issues, about which a person or organization has no prior experience. Leaders are responsible for building organizations capable of innovative learning. Leaders play a significant role in making their organizations receptive to learning. They can do so by creating open organizations that are both participative and anticipative. Open organizations are organizations that have constant, intense interactions with their external environment, which allow them to sense changes and adapt quickly. In participative organizations, people come together to share and exchange ideas and insights, and work together for the organization's benefit. Anticipative organizations are forward looking organizations which prepare themselves to meet changes in the environment even before they happen. Institutionalized planning processes are a characteristic of anticipative organizations.

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