Practical Leadership

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTIONER

Title: What Leaders Really Do (Book)

Competencies: Leadership, Managing Change, Driving Change

Who benefits: Senior managers and students of leadership

Consultant Usage: Coaching

What’s it about? As I sit here writing this entry I occasionally look outside and see the rain coming down.  The rain is a popular topic in this town.  Everyone talks about it.  And after all the talk, it still continues to rain. 

Reminds me a little of leadership.  Is there a more written about or talked about topic in our field?  And does the writing or talking bring change?

Personally, I would like to see more writing and talking about practical steps leaders at all levels can do.  Someone once wrote that there is nothing like a good theory.  I agree.  As far as it goes.  But there is also nothing better than turning a good theory into an effective practice.

I have my personal theory about writing.  I think great writers, especially in the field of human resource development are often given less recognition than they deserve.  They write in a clear, concise and direct manner.  They are easily understood.  Too often we say “Oh, that is just plain old common sense.  Everyone already knew that.”  As I believe I said in an early entry on this Blog, if that is the case, then why hasn’t everyone been doing it?

Such is the case in this book by retired Harvard Professor John P. Kotter.  It is written in simple and easy to understand words (notice I didn’t say “verbiage”!)  It is a straightforward book that lays down some very clear principles.  A note here: This is not a new book.  Its publication date is 1999.  It is a short book, about 180 pages.  And at least two of the chapters were taken from earlier HBR articles (What Leaders Really Do and Managing Your Boss).

This is not a sugarcoated book.  Kotter doesn’t say being a leader/manager is easy.  He says the opposite.  And he makes it clear that being a leader/manager is a fulltime job, not something you do for an hour in the morning and then get on with “your own work”.  (Someone ought to do an article on “title inflation”, the notion of giving a professional a managerial title, two sets of job duties…and not enough time to either properly!)

What makes Kotter’s book unique in my mind is that he clearly states that leading and managing are two sides of the same coin.  No more either/or.  Both.  Simple statement, but he was one of the first to articulate it. 

From there he lays out a number of observations and principles that the leader/manager needs to follow.  He then specifies activities and skill sets the leader/manager needs.  Here are three examples:
1. Setting a Direction vs. Planning and Budgeting
2. Aligning People vs. Organizing and Staffing
3. Motivating People vs. Controlling and Problem Solving

He doesn’t tell you when to pick up the phone, write the email, or walk to the next office or out on the floor.  If you need that much specific information, the curmudgeon in me says you are in the wrong profession.  But if you can use some guidelines and keen observations and supply your own details, this book is a worthy read.

And I suspect that many of you reading this entry have already read the book or at least the articles leading to the book.  For those of you have not, don’t be fooled by the shortness of the book or the fact that it is 10 years old.  It’s solid stuff!
[tags]leaders, leadership, managing, managing change, driving change, change strategies, leading change, power, effective managers, managing your boss, bill bradley, william bradley,  bradley[/tags]

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.