D. Murali

Chennai: Being a leader in today’s world is an incredibly taxing and complex job, says Nat Stoddard in ‘The Right Leader: Selecting executives who fit’ (www.wiley.com). Finding the right leaders should not be mistaken for finding the ‘perfect’ leader under these conditions, he clarifies.

What do right leaders need? The right abilities, personality, energy, and character to address the real needs of the organisation and to fit its cultures, the author explains. “Beyond that, they must then be provided with the essential support to deal with the incredibly complex world in which he or she must create success.”

Stoddard is aghast at the traditional selection process which places too much emphasis on the candidates’ abilities and to a lesser degree, their personality and energy, and not anywhere near enough on their character. “It focuses too heavily on the company’s perceived needs and not enough on the short- and long-range actions that the new leader must take.”

Hence he urges selectors to explore the ‘character bucket’ of any candidate for a top leadership position. Remember: “Leaders cannot lead if followers will not follow… And followers will not follow unless the leader’s values are closely aligned with theirs.”

The right read before you call in the next candidate!

Distribute authority widely

Manage like you have no power. This is one of the many ‘leadership lessons from the world’s greatest car company’ that David Magee captures in ‘How Toyota Became #1’ (www.penguin.com).

To be a great leader, one has to be more of a facilitator than a dictator, explains Magee. He finds it unacceptable, therefore, that bosses holding both authority and power sit figuratively and literally high above the employees who do the actual work.

“The caste system of management places power at one level and execution at a lower level, resulting in a frequently shifting bureaucratic quagmire of inefficiency due to disconnection. Those charged with action do not fully understand either the objective or the consequences; they are merely following orders.”

Distribute authority widely, the author advises. Toyota’s way is not based on a company being run on the popular whims of one; instead, it runs on the amalgamated fact-based platforms formed by groups of people, he elaborates.

“In senior meetings, questions are posed professionally, in the humble way of Toyota, but participants are expected to avoid conjecture, hearsay, and unsubstantiated opinion and be prepared to present facts or go back to the source for more research.”

Filled with enlightening insights.

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