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9 Leadership Quality & Effectiveness
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THE TRUTH: The most important job for leaders is to design the organization to avoid crises.
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This truth is; the most important job for leaders to tackle is that of organizational designer. Granted, it is not a very romantic image. It would never make a good movie (though it makes for a great business book). But just think about it and you will realize that the designer is infinitely more powerful than the hero ever could be. |
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Heroes are experts at damage control. They save the day when the day is nearly lost. Designers on the other hand, seize the day, and secure the future by being more proactive. (Designing-Out Organizational Problems) There may be little glory in it, and effective designers will never be given their due credit. But today's companies do not need heroes. They need visionary leaders who can ingrain their people with the critical competencies they need to succeed. This is how new-style organizations manage even the most hostile and turbulent environments, and avoid the gravest crises. Leadership quality in this new-style organization will require:
- The ability to ask incisive questions and devise meaningful experiments
- The confidence to confront his or her own ignorance
- The ability to rally support for a common cause and place their faith in others
- Patience for results, and
- A firm grasp of business theory
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Design is the most important leadership responsibility because the need for it is so persistent. The issue in fact, is one of constant redesign. Today’s rapid and relentless change demands that our policies, procedures, practices and processes be constantly redesigned to capitalize on new opportunities and avoid hidden threats and unwanted side effects. Avenues for improvement must constantly be sought out through active learning. These are the demands of design. |
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The goal of the leader as designer is to unite the company with its most sacred ideals. But these ideals, and the vision that embodies them, do not come from the leader. Rather, the leader/designer seeks to draw these ideals out of the people in the company – the people who must be willing to take the vision into their own hearts, and make it live in their work. (Leadership Quality) Good intentions aside, no designer can do a good job without addressing the needs of the people who must live with the design. This is why effective communication is so vitally important in today's complex organizations. (Corporate Communication) |
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