Tue • Sep 30th, 2008 • by Tom Nees • Comments 11
What are the leadership lessons to be learned from the defeat by the US Congress on Monday of a $700 billion bailout plan intended to prevent economic chaos around the world as well as the US?
There is wide-spread agreement that this financial crisis was aggravated by a failure of political leadership in Washington.
Although political leadership – the art of compromise – is unique there are parallels in profit and non-profit organizations.
ü Leaders need to take charge – especially in time of crises.
This is another time when our elected political leaders were unwilling or unable to take charge. The failed disaster response following the hurricane Katrina continued for days until a military general with command and control authority took charge.
ü Leaders need to listen.
Congressional leaders evidently didn’t pay attention to the growing opposition among their peers and the general public to the proposed bailout legislation. They may have been able to avoid the failure by listening better.
ü Leaders need the courage to take risks.
Describing the fear of not being reelected expressed by those who voted against the plan, Representative Paul Ryan from Wisconsin said, “I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it—not me.”
ü Leaders need to follow.
Politicians were unwilling to follow their own leaders who recommended approval of the bailout plan. At times leaders need to set aside personal differences and, for the common good, become good followers. I’ve been reading “The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders” by Ira Chaleff, in which he explores the leader-follower relationship. “Followship,” as well as leadership skills can make or break our careers and organizations.
All organizations go through crises. Inevitably leaders need to make difficult, if not risky decisions. People don’t always follow. Elected leaders will feel, and in some instances, be threatened by unpopular actions.
Crises provides a test of good leaders and followers.
Wed • Sep 24th, 2008 • by Tom Nees • Comments 14
In a brisk wind I have to decrease the sail area in order to control my boat. It’s due to hull speed – the maximum potential speed of a displacement boat as determined by the length of the water line. To go faster – which I’m not interested in – I need a bigger boat since mine can only go so fast no matter how strong the wind.
While sailing across the Chesapeake Bay with a leader I’ve been coaching we talked about how this applies to organizations.
An entry in Wikipedia makes the hull speed application:
“The term may be used by analogy to refer to a point where a project cannot be made to go faster by adding resources. When a project has reached “hull speed”, adding more “sail” – human resources – does not speed up the project, but can cause enormous additional “structural” stress.”
This applies to churches as well as business. In his March 2007 presentation to the Association of Nazarene Sociologists of Religion, Gary McIntosh said,
”Larger churches are not simply bigger versions of smaller churches, but in reality are an entirely different structure that requires different operational procedures.” http://www.nazarene.org/files/docs/OneSizeMcIntosh2007.pdf
It does little good, and perhaps causes damage to suggest that a small church can grow simply by exerting more effort. The same is true for nonprofit organizations. In order to take on larger projects nonprofit leaders work at creating increased structural capacity.
Leaders, like captains, need to know when it’s time for a bigger boat. Good leaders understand the need to adjust their leadership style as their organizations grow. So too their organizations need to advance their structures to prepare for and accommodate growth.