The Case for Leadership
Lean Manufacturing Leadership is often the most important
factor in success. The paradigm shift of Lean
Manufacturing demands visionary leadership. Leadership is about influencing others to take
actions and adopt behaviors that accomplish a goal or mission. This is a complex topic with many possible perspectives. In this series of articles, we have
synthesized a view
of leadership from several established
perspectives.
Managers Versus
Leaders
Leadership is quite different from management.
The necessary qualities for it may lie deep inside the
human psyche. But even leadership can be learned.
Leaders-
establish
new and radical
visions. They bring vision to reality
with shared values
that gain commitment.
Managers- work
within a system to
maintain existing goals and
direction.
They generally use reward and punishment to gain
compliance.
It is a paradox that firms with long periods of past
success, such as the American automobile industry,
have
serious leadership difficulties when times change.
During
periods of success, management is highly valued and true
leadership is often discouraged. When the
external environment (markets, technology, social
structure) changes the organization cannot adapt new
visions to cope. This is one reason that
large
firms with successful histories have the most difficulty
with Lean Manufacturing.
Leadership Style
One finds a wide range of
personal characteristics and style among successful
leaders. There is an equally wide range among failed
leaders. It appears that style does not determine success or failure and
this is true for leaders with formal authority.
Peer leadership is another matter. Peer leaders have no
official authority. They lead through casual mechanisms such as respect, knowledge, charisma and
rapport. Peer leadership is increasingly important in today's informal, fluid organizations. For
peer leadership, the quiet style of a Robert E. Lee is far more effective than the bombastic
style of a Patton.
Charismatic Leadership
The
Charismatic Leadership model provides some answers.
Charismatic leaders in all fields and situations exhibit
a common behavior pattern. They:
- Challenge The Status Quo
- Create A Compelling Vision
- Establish Shared Values
- Enable Others To Act
- Model The Way
- Encourage The Heart
Charismatic leaders do these
things constantly in large and small ways. Cumulatively,
these actions change attitudes,
responses and methodologies within the
organization.
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Note
the varied styles and personalities of these American military leaders. All were
successful in somewhat similar military situations but all had radically different
styles.
 
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More Information
This page is the first in a
series. See the links below for other pages. At "Lessons
From Twelve O'clock High" you can download a
wonderful article on this paradigm by Major Attila
Bognar of the U.S. Army.
Shakespeare used leadership as the theme for many
of his best plays.
"Shakespeare on
Leadership" shows how King Henry V fits the
Charismatic Model.
Learning From The Movies
Movies are a great way to learn about leadership. Just watching, however, will add little
insight. This learning requires structure and active reflection. An upcoming web page will
summarize the lessons from several great films. Our seminar
"Team Leadership" uses clips from several movies as
a learning tool.
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