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Hesselbein
on Leadership by Frances Hesselbein Rating: ••• (Recommended) |
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Few and Powerful Words Each short essay in the new collection, Hesselbein
on Leadership, stands alone. Together, they present a powerful message
about effective leadership of any organization. Frances Hesselbein brings
clear-headed thinking, well-grounded in values, with practical applications,
given her tenure at the top of the Girl Scouts and the Drucker Foundation. Here’s an example of an essay from 2001: Chapter 13: When the Roll Is Called in 2010 I was struggling to write this article about what leaders and
organizations must do, today, to be viable and relevant ten years from now. I
told Rob Johnston, our president, that I thought the title would be "When
the Roll Is Called in 2010." He left and shortly returned to my office
with a Website printout of a great old hymn I remember from my Methodist
Sunday School days: "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I'll Be
There." That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. My concern is with how our actions today shape our
legacy. Building a sustainable organization is one of a leader's primary
responsibilities. When the challenges of today have been met, will your
organization have the vigor to grow tomorrow?
When the roll is called in 2010, will your organization be present? Few social observers project that the years
2002-2010 will be easy ones for organizations in the public, private, and
social sectors. Instead, tenuous, turbulent, and tough
are the descriptors I hear when thought leaders evoke the future. But inclusive,
wide open, and promising are part of the picture as
well. To meet the challenges and opportunities of the
years to come requires hard work. My checklist-not for survival but for a
successful journey to 2010-includes the following check points: Ø
Revisiting the mission in 2003, 2006, and 2009, each time refining or
amending it so that it reflects shifts in the environment and the changing
needs of changing customers as part of a formal self-assessment process. Ø
Mobilizing the total organization around mission, until everyone
including the newest secretary and the worker on the loading dock can tell
you the mission of the enterprise-why it does what it does, its reason for
being, its purpose. Ø
Developing no more than five powerful strategic goals that, together,
are the board's vision of the desired future of the organization. Ø Focusing on those few initiatives that will make a
difference-not skimming the surface of an overstuffed list of priorities.
Focus is key. Ø Deploying people and
allocating resources where they will
have an impact, that is, only where they can further the mission and achieve
the few powerful goals. Ø Practicing Peter Drucker's "planned
abandonment": jettisoning current policies, practices, and assumptions
as soon as it becomes clear they will have little relevance in the future. Ø Navigating the many streams of venture
philanthropy, whether gearing up for the "ask" or as a
philanthropist seeking to make an investment in changing the lives of people
by partnering with a social sector organization. Ø Expanding the definition of communication from
saying something to being heard. Ø Providing board members and the entire staff and
workforce with carefully planned continuing learning opportunities designed
to increase the capacity and unleash the creative energy of the people of the
organization. Ø Developing the leadership mind-set that embraces
innovation as a life force, not as a technological improvement. Ø
Structuring the finances of the organization-whether as seeker or
funder in the social sector, business, or government-so that income streams
are focused on the few great initiatives that will change lives, build
community, and make a measurable difference. Ø
Transforming performance measurement into a management imperative that
moves beyond the old forms and assumptions and toward creative and
inclusive approaches to "measuring what we value and valuing what we
measure." Ø
Scanning the environment and identifying major trends and implications
for the organization in preparation for riding the wave of rapidly changing
demographics. Ø
Building a mission-focused, values-based, demographics-driven
organization. Ø
Planning for leadership transition in a thoughtful way. Ø
Leaving well and at the right moment is one of the greatest gifts a
leader can give to the organization. Ø
Grooming successors-not a chosen one but a pool of gifted potential
leaders. This is part of the leader's daily challenges. Ø Making job rotation and
job expansion into widespread organizational practices that are part of
planning for the future. Ø Dispersing the tasks of leadership across the
organization until there are leaders at every level and dispersed leadership
is the reality. Ø Leading from the front, with leaders the embodiment
of the mission and values in thinking, action, and communication. Ø
Recognizing technology not as driver but as tool. Ø
Changing the technology as needs change, not changing needs and style
to match the tool. Shaping the future, not being shaped by it. Ø Permeating every job and every plan with a
marketing mind-set. Marketing means being close to the customer and listening
and responding to what the customer values. Ø Building on strengths instead of dwelling on weak
nesses until the organization has succeeded in, as Peter Drucker says,
"making the strengths of our people effective and their weaknesses
irrelevant." Ø Throwing out the old hierarchy and building
flexible, fluid, circular management systems with inclusive leadership
language to match. Ø Allocating funds for leadership development
opportunities and resources for all the people of the enterprise. Ø
Developing the richly diverse organization so that board, management
team, staff, employees, faculty, administration, and all communications
materials reflect the diversity of the community, and we can respond with a
resounding yes to the critical question: "When they look at us, can they
find themselves?" Ø
Making every leader-every person who
directs the work
of others-accountable for building the richly diverse team, group, or organization. Ø Keying individual
performance appraisals to organizational
performance. Ø Governance is
governance. Management is management. Sharply differentiating the two by
delineating clear roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities, resulting in
a partnership of mutual trust and purpose. Ø Building the partnership on open communication,
adopting the philosophy of no surprises. Ø
Using a common leadership and management language within the
organization and beyond with people and organizarions in all three sectors
around the world. Ø Leading beyond the walls of the enterprise and
building the organization's share of the healthy, cohesive community. Forming
partnerships, alliances, and collaborations that spell synergy, success, and
significance. This
checklist for viability is only a beginning. Changing circumstances will
require additions as new challenges arise, and deletions where needs have been met. New
customers must be welcomed as we move beyond the old walls both physically
and psychologically. Tomorrow may be tenuous for the leader and organization
of the future, but the message is clear and powerful: Managing for mission,
innovation, and diversity will sustain us and those we serve on the long
journey to 2010. Listening to Hesselbein stimulates
thinking. It takes longer to think about what Hesselbein has to say than it
does to read it. Then, you want to decide whether what she has to say will
have an impact on your organization. The reader’s job is to select what you
think can help your own organization, and try it out. Steve Hopkins, November 6, 2002 |
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ã 2002 Hopkins and Company, LLC The
recommendation rating for this book appeared in the December 2002
issue of Executive
Times For
Reprint Permission, Contact: Hopkins
& Company, LLC • 723 North Kenilworth Avenue • Oak Park, IL 60302 E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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