Leadership Archives - Page 2 of 5

Chain of Command

Chain of command: A series of executive positions in order of authority. First known use 1898.

Americans favor clear lines of authority, also called chain of command. This is indicated in their organizational structures – more vertical than matrix – and in the titles given to those in the various management positions. American management, for example, does not look favorably upon team members who develop close relations with higher levels within the chain of command.

The chain of command in the U.S. Department of State is: Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office Director, Deputy Office Director, Desk Officer. Government bureaucracies like titles.

The chain of command in an American corporation can include: executive board (CEO, COO, CFO, etc.), senior vice president, vice president, managing director, deputy managing director, director, senior manager, manager, supervisor, specialist, technician, associate. American corporations like titles, too.

Execution Wins

Execution: To carry out fully; put completely into effect; to do what is provided or required; to make or produce (as a work of art) especially by carrying out a design; to perform properly or skillfully the fundamentals of a sport or of a particular play; to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions, as in a computer program or routine. Latin exsecutio, from exsequi to execute, from ex- + sequi to follow. Synonyms: accomplish, achieve, discharge, enact, fulfill, implement, pursue.

Americans believe that an athletic team with less talent, a military unit smaller in size, an enterprise with limited resources can win the game, defeat the enemy, succeed in the market, if it executes its strategy in a focused and disciplined way.

And critical to execution is unity. One can see the signs of a unified team: the members of an athletic team wear their uniforms in the same way; a military unit moves in formation; a company has a certain ethos or spirit.

Revisiting a Decision

Revisiting: A term used by Americans to describe the act of questioning a decision made by senior-level management after much time and effort had been invested. Such decisions are typically of strategic nature.

Americans consider “revisiting as decision” as hindering, slowing down or blocking their implementation, and thus a threat to overall success. There is low tolerance in the American business for the tactical level revisiting decisions made at the strategic level.

Empowerment: To give official authority or legal power to; to enable; to promote the self-actualization or influence. First known use 1648.

The term empowerment has become popular in the American business context, signaling a desire, perhaps also need, for management to be less involved in the tactical execution of their decisions.

Truman fires MacArthur

The History channel online describes well „perhaps the most famous civilian-military confrontation in the history of the United States.“

In April 1951 President Harry Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur. On April 11 Truman addressed the nation. He defended his overall policy in Korea. “It is right for us to be in Korea.” Nevertheless, he explained, it “would be wrong—tragically wrong—for us to take the initiative in extending the war… Our aim is to avoid the spread of the conflict.”

MacArthur returned to the United States to a hero’s welcome. Parades were held in his honor, and he was asked to speak before Congress. Public opinion was strongly against Truman’s actions, but the president stuck to his decision without regret or apology.

Eventually, the American people began to understand that his policies and recommendations might have led to a massively expanded war in Asia.

“Lead, don‘t moderate“

Consensus: General agreement, unanimity, judgment arrived at by most of those concerned; group solidarity in sentiment and belief. From Latin consentire, cōnsēnsus agreement, from cōnsentiō meaning literally feel together.

For Americans, businesses, and therefore the teams within them, are not democracies. American team leads do not feel obligated to reach consensus within their leadership group in order to set strategy or to make a decision. Both sides of the relationship – leaders and led – are in agreement that the lead is paid to set strategy, make decisions, not to be a moderator.

Team members, as specialist in their areas, want and expect to be listened to. They want their input to have impact on the decision to be made, the strategy to be set. But they will and can not insist, without possibly damaging their working relationship with the team lead.

Decisive: having the power or quality of deciding; resolute, determined; unmistakable, unquestionable. Synonyms: firm, intent, purposeful, resolved, set, single-minded, do-or-die, hell-bent.

The Buck Stops Here

The saying “the buck stops here” is used to refer to the person who takes responsibility. It is derived from the expression “pass the buck” which means to pass responsibility from one person to another.

The phrase “pass the buck” comes from the game of poker, in which a marker, called a buck, was used to indicate the dealer. When changing dealers, the first dealer would “pass the buck” to the new one, thus passing responsibility.

During his presidency, Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk, which read “The Buck Stops Here.” It was his way of showing that, as the leader of the United States, he was responsible for anything that happened in the nation.

He also made several references to this quote during his public statements, and in his farewell address, President Truman said “The President – whoever he is – has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.”

Mars Attacks !

In the American movie Mars Attacks! there are two generals who advise the President of the United States. One, General Decker, is very opinionated and not shy about telling the President when he disagrees with something. The other, General Casey, only gives his opinion when asked, and then always tries to soften it considerably.

Consequently, when Martians first land on Earth, it is General Casey, not General Decker, who is chosen to greet the Martians and welcome them to the planet. As Casey prepares for his big moment, he says to his wife: “Didn’t I always tell you, honey, if I just stayed in place and never spoke up, good things are bound to happen.”

Nuts and Bolts

In the U.S. business environment, managers expect to be kept informed of even small developments in projects under their supervision. In practice this means that managers are often cc’ed on routine emails relating to the „nuts and bolts“ of a project, even if the content of the email does not require input from the manager. This practice is done to ensure that the manager has situational awareness of his team members’ work.

A Connecticut Yankee

In A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, the main character, a head superintendent from Hartford, Connecticut in the 19th century, finds himself lost in 6th century England. At first the Yankee is sentenced to die, but he manages to use a solar eclipse to his advantage, and is eventually knighted. Having been raised in America, the Yankee believes that the best way to gain the respect of his new people is by taking a leadership position, and as a result the title that he chooses for his knighthood is “Sir Boss.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_yJBUaNnpY

Boss – a protuberant part or body, a raised ornamentation, an ornamental projecting block used in architecture; a soft pad used in ceramics and glassmaking; the hub of a propeller; to ornament with bosses, emboss; a person who exercises control or authority; specifically one who directs or supervises workers; a politician who controls votes in a party organization or dictates appointments or legislative measures; excellent, first-rate; to give usually arbitrary orders to; cow, calf. First known use in the 14th century. First known use for the “leader” definition in 1653.

How a society organizes itself

How a society fundamentally defines the everyday working relationship between leader and led – between two levels of hierarchy – is imbedded in how that society makes decisions. In its political system.

If that working relationship does not function well, if it fails, not only are the political policies of those elected to office in jeopardy, the direction of the country, state, city or municipality is at risk. Defining and managing the line between strategy and tactics is in the political context a matter of moving forward or backward as a society.

The American political tradition involves a close working relationship between president and cabinet, between governor and mayor and their respective cabinets, between all holders of public office and their direct reports.

The American president is the head of the executive branch of government. The president‘s cabinet – the next level of management within the executive – reports directly to him or her and does not possess any domestic political power which could challenge the president‘s authority. Members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President, who may dismiss them or reappoint them to other posts at will.

Article Two of the U.S. Constitution provides that the President can require „the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.“ The Constitution did not then establish the names (or list or limit the number) of Cabinet departments. Those details were left to the Congress to determine.

There is no explicit definition of the term „cabinet“ in either the United States Code or the Code of Federal Regulations. However, there are occasional references to „cabinet-level officers“ or „secretaries“, which when viewed in context appear to refer to the head of the „executive departments“ as listed in 5 U.S.C. §101.

The President’s Cabinet is an institution whose existence rests upon custom rather than law. Presidents have differed in their opinions as to the utility of the Cabinet, but all have found some political and administrative strengths in its continuance.

The Cabinet is retained because it provides to the President: political and managerial advice; a forum for interdepartmental conflict resolution; a location where he can address most of the executive branch and thereby enhance administrative coherence; and a source of political support for his programs and policies.

The Cabinet is not now, and is not likely to become, a body with collective responsibility. Presidents cannot appropriately share their legal authority or responsibilities with the Cabinet. The Cabinet, its members, and its sub-groups provide the President with an adaptive resource with which to manage the executive branch of government. (from CRS Report for Congress. The President’s Cabinet: Evolution, Alternatives, and Proposals for Change, September 12, 2000).