Peter Drucker has long been synonymous with management excellence. Known as the “guru’s guru” and the “father of management” among other lofty titles, Drucker’s theory on leadership always struck me. Leadership basically boils down to three tenets:
- Work hard. The leader should set goals, priorities, and maintain standards. Leaders know they are not in control. Misleaders think they are – Stalin, Hitler, Mao.
- Take responsibility. Leaders see leadership as a responsibility rather than a privilege. Effective leaders encourage, praise, and promote their people, and are not afraid of the strength of their subordinates. (In other words, they hire A-players).
- Earn trust. There won’t be any followers unless people believe in the leader’s integrity and conviction. Their words must be the same as their actions.
Simple as 1, 2, 3! What is just as interesting, is Drucker’s analysis of what a leader is not. Leadership has little to do with “leadership qualities”, “charisma”, and according to Drucker apparently there is no such thing as a “leadership personality”. (This is contrary to many late 90′s, boom-era tech CEOs.) Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, Harry Truman, and Abraham Lincoln were all very effective leaders but considered charisma-less.
When I recently told my oldest daughter who just turned six that I was starting a company, she sat still for a moment thinking to herself, and then smiled with a goofy grin. I asked her what she was smiling for, and she whispered to me that she was happy and said “I always wished you would be the boss”. That seemed very sweet to me (of course, being her dad), and I hugged her and thanked her for saying that – rather than saying what was on my mind which was well, you know, daddy really isn’t the boss because mommy has always been the boss around here and will continue to be forever, and in fact daddy is the lowest man on the totem pole of two adults and three kids by a long shot and I only barely rank above the dog, on a good day. I kept that to myself.
But even if I’m not truly the boss, it’s important to be an effective leader. I think the late Peter Drucker lays out a good template to follow.
For those new to Drucker I would recommend reading “The Essential Drucker” (c) 2001.
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You rank way above the dog even on a bad day. I know your family and they appreciate your leadership