Harry Kraemer, Clinical Professor of Strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, shares the second principle of Values-Based Leadership: Balance. You can watch the video above or by clicking here.
years ago when the dinosaurs roamed I was in Marine Office Candidate school at Quantico. There was a course everyone took called the Leadership Learning Center. You were divided into four man teams to solve a problem. You were the leader/final decision maker three times , the rest either an observer or participant depending on who was leading. We figured out that if you had to climb a 12 foot wall, and only had a 5 foot ladder, how would you do it? In short the problem, could never be solved with the materials given. To most of us but not all the exercise was to teach you to get input from the “troops”, discuss alternatives, then those of us who were smart leaders would implement the consensus. I was amazed how many when they were the “leader” would not seek input but choose a solution themselves. There were about 60 in my class and 19 got washed out because they couldn’t figure out that true leaders seek input from others. At the end of training when reviewing the exercise this crusty old Major, said , ” Leadership is not a democracy, your troops are not voting, you have to make the decision but you had better seek their counsel.”
I have always practiced this principle.
Harry,
years ago when the dinosaurs roamed I was in Marine Office Candidate school at Quantico. There was a course everyone took called the Leadership Learning Center. You were divided into four man teams to solve a problem. You were the leader/final decision maker three times , the rest either an observer or participant depending on who was leading. We figured out that if you had to climb a 12 foot wall, and only had a 5 foot ladder, how would you do it? In short the problem, could never be solved with the materials given. To most of us but not all the exercise was to teach you to get input from the “troops”, discuss alternatives, then those of us who were smart leaders would implement the consensus. I was amazed how many when they were the “leader” would not seek input but choose a solution themselves. There were about 60 in my class and 19 got washed out because they couldn’t figure out that true leaders seek input from others. At the end of training when reviewing the exercise this crusty old Major, said , ” Leadership is not a democracy, your troops are not voting, you have to make the decision but you had better seek their counsel.”
I have always practiced this principle.