October 1957 — Vol. 38, No. 10 —
About Being a
Leader
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THE NEED for leadership in all
walks of life is greater today than ever before. Every aspect
of living demands guiding hands: government, business, the
professions, the fine arts and the mechanic arts.
Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always
well supplied with people who want to be dictators. The leader
is of a different sort. He seeks effective activity with a
beneficent purpose.
A glance through history shows that the story of nations
and of industries is told in terms of the exploits of individuals.
In every significant event there has been a bold leader, an
object or purpose, and an adversary. Durant makes one of his
characters say in The Mansions of Philosophy: "The
masses do not accomplish much ... they follow the lead
of exceptional men."
A healthy society is one in which opportunities are given
for leaders to emerge from all ranks in the population. The
mechanic who has a helper assigned to him is a leader. The
office worker with a secretary is a leader. Within their spheres
these leaders have the same responsibilities, the same opportunities
for showing ability, and the same potential satisfactions
as has the leader of a government.
In a country like Canada the genius of leadership seems
as likely to sprout in some humble home as in a mansion of
the wealthy. To be educated in a country school, or in a city
public school where little luxury is enjoyed, is not a handicap
to the attainment of leadership. What marks the leader is
individual craftsmanship; sensibility and insight; initiative
and energy.
No sluggard need aspire to leadership. There are passive
persons who are content to go through life getting lifts from
people; who wait until action is forced upon them. They are
not of leadership material.
Leaders have standards
How do men get out in front and stay there? They raise the
standards by which they judge themselves and by which they
are willing to be judged. They raise their aim, both for themselves
and for the group they lead. They develop with energy their
own knowledge and skill so as to reach the standards they
have set.
This acceptance of higher standards of judgment is the basis
of all human progress. A love of high quality is essential
in a leader. He is, as Dr. Wilder Penfield said of Sir William
Osler in his address at the medical convention, Queen's University,
in May: "concerned with the quality of workmanship, like a
cabinet maker who runs his finger over smooth surface and
secret joint, reconsidering the work of his hands."
The leader, whether in business or government, carries with
him this sense of idealism, a vision of what might be. He
acts well because he has a clear idea of the part he is going
to play and the results he seeks.
Dependability is another quality of the leader. He keeps
all promises. He is, as a traveller said of his companion,
"the kind of man to go tiger hunting with in the dark, because
you can always reach out and be sure he is there."
Being dependable means accepting responsibility. The leader
will take counsel from his people, but he will act on what
his mind tells him is right. To live in that responsible way
requires a good stock of self—confidence. It demands
that the leader shall have trained himself out of the fear
of making mistakes. He has long since outgrown dependence
upon his parents, teachers, foremen, and all others who played
dominant roles in supplying his wants, quieting his fears
and answering his questions as he grew up.
To embark successfully on a career involving leadership
demands courage. Once a person has decided upon the part he
wishes to play in life, and is assured that he is doing the
work for which he is best endowed; and is satisfied that he
is filling a vital need, then he needs the courage to tackle
the problems he must solve.
With faith in himself, he will be brave enough to act on
probabilities instead of certainties, and put his whole energy
into making them come true. One mark of a great leader is
that he feels sufficiently secure to devote his thought to
the well—being of his subordinates and the perfection
of Iris job instead of constantly looking up the line to make
sure that he is being approved.
Self—discipline
The man who would be leader must pay the disciplinary cost
involved. This does not mean that he must withdraw from the
world, but it does entail restraint, control and moderation
wherever these are necessary to achieve the ends he seeks.
Leaders need to submit themselves to a stricter discipline
than is expected of others. Those who are first in place must
be first in merit.
In view of this, it is not surprising to find that the great
number of persons who have been acknowledged as leaders were
people who themselves learned the art of obeying. The man
who has not learned to render prompt and willing service to
others will find it difficult to win and keep control of his
followers.
Young people who aspire to reach positions of leadership
would be doing themselves a favour if they were to drill themselves
in facing disagreeable things. A philosopher advises all of
us to do something occasionally for no other reason than that
we would rather not do it.
Besides doing well what he has to do, the leader has initiative,
which is the ability to think and to do new things. He is
shooting at a moving target.
It is essential in leadership to stay ahead. The leader
cannot set up a procedure and then linger lazily watching
it work. He cannot be content merely to see new trends and
take advantage of them. He must, rather, keep his imagination
vividly alive, so as to originate ideas and start trends.
Many a sad story is written in the annals of business every
year by leaders who are falling into the routine of being
managers. When they start to coast they have reached the end
of the line of their own development and their contribution
to the growth of their business.
Leaders are so eager about their work that they can hardly
wait for morning to get started at it. But they are not impetuous.
They keep a balance between emotional drive and sound thinking.
Their excess of effort testifies to their belief that unless
a man undertakes more than he possibly can do he will never
do all that he can do. Their enthusiasm stimulates their energy.
That is why business leaders are found so universally in
the forefront of social endeavour. Leadership is essential
in all social life and in every form of social organization,
and because of their experience and their flair the corporation
head, the plant executive and the shop foreman are pressed
into service to lead community or national campaigns for improvement
of services and the raising of money.
Choosing assistants
Diverse though the areas of leadership may be, there are
nevertheless certain basic principles generally agreed upon
as being necessary. The leader must be sincere in his beliefs
about his business and his place in it, and he must have the
force of character necessary to inspire others to follow him
with confidence.
Thoughtful men choose persons to work with them, and particularly
men who will be close to them, for special qualities. Their
assistants should be different from them, capable of doing
things the leader cannot do for himself. No leader in government,
business or any other sphere of activity will surround himself
with rubber stamps if he wishes to be relieved of some of
today's work, to be given time to plan for tomorrow and the
more distant future, and to be able to step out for a few
days or a few weeks in the certain knowledge that his assistants
will handle the business efficiently.
The leader's job is to get work done by other people, and
the good that they do is reflected upon him. He senses the
readiness of an assistant for further development, and sets
the stage so that efforts of his subordinates are used to
the full in pursuance of his purpose.
Herein lies the most subtle challenge to the man in authority
over others. He must steer a wary course between keeping his
finger in every pie, dictating in detail what is to be done
by whom, and on the other hand slackening the rein so that
his assistants learn by experience, even at the risk of making
mistakes.
Having delegated work, the leader must trust his assistants.
His action implies the courage and readiness to back up a
subordinate to the full.
The more dynamic the leader is, the more he needs to control
the irritability that arises in him when projects are delayed,
thrown off the track, or botched. He needs to seek patiently
for the reason and to be receptive to ideas for improvement.
As key man in the organization he must be a creative listener,
smothering ruthlessly ail empty excuses and brushing off all
merely time—wasting talk, but getting at the meat of
what his people have to say.
Dealing with workers
The leader has come to his position by one of several ways:
he may have graduated through the factory, where he was working
with things; he may have come up through the office, where
he dealt with figures and charts; or he may have been educated
at one of the special schools, where he learned out of books.
Now he must deal with people.
No matter what point we start from in a discussion of leadership
we inevitably reach the conclusion that the art of being a
leader is the art of developing people. At its highest peak,
leadership consists in getting people to work for you when
they are under no obligation to do so.
Throughout his active life the leader finds himself surrounded
by duties to his business, his community, and himself. None
is more important than his duty toward his workers. It is
a maxim that whoever is under a man's power is under his protection.
A foreman or manager who is tyrannical thereby pronounces
himself inefficient. He enforces severe discipline "according
to the book" merely because he knows no other way. He refuses
to hear his subordinates' side of questions because he is
afraid they may prove to be right and thus cause him to "lose
face." His imperious manner provokes dissention and betrays
his firm.
Much more successful is the leader who approaches his job
in the spirit of being a coach. He will kindle interest, teach,
aid, correct and inspire. He will seek the special talent
every worker has. His people will co—operate with him
in maintaining discipline for the good of the team. He will
suppress his own ego and encourage the progress of those whom
he leads. He will create in his group a sense of mutual effort,
directed toward a specific goal.
Policies and information
A leader in any activity will find it an advantage beyond
price to have clear—cut policies written down. They keep
his mind in consistent paths, they help him to clarify to
his assistants the purposes toward which their work is directed.
When he has his policies well shaped, then he may move on
with sureness to proper means and methods.
Not that he will himself worship, or demand that his workers
worship, a set of rules. Every rule, policy and plan is only
a guide for the run of cases and for usual circumstances.
The leader, while taking advantage of the benefits of written
policies, will be alert for uncommon cases and for circumstances
that do not belong under the rule. That is his function as
leader.
Policies and plans are more or less useless unless they
are known to all who may be concerned with them. Let everyone
know where he stands and what is expected of him. Assistants
should have a clear notion of what is to be done, as well
as what their particular part of the task is. Lord Montgomery,
as Commander of the Eighth Army, made it a rule that the plan
of campaign should be made known to every soldier.
One business executive arrives at his office every morning
with a pocket stuffed with scribbled notes. His first task
is to sort them into categories, then he calls his secretary
and dictates memos, or summonses to his office the group of
assistants concerned and communicates his thoughts.
Meeting problems
The capable leader does not flounder around in confusion
when he meets a problem, because he has learned certain general
procedures which enable him to face a crisis without panic.
Simplicity marks this process as it does all effective work
in any field. Grasp the problem; whip it into organized shape
at once; seek the information that is necessary to its solution;
do what is necessary, according to the size and complexity
of the problem, to analyse the elements of it; and then proceed
to shape and to test in your mind the various answers and
plans.
Any leader interested in expanding his capability in this
area will enjoy reading The Bismarck Episode, by Captain
Russell Grenfell (Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1948). This
is a factual, minute—by—minute account of the most
noted sea chase of all time, told from the bridges of the
ships engaged. Every ship's chief officer followed, roughly,
this procedure: analyse the situation as it is and the way
in which it developed; visualize all the possibilities; assess
them to determine probabilities; estimate the strength of
the forces opposed and of our resources; decide upon a general
plan; communicate it to those who should know; move to carry
out the plan with economy of effort and material; be sure
to calculate the chances of prolongation of action; and, most
important, shoot at the proper target.
To tackle problems in a masterly way the leader must see
things whole as well as in separate parts. Unwise accent on
some section is one of the most ruinous practices in government
or business leadership. The company that emphasizes production
and neglects merchandising finds its stockpile high and its
sales profits low. The factory that concentrates on sales
and neglects production finds itself losing friends because
it cannot give expected service. In both production and distribution
the leader must balance quality and cost.
The leader is leader of the whole enterprise, requiring
the largeness of view that sees things in their true perspective
and relations. The higher up in leadership a man goes, the
broader his life and his vision should become. He must not
gear his brain to details, going around scratching the bark
of trees and never coming out to look at the woods as a whole.
His pet aversions and loves must have a strict eye kept on
them.
It goes without saying that in dealing with both detail
and the business broadly, the leader will depend for his appraisal
upon facts truly stated. He will demand analysis, not generalization;
actualities instead of opinions. He will sense what is significant
and brush aside the trivial, reducing the most complex problem
to its simplest terms. This ability to scrape off the barnacles
and get at the true values is a vital quality in the leader.
Making decisions
Administration is a process composed of making decisions
after analyzing problems. Every decision carries with it the
element of risk. The leader must venture to run the hazard
of his own judgment.
He will often find that getting things started is more important
than making sure that they will turn out perfectly right.
He will find, too, that many of his decisions will have to
be made with incomplete data. Having done what he can to build
the necessary fact—providing organization, and having
used it to the greatest possible extent, he must nevertheless
shoulder the burden of making decisions, pushing out upon
an uncharted course where his sense of direction is given
him by his judgment founded upon experience.
The leader must originate. He must be an innovator. But
he needs to do more: he must push plans through to successful
execution, coping with the unexpected and the unpredictable
through originality and ingenuity applied with courage.
A sense of time is essential. The difference between a good
leader and a poor one may be merely that the poor leader does
a thing at the wrong time, sometimes too early but more often
too late.
Among the most poignant tragedies of history, says Sidney
Hook in The Hero in History (Beacon Press, 1943) are
those in which men have cried "impossible" too soon, and for
want of vision have summoned up energies sufficient to win
the day ( too late.
Summing up
It will be evident from what has been said that there is
need for caution in the study of leadership as measured by
mechanical analysis or the "yes ( no" type of questionnaire.
No bare enumeration of traits can do justice to the power
of insight which flashes to the surface of a great leader's
mind in the face of problems, dangers and conflict of ideals.
The young man starting out in his active life with the idea
of becoming a leader in whatever profession or business he
espouses will find much to guide him in a widely recognized
business classic, Business and the Man, first of the
Alexander Hamilton Institute modern business texts.
In the boyhood days of men who are now top leaders in all
walks of life the Horatio Alger stories of ragged boys who
attained success were highly popular. Today's sophistication
may have outdated Alger, but the principles by which his boys
became leaders are still the stuff of which leaders are made.
There is no power on earth, in school, university or anywhere
else, that can take a clerk from his desk or a mechanic from
his bench and mould him into an executive. Self—advancement
is powered by one's own initiative and perseverence. A man
still has to do his own growing, though in these days he finds
many helps that his grandfather and his father did not have.
The price that's paid
No one should embark upon a course leading to leadership
without totting up the cost. Being a leader has many compensations
( it is an imperative for some men ( but it is a hard job
and often a lonely job.
A visit to a leader's office on a working day, whether he
be a business, political, educational or church leader, will
disabuse anyone of the delusion that leadership means case
and comfort. The top man does not feel that he is sacrificing
himself if he works sixteen or eighteen hours a day. He chose
this rather than some other way of spending his time.
Like a mountain peak, the leader rises above others and
dwells apart. It is one of the perils of leadership that unless
they are very careful leaders may become so isolated that
they lose the benefit of rubbing shoulders with subordinates
and competitors.
The assaults that are made upon a leader, in business or
in politics or in social life, are as old as human nature.
They arise in spiteful little voices out of fear, envy, ambition
and selfishness. The only way to avoid them is to be obscure.
The leader has to have the courage and fortitude to keep
a clear eye on the competitive picture and a steady hand on
the organizational wheel when the going is rugged and success
is doubtful. Being licked is part of the game, if it is counted
as useful training. A philosopher put it neatly when he said
the most important thing in life is not to capitalize on our
gains. Any fool can do that. The really important thing is
to profit from our losses.
In the last analysis it is up to every person, young and
old, to decide whether he wishes to be a leader. A slave in
Rome, who became one of the great Stoic teachers and a leader
among philosophers, said this: "It is you who must introduce
the consideration into the inquiry, not I; for it is you who
know yourself, how much you are worth to yourself, at what
price you sell yourself; for men sell themselves at various
prices."
Published by RBC Financial Group. All editions from the RBC
Letter collection are available on our web site at www.rbc.com/responsibility/letter.
Our e-mail address is: rbcletter@rbc.com.
Publié aussi en francais.
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