leadership: In crisis and otherwise

DEBATE ABOUT WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS can rage endlessly, and often does. Some might hold up Attila the Hun (not to be confused with the calypso singer of the same name) as a model. Others, influenced by a book they pretended to have read in college, might promote Niccolò Machiavelli. Little Nicky, as he may have been known, was arguably the father of modern political science but hardly quali-fies as a leader. He was a consigliere.

European kings were de facto considered to be leaders, for centuries. Serious scholarship has shown, however, that many were, in fact, not. Simple peasants and powerful lords of church and state alike took the divine appointment of kings and such as an automatic affirmation of their leadership qualities. Most glossed over the reality that the divine appointment was only valid until a more ruthless competing family was able to oust the incumbents.

In modern times, anyone running to be president of the United States has found it necessary to convince the electorate of his—or her—leadership capabilities. The process was certainly simpler when the candidates were hand-picked by corpulent septuagenarians in smoke-filled rooms. Because the candidates are sometimes pretending—hoping—to be leaders, the results have been uneven. James Earl Carter comes to mind as does Herbert Hoover, on one end of the spectrum, with Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the other.

In business, though, leadership tends to be conferred by the actions of followers. It is surely earned, but is not typically won. That is not to say that a certain amount of jockeying for position among board members does not go on prior to a leadership transition, much as cardinals are reported to do during the process of electing a new pope.

Components of leadership

So, what is it that leaders have that others don’t, at least not to the same degree? A mastery of the following five skills: communication, inspiration, delegation, evaluation, and coordination.

Take communication, for instance. Every great
leader begins by being a great communicator. But not
all communication styles and media are used equally
effectively by leaders. Winston Churchill was a bril-
liant orator and writer, both in and out of political
office, before becoming prime minister. Franklin
Roosevelt was a master of radio communication at a
time when Americans needed reassurance, a sense of
direction, and a calm, steady
voice. Ronald Reagan used
television, writers, and
scripts better than any presi-
dent before or since.