| Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently | | | | bureaucracy that stifles innovation and |
| criticized the US military for not doing | | | | creativity making it short-sighted, |
| enough to support soldiers in Iraq and | | | | inflexible and unadaptive. Enlightened, |
| Afghanistan, singling out the Air Force for | | | | adaptive leaders are much different from |
| adapting too slowly to the new enemies on | | | | top-down managers. They tend to be more |
| those battlefields. He blamed military | | | | non-linear in their thinking. These leaders |
| leaders who are "stuck in old ways of doing | | | | are more intuitive, have greater insight, and |
| business". That may sound strange to hear | | | | are more creative. Being more conceptual, the |
| coming from a senior government official who | | | | see the "big picture", are futuristic |
| knows full well that the military is steeped | | | | oriented, possess holistic insight and |
| in the tradition of command and control | | | | emotional intelligence. They have greater |
| leadership that creates a top-down management | | | | spontaneity and flexibility-a balanced |
| style and fosters orderliness and | | | | integration of rational analytical and |
| predictability, rather than innovation and | | | | unconventional imaginative processes. They |
| adaptability. But in a world of chaos and | | | | have the ability to take a new perspective to |
| ever changing conditions, Mr. Gates realizes | | | | an old complex problem and reassemble |
| that the ability to change and adapt is key | | | | interrelated parts of the problem in novel |
| to military success: What worked well in the | | | | and unusual ways leading to a viable |
| past may now be an outmoded and ineffective | | | | solution. They are much better at coping with |
| approach. Mr. Gates is pointing out a truism | | | | the non linear complex nature of the |
| that US business organizations of all types | | | | competitive context of our global business |
| and sizes have witnessed and/or experienced | | | | environment. One would think that most of |
| during the past 75 plus years: Unadaptive | | | | these adaptive leaders head up the newer |
| organizations underperform and/or fail in the | | | | hi-tech companies like Apple, Google, |
| long run. Companies like Sears & Roebuck, | | | | Nintendo, Microsoft and But if you look at |
| K-Mart, Pam Am, Howard Johnsons, Armour & | | | | the recent list of the top 25 innovative |
| Company, Westinghouse Electric are examples | | | | companies recently compiled by BusinessWeek |
| of businesses which were once at the top of | | | | (4/28/2008), you may be surprised to find |
| their industrial sectors only to be toppled | | | | more traditional companies such as General |
| by competitors who looked into the future, | | | | Electric, Toyota Motor, Hewlett Packard, |
| adapted and out performed them. And the way | | | | Wal-Mart, and Proctor & Gamble included on |
| their competitors did it was with adaptive | | | | the list with the newer hi-tech companies. |
| leaders, not top-down managers. So what's the | | | | These more traditional companies have |
| difference between the two? Consider top-down | | | | adaptive leaders who are building cultures |
| managers first. These managers, for the most | | | | that value creative people in good times and |
| part, are predominantly linear thinkers. | | | | bad. The good news is that managers can |
| Linear thinkers are rational, logical and | | | | change and become more adaptive leaders just |
| analytical. They are mainly concerned with | | | | as traditional companies can become more |
| the present, not the future. They tend to | | | | innovative. As a corporate executive |
| stick with things that have worked well in | | | | leadership coach, I have worked with hundreds |
| the past as opposed to experimenting with the | | | | of managers and executives for the past 20 |
| unfamiliar. They are very organized | | | | years and I have witnessed a transformation |
| individuals who value orderliness and | | | | of many individuals who have changed from |
| predictability. They favor rules and | | | | top-down managers to adaptive leaders. All |
| procedures to ensure that orders from the top | | | | thinking and behavior can be changed...it is |
| are followed through to the lowest level. | | | | called learning. Through assessment, self |
| Their mentality is that managers think, | | | | awareness, action learning, and coaching, |
| workers do (as they are told)....an idea | | | | managers can become more effective and |
| generated by the father of management | | | | adaptive leaders. In essence, my experience, |
| science, Frederick W. Taylor during the early | | | | research and observations have led me to |
| 20th century. This approach worked fine back | | | | conclude that the assertion, "Leaders are |
| then, during the early US industrial economy. | | | | born, not made," is a myth. |
| But today, things are quite different. We are | | | | |
| now living and working in a knowledge | | | | Stan Truskie,Ph.D. is President of MSD |
| economy. If you have ever worked for one of | | | | Leadership Consultants Inc. a Pittsburgh |
| these authoritative managers, you know first | | | | based firm specializing in executive |
| hand how autocratic and controlling they can | | | | coaching, change management, and leadership |
| be. Gather a group of these linear thinkers | | | | development with Fortune 500 companies.He is |
| and place them at the top, running the | | | | author of Leadership in High Performance |
| organization, and guess what you get? A very | | | | Organizational Cultures and has appeared on |
| rigid top-down organization that does | | | | TV/Radio. |
| everything by the rules, creating a | | | | |