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