Way back when I started this blog I wrote about the importance of creating a culture of no surprises, so it was with great interest that I read HBS’ Jim Heskett’s thoughts regarding the importance of a No Surprise Management (NSM), either. (Heskett’s previous discussion about servant leadership formed the basis of another recent post.)

Bosses don’t like surprises from their direct reports. But “no surprise management” works just as well when bosses don’t surprise those lower in the organization, says Jim Heskett.

Heskett is worth following, because he doesn’t lecture, let alone pontificate; rather posits a brief scenario, asks ‘what do you think, and draws his many readers into adding their thoughts creating a far richer level of information.

NSM should be a no-brainer for bosses at all levels, not just senior management.

As Larry Slate, Organ Preservation Supervisor, Gift of Life Michigan, so aptly puts it in comments,

Employees are expected to “dedicated, professional, accurate and ethical”. As employees we expect the same from management.

Or, as one manager recently said to me about his boss, “I give what I get.”

I think that pretty well sums up people’s feelings on NSM, as well as most other workplace topics.

Flickr image credit: Giorgos Michalogiorgakis

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

A couple of weeks ago we took a look at Jim Heskett’s HBS discussion about why servant leadership isn’t very prevalent, considering how effective it is; this week he sums those reasons up.

Servant leadership is experienced so rarely because of trends in the leadership environment, the scarcity of human qualities required, demands that the practice places on the practitioner, and the very nature of the practice itself.

It’s easy to spot the major traits that get in the way.

“Ego (that) makes it difficult to ‘want to serve'” (Randy Hoekstra), “greed” (Madeleine York), and “An unhealthy desire to control” (Judesther Marc).

There is more; ake a moment and read the summation, it’s short.

Next look at yourself in light of the expressed reasons preventing the spread of servant leadership.

Then look at your company’s culture and how well that culture fosters and recognizes those who practice servant leadership.

Now fix yourself, so you can become a model of servant leadership, and then fix whatever needs fixing in your culture so that that kind of leadership will naturally rise to the top of your organization.

A few thousand years ago a gentleman named Lao Tzu said it all quite elegantly in just 45 words.

As for the best leaders,
the people do not notice their existence.
The next best,
the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear;
and the next, the people hate—
When the best leader’s work is done,
the people say, “We did it ourselves!”

I can’t think of a better mantra to build your management around.

Image credit: HikingArtist

There’s a common thread that runs through leadership teachings starting at least 2500 years ago with Lao Tzu, who said,

The superior leader gets things done with very little motion. He imparts instruction not through many words but through a few deeds. He keeps informed about everything but interferes hardly at all. He is a catalyst, and though things would not get done well if he weren’t there, when they succeed he takes no credit. And because he takes no credit, credit never leaves him.

and

As for the best leaders,
the people do not notice their existence…
When the best leader’s work is done,
the people say, “We did it ourselves!”
To lead the people, walk behind them

Fast forward to 1987 and you have The 5 Practices of leadership from The Leadership Challenge,

• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

Today the hot terms are thought leadership and servant leadership.

The thread that runs through all this is that leadership is all about ‘them’, not about ‘me’—another reason that ‘politician’ and ‘leader’ are an oxymoron.

The other common thread is that leadership isn’t about what you do.

Leadership is about your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™); it’s who you are.

Leadership is open to all, no matter what you do, at work or personally, you have opportunities to lead.

So the real question isn’t do you practice leadership, it’s are you a leader or a meader?

Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: .:Axle:.