Week 11 of 52. Welcome to Drucker Mondays, a 52-week journey through the new book, A Year with Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello. Each Monday, we'll feature a Drucker fan and his or her favorite snippet from the week's topic. (Subscribe on this page.) David Schmidt is our guest writer today.
Week 11: Principles of Professional Leadership and Management
THE BIG IDEA FROM THE BOOK: Leadership and management are NOT the same thing. When we confuse these gifts or blend them into one, we rob EACH ONE of the critical value it contributes to our organizations.
DAVID SCHMIDT’S FAVORITE DRUCKER INSIGHTS from Week 11, pages 79-92:
• “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
• “Nothing better prepares the ground for such leadership than a spirit of management that confirms in the day-to-day practices of the organization strict principles of conduct and responsibility, high standards of performance, and respect for individuals and their work.”
• “Charisma is ‘hot’ today. There is an enormous amount of talk about it, and an enormous number of books [are] written on the charismatic leader. But the desire for charisma is a political death wish.”
DAVID SCHMIDT’S COLOR COMMENTARY:
Without spiritualizing it, Peter Drucker gives credence to the rich, diverse talents and gifts God has given to us and the critical importance of honoring, empowering and releasing each gift for its own value.
And as a way to steward these gifts, we do well to pay attention to our governing board health too, so that it truly functions as stewards of the people in the organization and the “long-term interests of the enterprise” without prejudice.
Interestingly, Drucker talks about charisma (and the dangers of chasing it) as the antithesis of real leadership and management. Huh. There is something to chew on there.
THIS WEEK’S QUOTES & COMMENTARY BY DAVID SCHMIDT:
J David Schmidt is the president of J. David Schmidt & Associates, Wheaton, Ill. He notes, “I have a growing interest in maps (real ones and mental ones) and how they can both guide us and limit us if we let the edges define us.”
TO-DO TODAY:
• Here’s what leaders do: The right people in the right lanes, doing the right things, for the right reasons, getting the right results.
• When was the last time you “checked the fit” of each of these?
NEXT MONDAY:
On March 23, 2015, we’ll we’ll begin a four-week segment on “Management in a Pluralistic Society of Organizations.” Week 12’s topic is “Management: ‘The Governing Organ of All Institutions of Modern Society.’” (Did you know the word “management” was not coined until 1911?)
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