From the Bookshelf Absolute empowerment by Rachel Sproston Building connections is key to building leadership The key to effective leadership is to make human strength effective and human weakness irrelevant. This particular concept forms the very backbone of Leader to Leader, a compilation of essays from the Leader to Leader Institute's quarterly journal. Edited by Frances Hesselbein and Paul M Cohen, the book is packed with ideas and observations from successful professionals and academics involved in leadership and related analysis. In one essay, Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin notes that former US president Lyndon Johnson had only two or three advisors, which was a mistake as an enclosed environment of "yes-men" sidesteps any real criticism resulting from a large think tank of smart people advising a leader. Kearns Goodwin, who devotes her entire essay to the relative merits and failures of three American presidents, explains that, "Trust is the most fragile yet essential attribute of leadership," (p.34) and any initiative that compromises trust should always be avoided. Later in the book, Steven Kerr, chief learning officer of General Electric Company advises leaders to acknowledge the importance of conflict as people are supposed to be upset with each other in times of change. Setting the stage One essay by acclaimed author Peter M Senge who is also a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, relates specifically to vision and mission. Leaders are advised to ensure mission statements are succinctly defined and clearly distinguished from vision statements. A good mission statement should fit on a T-shirt. Later in the text, chairman of the Drucker Foundation Peter F Drucker cites Coke's "Beat Pepsi" as a perfect example of a clear mission statement. Regarding devising mission statements, management educator Jim Collins suggests avoiding expensive corporate weekends away from the office where managerial groups pore over the semantics of each specific slogan word. Instead, leaders should focus on aligning business practice with core values on an everyday basis, where there is often enormous discrepancy. A tenet repeated by several writers in the book is how to motivate exceptional people in today's knowledge economy. Extrinsic motivation is explored in depth and readers are introduced to the notion that nowadays employees are in essence volunteers with their tools in their heads and a resume in the bottom drawer, ready to move on if they feel unfulfilled for any length of time. According to bestselling author and founder of Nelson Motivation Inc Bob Nelson, monetary compensation is now considered a right, whereas recognition such as a simple thank you is still a gift. Along these lines, leaders are encouraged to employ no-cost ways to energise employees and comprehend the deep longing many people now feel to make a difference to the world and to feel they contribute to a meaningful project rather than just accumulate cash. People rules Kerr further reveals that human empowerment is essential if leadership is to succeed. He is specific, however, when defining empowerment, explaining that the American version, which runs along the lines of: "If you aren't going to take my advice, why the hell did you ask me?" should be avoided. The Japanese version is far superior according to Kerr: "You outrank me, yet you have chosen to listen to my views. I am honoured," (p.230). People are intrinsically aware of this and appreciate having a channel where their voice can be heard by their leader. "Success syndrome" is also analysed in an essay examining how leaders can easily lose the top spot in an industry due to a variety of factors. The Ford Motor Company is featured in one essay written by leaders of Delta Consulting Group David A Nadler and Mark Nadler who describe the day when a Ford employee brought a Toyota Corolla to the Ford plant in the late 1970s for disassembly and reassembly. Ford workers were amazed at how the Toyota parts just snap fitted together, but the Ford division manager remained complacent and reminded his team that the customer would never notice the difference. Great leaders do notice the difference however, and they value and regularly offer recognition to people for their innovative ideas, no matter how far removed they may seem from current practice. Overall, Hesselbein and Cohen's collection of essays provides an extremely wide perspective on leadership in today's world and acknowledges the importance of review on a personal and professional level for people who seek to attain or maintain a leadership position. The slant is predominantly North American and certain sharing initiatives will take time to fully permeate Asian societies, but both the academic depth and professional breadth of the essays are a must for any reflective leader. Content highlights: Treat people in accordance with their strengths Acknowledge the importance of conflict Meticulous recruiting makes high-performing teams About the authors Frances Hesselbein is chairman of the board of governors of the Peter F Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, and editor in chief of the journal Leader to Leader Hesselbein was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 Managing editor of Leader to Leader, Paul M Cohen is also coauthor of Working Wisdom Cohen previously edited Tom Peters' newsletter On Achieving Excellence Taken from Career Times 23 May 2008, p. C14 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]