Management, Executives, Leadership…

Over the years I have observed how the concept of solving problems for organizations has changed its name. First it was called administration. The first journal in the field was Administrative Science Quarterly and schools that trained corporate and organizational leaders were called Graduate Schools of Business Administration. The degree granted, MBA, still stands for Master in Business Administration.

When business administration programs did not produce the desired results, the concept of administration was relegated to a lower rank within the organization. Administrators just coordinated and supervised, and a new concept emerged: management. Gradually at first, and then rapidly, schools changed their name to Graduate School of Management.

Apparently that did not work well either, and management was relegated to the middle level of organizations. It lost its appeal and a new word was needed: executive. Graduate programs for executives and the concept of Chief Executive Officer were born.

That shift did not produce the desired results either, so recently a new theory appeared: leadership. Books are now published describing how leadership is different from management. I believe “leadership” is just another fad. Soon, we will have another buzzword.

Why? Because we are searching for an all-encompassing concept that will cover the skills necessary for running an organization. We are all looking for a model that will describe and identify the specific kind of person who can provide the functions anorganization needs so that it is effective and efficient in both the short and the long term, and that person simply does not exist.

The mistake in this way of thinking lies in the expectation: All the roles are expected to be performed by a single individual, whether he is called the administrator, the manager, the executive, or, now, the leader. In reality, one person, even someone extraordinary, can perform only one or, at most, two of the roles required to manage/lead an organization.

In this book, “leadership,” “executive action,” and “management process” are one and the same for me, because they follow the same wrong paradigm. The paradigm assumes that a single individual can make any organization function effectively and efficiently in both the short and long term, whether that person is called leader or manager or chief administrator or just chief.

Let me make the point clearly: An individual who can make decisions that will cause an organization to be effective and efficient in the short and long term does not and cannot exist. The roles that produce those results are internally incompatible. The ideal executive does not exist.

We are still trying to develop and train and create this elusive perfect executive/manager/ leader. It cannot happen. It will not happen. It has never happened. Our management education needs revamping, and our managerial culture needs redirecting.

A single leader, no matter how functional, will eventually become dysfunctional. Over time, as the organization changes its location on the lifecycle, proceeding from early success to a booming position within the corporate field, that single executive will falter. The qualities that made her successful in the past can be the reason for failing in the future.

Building a company requires a complementary team. It needs collaborative leadership, a team of leaders who differ in their styles yet complement one another.

But here is the problem: A complementary team, since it is, by definition, composed of different styles, generates conflict. So, although conflict is good, although it is necessary and indispensable, it can be destructive and dysfunctional.

What is needed to avoid this potential dysfunctional and destructive conflict is collaborative leadership based on Mutual Trust and Respect.

This book provides a paradigm shift in how to successfully manage for exceptional, sustainable, results. Hundreds of testimonials are available, some on www.adizes.com, of companies that use the methodology described in this book.

Or one can read my book Conversations with CEOs: Adizes Methodology in Practice.

Let us begin.

One afternoon I was talking with an executive of one of the companies for which I was consulting. He wanted to know the theoretical framework that I had developed that enabled me to teach and lecture worldwide, and to help CEOs of major companies implement strategic changes in their organizations rapidly and successfully, and without destructive conflict. He asked if I would take the time to talk about my field of expertise. As we talked, exchanging questions and answers, this book took shape in my mind.