Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
By Matthew G. Brandt
As a young man growing up in Oregon, I vividly remember hearing my parents telling incredible stories of men like General Patton, Admiral Nimitz, President Eisenhower, and President Kennedy. Certainly there were war-time heroes during that timeframe of American history; some national leadership successes as well. This country’s fight for international democracy created enormous opportunity, though no guarantee, for such men to emerge on the world’s stage as powerful, dedicated leaders though each had a unique method and brand of leadership.
My Father
My father, also a World War II era veteran and a United States Marine. He eventually had a career as a law enforcement officer. He had his opinion about these and other such men who stepped up to the challenge when it was most certainly needed. Those men came through their battles; be it on the battlefields of the Pacific or within the beltway of Washington.
He grew up through the ranks, ultimately, he understood what successful leadership looked like. Success was often measured by accomplishing only the goals you set out to achieve. Having the resources available where and when they were needed and leading people who otherwise were not accustomed to experiencing being led. Often to do things in most cases they didn’t or wouldn’t want to do otherwise. A question I asked was how did they do it? The answer was always the same; accountability.
I’m grateful for the lessons my father learned, as tough as they may have been at the time and as he imparted those lessons on me, it has given me the ability to lead successfully today.
History Lessons
For those who can either remember those times, or also have heard the stories and understand what it took to be a leader was far more than merely having a higher profit margin this quarter than last, or producing more widgets than the next company. Success may even be seen as merely maintaining a piece of the organization exactly as it has been for the last decade so as not to upset the apple cart of the corporate structure. Time, technology and the lack of real-world crisis experience has depleted our ability as a country of innovators, creators, organizers and leaders from sincerely improving upon the lessons of prior generations. Creating leaders like those men is a difficult task.
In reality, today’s leadership training should incorporate the lessons learned from history, be it military, corporate or world history the issues that are faced today are the same issues faced 50 or 100 years ago. Setting out with specific goals that defines success in what we do, have resources in place; be it people or infrastructure to carry out those goals and most importantly, holding the organization accountable (the people) for their actions as we move forward toward that ultimate goal.
Falling Short
Where leaders today fall short is in the reliance of technology that has allowed us to improve the speed by which we do things. It has also improved the techniques by which we accomplish some tasks, and it certainly has improved our communication opportunity. But technology has created is a vacuum of accountability and leadership at every level that the likes of Patton, Nimitz, and Kennedy would probably find offensive.
Life in the workplace or battlefield is very different today. We see dozens of books, articles and news reports on the various Millennials, Gen X or Gen Y issues that have become what I believe is the crutch of the very people raised during those times. Today it’s easy to say “ah, she’s a Millennial what do you expect?” Well, what I expect is for her to step up to the plate and do what she is paid to do and stop falling back on what her perception of what she believes the world owes her.
It’s Scary
Are you able to imagine a platoon of Millennial soldiers in General Patton’s march across Africa? What about a ship full of Generation X or Generation Y sailors and marines at Iwo Jima or Okinawa? No, not for a second can I see that having the same productive outcome that was accomplished over 60 years ago. Is that the fault of technology or leadership allowing it to happen? I’m generalizing a bit, so don’t shoot the messenger. But training young men as a Drill Instructor, I can tell you we are raising multiple generations, ill prepared in many ways of their predecessor generations.
The technology revolution has seen greater success in our modern world than this nation saw during the industrial revolution. The advances made in the past 30 years alone have out maneuvered every aspect of life and profession. Far out weighing what our grandparents and great-grandparents experienced in their youth.
With that however, comes a side to leadership that was simply not expected nor handled appropriately. Everyone became caught up in the wave of technology. Pagers, blackberries, cell phones, e-mail, texting, social media and video conferencing have replaced one-on-one communication. The are of hand-written notes, correspondence and real-time communication is gone.
The Price of Speed
Speed is everything; increased productivity means more sales, more exposure, more revenue, and a higher bottom line. However, the one thing technology has failed to figure out, is how to increase time itself. We have become so dependent on accomplishing more, creating more progress, more widgets, attending more meetings that we have come to a point of saturation in many arenas. Again, is this a leadership issue that must be addressed through accountability or is it something else?
Corporate leaders, as well as leaders of industry and nations, have such innate pressure to accomplish more, with less. Be more places, attend more meetings, approve more programs, create new ideas, sell more products that the “traditional” 8-hour day has turned into the 24-hour day as the norm in many organizations.
Technology
Where is this taking us? Isn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier, more accommodating, free-up time? Where it’s taking us is to the brink of imploding on our own technological success. All while watching our leadership skills fall by the wayside. Line level workers are looking around wondering where their organization is heading. Simply because all they hear are the rumors from everyone except their own leadership.
Mid-level managers have their eyes set on the next big idea or product. They have lost the ability to communicate with those whom carry out the day-to-day business. The business of making their organizations work. Senior level leaders have lost the ability to lead as a result of coming up through those very ranks. Learning exactly what is being taught along the way.
Do more with less, work longer and faster through the use of technology and get a piece of the pie before the ceiling crumbles. Well don’t look now, everything seen falling isn’t merely rain, it may be pieces of the ceiling.
The ability to communicate through the human bond of one-on-one conversations is becoming a lost art. Much like the use of cursive handwriting is quickly becoming a thing of the past in the teachings and use of our children; it’s now given way to texting and e-mails.
Leadership by Email
As leaders it is easy to ignore e-mails and it’s easy to have administrative staff take messages for you. What is difficult, is to look someone in the eye and give solid constructive criticism. Provide counseling on potential improvements in their work product or even show praise for a job well done.
It’s not that leaders can’t do it, anyone can do it, but it has become so comfortable to hide behind the wall of technology. To lead by e-mail, the following generations are in serious trouble. Failing to pass on the ability to act as a true leader, as it was once meant. As history has shown was most successful, will this nation ever find its next Patton, Nimitz, or Kennedy?
So we come full circle and the question still remains; where have all the leaders gone? The simple answer is nowhere. Those that have worked hard at developing leadership skills through formal education and experience; through a gradual rise within organizations, gaining supervisory experience and the responsibility that accompanies it are the leaders of today.
The Missing Piece
What is missing in most leaders today is simply a specific skill set. A skill set that impresses upon leaders to personally interact with those whom they rely on. Entrust in the fact that human contact, personal relationships with people, creates a wealth of trust. With it, the ability to lead. Especially when times are difficult. Leading during the good times is easy; everyone will follow a leader to paradise without much prodding. But when the organization turns toward a battlefield, look around, and see who is still following.
Creating those interpersonal relationships with subordinates, leaders and stakeholders creates a certain trust and bond. It’s a bond that cannot be interpreted or easily digested by an outgoing e-mail. Make time to simply stop by and say “hello” to the new guy on the assembly line, gain his trust today and he’ll stick with you for years to come, in good times, and bad. Remember to lead as history has shown us is most successful, from the front. Then set goals, and hold people accountable. Try not to get caught leading from behind the wall of technology. Where have all the leaders gone? They are right here!
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