Jeff Angus on Leadership

Here's a great column from Jeff Angus on Leadership. Granted, I'm pointing it out because it echoes my own sentiments on the subject and supports my previous complaints about IBM. The following are his words not mine:



Because all human organizations tend to be self-amplifying (see Angus' Eighth Law), accountability-sloughers will tend to get chosen for advancement by accountability- sloughing decision-makers and therefore get concentrated at the top.


My one gripe with the article is that is confuses the concepts of leadership and charisma. Angus repeatedly says leadership is ephemeral. I would say charisma is ephemeral but leadership is pretty concrete. Leadership is the act of convincing people to willingly do what you want rather than what they want. Being charismatic is certainly one way of being a good leader, but others such as being a good manager (Angus's point), and developing trust and respect are just as, if not more, successful and a lot more practical.

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