Leading for Results: Brief-but-Powerful Lessons from Katrina and Iraq

• Published in: Organizational dynamics Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 301 - 312
• Main Author: Bateman, Tom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Science Ltd 01.10.2008
• Subjects: Communication; Effectiveness; Leadership; Management styles; Planning; Problem solving; Skills; United States > US; Iraq
• ISSN: 0090-2616; 1873-3530
• DOI: 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2008.07.008

People want their leaders to be charismatic, but they also want competence and results. Two profound events, Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war, have spurred calls for leader competence in ways that are independent of position on the political spectrum. This article draws lessons from those events about how leaders can and should exhibit competence and deliver better results. Katrina illustrates the importance of shared or distributed leadership, plus an action/reaction cycle in which leaders decide whether to act, take appropriate action, and adapt as needed. Iraq illustrates this cycle as well, but also more specifically reveals the essential components of problem-solving: prioritizing and defining problems, generating and assessing options, implementing effectively, and adapting as needed. Moreover, whereas everyone knows the importance of communication, certain communications -- those that pertain to problem-solving and progress, both emanating from and delivered to the leader -- are more important than others. The article concludes with brief-but-essential lessons for managers seeking to be competent and respected leaders by virtue not just of their style, but of their results. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]