Is There a Recipe for Leadership?

In my first job as an editor for a major book publisher, I had the privilege of working on a revision of Joy of Cooking, one of the most famous cookbooks of all time. (I’ll hasten to point out - especially to current users of the book - that, given my lack of culinary expertise, my role on the project did not involve editing any of the recipes themselves.)

I’m reminded of my Joy of Cooking experience whenever I encounter business books with titles like The Acme Way or Leadership Secrets of [insert name of historical figure here]. I suspect that many people buy these books with the expectation of finding detailed recipes for action that tell them exactly what to do to get the same results as Company A or Person B.

I began reading my own recent book purchase, Talent Management (edited by Larry Israelite), with my usual eye toward whether the authors would encourage this line of thinking by the reader. (“Talent management,” by the way, refers to the collection of things that a company does – interviewing, onboarding, goal-setting, coaching, individual development planning, engagement, etc. – that help employees do the best they can every day to achieve their own and the company’s objectives.)

So it was refreshing to read the following passage on the very first page of the editor’s Introduction:

“I am making no claims whatsoever that what is presented here represents ‘best practices in talent management.’ That would be presumptuous at best and, based on the history of this sort of thing, potentially dangerous. Rather, the authors who have generously contributed chapters to this book describe those talent management practices that have worked for them in their organizations. No one is claiming that what worked for them will work for you – though all who have contributed, I expect, believe that their firm’s talent management practices do contain some universal truths about how to manage talent so that its value is maximized.”

I think that Israelite is making an important observation here about the nature of leadership in general. Leading organizations and individuals is not a matter of finding the appropriate recipe for action for every situation and then applying it to the letter. Rather, leadership is about acknowledging universal truths and general guidelines (what I’ve also referred to as heuristics) and using them to inform rather than dictate action.

REFLECTIONS FOR THE YES! LEADER

Israelite’s observation about universal truths also reinforces one of the YES! Leader themes: Leadership is more of an improvised performance than a scripted play. As I’ve shown, improv is neither about memorizing predetermined lines nor about inventing everything totally on the spot. The performance improviser – and the YES! Leader as well - uses several intervening structures as a guide to her performance and then fills in the blank spaces within the structure as she goes, making in-the-moment adjustments as needed to address each situation as it unfolds.

What are some of the guidelines that inform your leadership practice? Which of the following guidelines (as developed in the YES! Leader blog) might be useful for you?

·         Being a YES! Leader means applying the ExploreFlexSupport model.

·         Leadership involves the appropriate balance of two behaviors: Telling and Asking. (Adjust as necessary.)

·         Leadership involves the resolution of (seeming) contradictions. Frame issues in terms of “both-and” rather than “either-or.”

·         Say “Yes And.” “Yes And” doesn’t necessarily mean Agreeing with the Position, but it does mean Accepting the Person, Acknowledging the Possibilities, and Advancing with Positive Purpose.

·         Negative energy is often stronger than positive energy. Cultivating positivity requires special attention, ongoing awareness, and eternal vigilance.