The following post first appeared in 2008. It's worth a look again.
FIRST, HERE'S TO ALL THE MANAGERS WHO LEAD FROM RESPONSIBILITY AND THOSE WHO WANT TO LEARN THE ART. THESE PEOPLE PROVIDE HOPE.
Now for problem in need of fixing. In my post on What Management Doesn't Get: Leadership Implies Responsibility I made the argument that managers have a gaping hole relating to leading.
Here is a good list (a starting point) of why managers won't lead from a position of responsibility:
- It's easier to command and throw your weight around.
- Too many organizations teach (by their actions) that people are a means-to-an-end.
- Most managers, if honest, would have to admit they're soft. When I was escorted out of corporate America for the last time, I discovered this first-hand.
- Managers, and those who promote them, don't teach and guide. Therefore, many managers go by instinct. It is not instinctual to take responsibility. If it were, I'd be writing about something else.
- Fear and greed.
- The tools for education focus too much attention on skills and the attainment of position. Without a strong emphasis on character, responsibility will not be a priority.
- Managers have bought the lie that everything begins with them.
- It's hard to lead from responsibility. It requires a creativity of the highest order.
- Deep down many managers have given up.
- Too many organizations have become instant everything. No time for anything except for what's immediately in front.