Leadership Reality
There are as many books on leadership as there are theories on how leadership works. One of my personal favorites is a short series that was started over 20 years ago by Dr. Wess Roberts, a former Army officer who turned his attention to leadership and motivation with such companies as Fireman’s Fund Insurance and Northrop. His most interesting books are Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun and its sequel Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun.
Most of us have a negative impression of Attila, and textbooks on western civilization often don‘t treat him kindly, but the secret to his success in battle was his ability to take large groups of unaligned tribes and mold them into a cohesive group. By showing each tribe how much more they could accomplish by associating with him, Attila united an immensely diverse people into an army that not only changed combat, but that also rocked the foundation of the world as it was known at that time.
In his books, Roberts sets the stage where we readers are gathered at Atilla’s encampment as his young captains, listening to his words on leadership. Attila gives us wise counsel on the reality of being a leader of others:
“You must be determined to apply massive common sense in solving complex problems.”
“You must not be threatened by capable contemporaries or subordinates. Rather, you must be wise in selecting capable captains to achieve those things a chieftain can obtain only through strong subordinates.”
“You must have a passion to succeed — a passion that drives you to prepare yourself and your Huns to excel.”
And one of my personal favorites: “It is a simple truth that the greater your accomplishment — your victories — the greater opposition, torment, and discouragement your enemies will throw in your path. Expect it! Don‘t become a victim of it.”
The leader can take comfort in having adversity and opposition, particularly when the root of such behavior is understood, Attila reassures us.
As a fire chief, you head a very diverse group of men and women made up of baby boomers, Generations X and Y, and soon the even harder to define Gen Next, all with different motivators, but who all need a common sense of organization and common set of goals. Today, do we as chiefs need to have more of the ability to unify our diverse personnel similar to that envisioned by Roberts‘ version of Attila‘s leadership?
August 29th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Bob,
Your observations about opposition certainly strike a chord with me. Although good leaders never set out to make enemies, they must accept that they exist. Learning to distinguish enemies from friends requires good leaders to recognize that the two are sometimes the same.
Bad leaders assume that “my enemy’s enemy is my friend,” while good leaders realize that friends who do the right things for the wrong reasons can pave a road to hell with their good intentions. As such, sound leadership is not about getting people to follow you so much as getting people to join the caravan.
Attila’s leadership depended upon people making his goals their own and vice versa. Finding common ground involves a commitment to change on the part of leaders as well as followers.
The task of leading diverse organizations by defining common goals will become easier if our organizations more closely reflect the character and values of the communities we serve. Making this happen will require us to realize changes in retention and recruitment practices as well as the way our workforce engages citizens on a daily basis.
Bob, thanks again for another well-crafted and thought-provoking piece!
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Leadership.
Mutual Aid.
A Common Map Grid (USNG).
A great article.
Let’s see if there is any leadership in the US Fire Service anywhere other than Florida.
“You must be determined to apply massive common sense in solving complex problems.”
So far, none.
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