Leadership as an Art: Insights from Max Depree
In my mind, one of the classic books on Leadership is by Max DePree, Leadership is an Art. Leadership is not simply a ten-step plan – it is more art than plain execution. It is better to envision what is both good leadership and what is bad leadership.
I love Max’s statement to help us get our heads around leadership. He says,
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must be a servant and the debtor - that sums up the progress of an artful leader.”
That may sound lofty, but I believe it strikes the right tone and posture. Leadership and strategy are closely linked. To have a strategy, you need to assess where you are and have a future point on the horizon, a vision of where you want to be. Leadership is no different. At one level, leadership is about having influence to execute a strategy for a team or organization.
Max talks about leaders owing their organization certain things. Firstly, leaders owe it to an organization to leave behind assets and a legacy. One of the assets we must leave behind is a clear statement of the values of the organization: without a set of values no organization understands its guide rails. It is worth noting that Max does not talk about the leader’s values (which can include their own self focus) but emphasizes the values of the organization. A leader can only lead effectively when their own values and the values of the organization largely overlap.
Secondly, Max goes on to talk about other things that a leader owes an organization. I like his list:
Leaders are responsible for future leadership. Part of that includes challenging others and encouraging others to challenge you. As Pat Lencioni likes to say,“You can only have good conflict when you have trust underneath it.” An organization can only have good future leaders if they possess a value of trust that allows them to have good and healthy conflict.
Leaders owe the organization rationality. Most decisions should be understandable by the entire organization. Maintaining this value underscores the importance of viewing everyone as having an important role in both the team and the organization. It also underscores the importance of human dignity and provides an environment for others to learn and grow.
Leaders give people space. Part of giving space allows others to create without fear of failure. Space allows others to live into their natural wiring even as they discover what that may be.
Leaders are obligated to provide and maintain momentum. A recent podcast by Andy Stanley concentrates on this and notes just how important momentum is and how hard it is to keep. Momentum is energy from the organization executing well and achieving its mission in line with its values.
Lastly, leaders owe an organization effectiveness. As Peter Drucker used to say, “Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things.” Most organizations suffer from both mission and vision drift. You cannot be doing the right things if you do not consistently affirm and stick to the mission and vision of your team and organization.
I am sure this list is far from complete, but at least it sheds light on some of the important things a leader must provide.
So, how about you? If you were to rate yourself on the above set of important outcomes and things you produce as a leader, how are you doing? Where do you need to improve? Just like we said above, it all starts with assessing the current reality.
Until next month….