Bolman & Deal: Leading With Soul
Lorraine Sherry
The Story
Stories, symbolic narratives, tell tales about people, events, triumphs,
and tragedies that transcend time and place. They are important. In
this synopsis, I have to relate their story to my own inner belief
system; else it is just another soap opera.
Bolman and Deal tell the story of a burned out executive in search of
purpose in his work and in his life. His spiritual guide, Maria, has
been through the same path herself - burying herself in her work and
identifying with it totally, at the cost of her own inner voice. So she
brings Steve along the path of self-discovery, not telling him any
answers, but letting him explore alternative paths for himself. The
quest requires both an internal exploration of soul and an exaternal
search for communion - for collective spirit.
The key to the book is the four gifts of leadership, which arise from two
basic dualities: yin and yang, matter and spirit. This is just like the
Taoist duality, like justice/compassion; and also like the Brahman/Maya
and Purusa/Prakriti dualities of the Vedas, or
like the light/darkness duality of Zoroaster. It is why all Vedic Gods
have wives. These dualities power creation.
The gifts
These stem from deep spiritual and symbolic roots, and are common to all
cultures. Here, I tie them to the cultures that I am part of:
- From yin, the gift of love, caring, compassion (not just
ordinary love, but transcendent love: Prajapati - the
primal man who sacrificed himself to create all living beings; Ahimsa,
nonviolence, respect for life, in the Buddhist sense)
- From yang, the gift of power, autonomy, and influence
(Dharma, the right and just use of power;
also energy, force, and kingship, in the sense of the Atharva Veda)
- From matter, the pragmatic world, the gift of authorship,
accomplishment
and craftsmanship (Prakriti) - producing something you'd be proud to put
your signature to
- From spirit, significance and meaning, connecting with the
greater whole (Purusa)
Love
Love, in the organizational sense, is caring. Caring begins with knowing
about others. It requires listening, understanding, and accepting. It
also requires sincerity, or else it is empty. It
is a willingness to accept vulnerability, to reach out and open your
heart to others.
Authorship
It does not mean that you tell others what to do, but give them space to
create a service or product that carries their own personal signature.
It provides space within boundaries. Leaders build productive
organizations, whereas workers experience the satisfactions of
creativity, craftsmanship, and a job well done. Like in PBL, it is
creating a feeling of ownership.
Power
This means that you offer your people an opportunity for them to empower
themselves. Hoarding power produces a powerless organization. Giving
power liberates energy for productive use. When people feel a sense of
efficacy and an ability to influence their world, they seek to be
productive. Leaders should make productive use of many sources of power:
information, resources, allies, access, and autonomy. Like in the ITF,
we have control over information and access. At RMC we have control
over allies and resources. When these are shared, all colleagues have
power.
Authorship vs. Power
Authorship requires autonomy. Good authors can work by themselves. In
contrast, power is the ability to influence others; it is only meaningful
in relationship with others. As Burns says, power is a relationship, but
it is a one-way relationship. B&D say it is the capacity to influence
and get things done on a broad scale. Authorship without power is
isolating and splintering (the lonely artist in his garret). Power
without authorship can be dysfuncational and oppressive (Dilbert's boss!)
Significance
Significance lends a coherent sense of meaning and importance to the
organization. Significance lets people find meaning in work, faith in
themselves, confidence in the value of their lives, and hope for the
future. Its
internal dimension is the feeling of unity and cohesiveness that goes
with being part of a community. The external dimension is the sense of
pride associated with contributing something of value to the larger
society. Significance is built by employing rituals, symbols, and
celebrations. Celebrate major accomplishments, beginnings, and closure,
but keep them honest and authentic. It is part of Pea's idea of ritual
communication, as distinct from straight information transmission. It
allows all peers and colleagues to partake of shared experiences and
common understandings.
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Lorraine Sherry
lsherry@carbon.cudenver.edu
Updated October 10, 1996