Get to Work!
Here comes some practical advice for truly becoming a humane leader: Leading by example even and especially where this means to be perceived as a disobedient rebel or corporate jester.
All the maxims have been written. It only remains to put them into practice.
Blaise Pascal
Although the agile transformation of BMW Group IT triggered this Manifesto and its principles, much of it had already been known for decades. Agility and the associated trend towards more self-organization and leadership at eye level are only a welcome opportunity to demand once again a more "species-appropriate keeping" of knowledge workers and to finally implement Peter Drucker's postulates (see Section “Species-Appropriate Keeping of Knowledge Workers”). If those insights on new leadership are not so new, what blocks us from implementing them? What do we need to make this change happen? Where should we start?
Leading by Example
Albert Schweitzer embodied this principle convincingly throughout his life: “Leading by example is not only the best way to influence others, it is the only way.” True authority is not a question of position but of exemplary behavior. Leadership is based more on imitation than submission. We could save ourselves a lot of resistance, fights, and suffering in our organizations and families if we first truly embodied the change we want to see in our environment. Only those who can lead themselves with sincerity and authenticity will gain the trust to lead others by example.
The following story about Mahatma Gandhi is not proven, but it is no less inspiring. A woman came from far away with her son to see Gandhi. She was worried because her son overindulged sugar and was in danger of getting sick.
So she waited patiently for many hours, and when it was finally her turn, she said, “Please, Master, tell my son to stop eating sugar.” Gandhi looked into the boy's eyes and replied to his mother: “Bring him back to me in two weeks.”
Dissatisfied, the woman traveled home and returned two weeks later. When they went before Gandhi this time, he said: “Boy, you must stop eating sugar.” Out of respect for Gandhi and his wisdom, the boy promised to stop eating sugar and has led a healthy life ever since.
But the mother was confused and asked Gandhi: “Why didn't you tell my son this two weeks ago?” Gandhi replied: “Two weeks ago, I still ate a lot of sugar myself. I had to stop first.”
Who would have acted like Gandhi in this story? Who would not have fallen into the trap of “working off” the petitioners? Who would not immediately have given the powerless, inauthentic advice without consciously reflecting on their own behavior? How do we behave day in and day out when working through our emails, in meetings, or towards our children? How does this behavior match our beliefs, intentions, and words?
Major disruptions and transformations characterize our times. For these to succeed and not fizzle out as ineffective change theater, leadership by example is the key. No one should believe that it is only about changing others—primarily the “subordinates”—while their own role remains untouched. Or worse still, no one should see those changes as a way to expand their position of power predominantly. Leadership is much more effective through behavior than through language, or in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”1 So, let's lead courageously and authentically and embody the change we want to see in the world.
Incitement to Rebellion
Winston Churchill was unambiguous: “Without courage, all virtues lose their meaning.” Not only socially and politically, we need courage more urgently than we have for a long time; our companies and the people who work there would also benefit from an extra dose of courage. Hierarchy as the dominant building principle and the absolutist power of position holders is increasingly being complemented and replaced by a network based on meritocracy (see Section “Network and Hierarchy”). Our companies, therefore, need a new enlightenment with a more consistent separation of powers. Immanuel Kant's motto should stand above every gate: “Have the courage to use your own intellect!”
It takes courage to let go and lead indirectly as a gardener. The perceived loss of control will and should make you nervous; otherwise, it was not enough to quote Lazslo Bock again (see Section “Principles Not Rules”). Conversely, it also takes courage to make use of the new freedom; making your own decisions means taking responsibility and taking risks. In a culture of psychological safety, this can unleash unimagined potential. This new freedom is definitely motivating, but it was more comfortable and less risky to pass responsibility onto the “stupid boss.”
It is hardly surprising that courage is not just one of nine (quite interestingly formulated) values in the Netflix Culture Statement mentioned before but also occupies a distinctive position as a corrective. The courage to openly address inconsistencies between the postulated and practiced values is essential:2
We work hard to keep each other accountable for upholding these standards, especially our leaders, because excellence and honesty go hand in hand. It's why we invest in strong professional relationships that build trust and help people assume good intent. This, in turn, enables us to practice extraordinary candor—ensuring constructive feedback is part of our everyday work (like brushing your teeth). It takes courage and vulnerability to ask someone how you could do better, or to seek alternative opinions, and integrity only to say things about a colleague you're willing to share with them directly.
This permission to courageously address digressions from the desired culture gives all employees at Netflix the proverbial “fool's freedom” with which court jesters in the Middle Ages were endowed to be able to address the moral failings of the leaders. This corrective element keeps the leaders accountable and makes the decisive difference to the glorious formulations of many organizations' canons of values, often perceived as empty or unrealistic because they are at odds with actual behavior.
Where this explicit permission is lacking, it is still allowed to use one's intellect in the spirit of Immanuel Kant's motto. Aristotle said, “A good person is not always a good citizen.” The same applies today: a good employee is not always a conformist or obsequious employee. Change needs disturbance by people who critically question the status quo. They can rely on the concept of civil disobedience, as many self-proclaimed organizational rebels do. They identify with their organization and the actual purpose of this organization, but not with incoherent rules and patterns of behavior or an organizational culture that is perceived as obstructive to this purpose. They do not work against the organization; instead, their rule-breaking and constructive questioning aim at improving the organization. By thinking and acting differently, they protect organizations from complacency and inertia (see Section “Disturbing the Comfort Zone”).
Leaders who want to encourage rebels consciously promote diversity and dissent and create a safe space in which questioning the status quo is desired and appreciated. This space extends beyond the manager's actual area of responsibility. In the jungle of corporate politics, there are enough pitfalls that trigger an immediate and more or less harsh immune reaction of the system against troublemakers. The leader's job is to recognize and avoid these pitfalls and thus protect their rebels, which makes them rebels themselves.
Rebels need freedom to question the status quo and try out something new. Things get even better when not just a few select rebels have this freedom but as many as possible so that rebellious ideas can resonate in the organization. Everyone should be free to try things out and learn without getting lost in the mills of politics. Everyone should be free to think outside the box and question the status quo. And everyone should feel empowered and encouraged to make use of this freedom.
Table of Contents
All links lead to the parts that are already published here on Substack.
Get to Work!
Leading by Example
Incitement to Rebellion
Set Priorities
Enduring Dissonance
Doing Your Best
The next chapter will follow next Friday. In case you want to read on as soon as possible, the book is available on Amazon in many countries as hardcover, paperback, and for your Kindle. (also on Leanpub). And all my German readers can get the German edition in every book store.
This abbreviated form is not found directly in Emerson's writings but goes back to a corresponding quote from him; cf. “What You Do Speaks So Loudly That I Cannot Hear What You Say -- Quote Investigator®,” January 27, 2011, https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/01/27/what-you-do-speaks/.
Netflix, “Netflix Culture,” accessed March 20, 2022, https://jobs.netflix.com/culture.