If you have a choice between pop literature and good research, take the road less traveled. Although there are good insights and ideas in popular business books, it can lead to a misguided understanding of leadership and a void of sound research-based resources from which to draw new insights and ideas. Having an opinion about leadership in a particular field may be interesting, but having the empirical data to back it up really makes it valuable.
In our work at the Institute for Organizational Leadership, we have a unique opportunity to interact with a wide range of top leaders from differing backgrounds and industries. One of the most surprising things about this group is their lack of formal knowledge about leadership as a science. Most know that it exists, but have had very little if any exposure to historical data, leadership theories or empirical data that make up its foundation.
Rather than taking up a formal study of leadership as you might expect, the majority of these successful individuals rely on knowledge, skills, attitudes, and habits acquired from personal experience and popular business books. When introduced to more formal research-based information, many are quick to point out how many mistakes they might have avoided over the years if they had taken the time to review the research rather than the latest best sellers. It can be an eye-opening experience to see just how much research is available on the subject of leadership and how helpful it might be when applied to a contemporary workplace.
As we progress through this course, every effort will be made to build a solid research-based approach to the study of leadership. This practice will differ from that taken by many of my clients who have been the victims of trial and error, or pop literature in which the author simply voices his or her opinion.
If Burns is correct in his assertion that “leadership is one of the most observed . . . phenomena on earth,” then we should have no trouble establishing a solid foundation for our inquiry of transformational leadership and innovation (Burns, 1978, p. 2). We should also have little difficulty finding sound doctoral-level research upon which to build an effective personal leadership plan.
Lessons from History
It is important to emphasize that the value of historical inquiry as it relates to this course is not simply to restate what others have said or done, but to move us toward application in the present. Before we do so, however, we must be extremely careful to recognize the value of historical research and how to get the most out of it. Application might be the goal, but it will only be as good as the data gathering and interpretation in the final outcome.
Keep in mind that if the goal of historical inquiry is application it’s always a good idea to slow down, take a breath, and think before you act. Just because examples of leadership from the past are enlightening does not necessarily mean they will be applicable.
As you review the historical literature, you should feel a sense of tension between what leaders have done in the past, and the kinds of challenges and issues you now face in your own workplace. You might even ask, “How would this principle or strategy apply to my work setting?” or “What would be the outcome of taking a similar approach today since it seemed to work so well in the past?” In my view, this tension is both natural and healthy but has to be tempered with caution about making the journey from information, to interpretation, and to application to quickly.
In addition to moving to quickly through the leadership history, we should also reject the temptation to automatically think that what great leaders have said will give us the same results today. In most cases, it will not, but that has certainly not stopped many from trying.
The same can be said about empirical research. Just because a researcher found something to be true in one setting, does not necessarily mean that by copying the behavior we can replicate the result. Leadership occurs in a highly complex, interpersonal, and changing environment which cannot be replicated in a laboratory setting. If even one dynamic of the original circumstance around which a decision is made or a behavior is exhibited is different, the outcome might be totally different. Unfortunately, this is also a lesson that is not always heeded by leaders.
Did you notice how many times the candidates in the recent presidential campaigns made reference to past presidents? The goal, of course, was to identify themselves with the historical leadership and greatness of those presidents of which the public holds in high regard. In all the speeches that I heard and read (which was considerable), I did not once hear either candidate explain to the audience that the context in which the former leader’s decisions were made was radically different from what we are facing today. They were, however, quick to draw on the similarities while completely ignoring the obvious differences. In each case, there was a direct leap from past to present with the expectation that if elected we could expect more of the same. If not for the seriousness of the situation, it might have been amusing.
In our investigation of the historical data, we must make every effort to keep the leader (or research data) in its historical perspective and context. As any historian would argue, the past must be understood on its own terms and the ultimate goal of interpretation should only occur after careful consideration and thought have taken place. My advice is always to slow down, take a deep breath, and think about what you are reading.
A Simple Way to Keep Your Perspective
If you want to avoid the mistakes of the past while studying the past, try this simple checklist to keep your perspective.
Perhaps the most important thing I can offer as you process the vast amount of leadership research, is to work hard at investigation before you attempt to move to application in your own work environment. That’s why we have the opportunity at UOP to dialogue online with one another and work out our thoughts before we begin the process of developing a personal leadership plan. There will be plenty of time for implementation as we move along, so don’t feel rushed.
To help me keep my own perspective, I have often referred to a helpful list offered by Schlabach (1996), which outlines thirteen facts about historical information. The original article was a simple message to undergraduate students at the University of St. Thomas, but I have found the list itself to be a timeless reminder and guide.
According to Schlabach (1996), anyone reviewing historical materials should remember that:
- Some things happened before other things.
- Some things only happened in certain places.
- Meanings and definitions of words change.
- Where there is no record there is no history.
- Texts that powerful educated people have written are not the only kind of record.
- History is almost always complex.
- God may indeed intervene in human history, but this is hard to document and historians require footnotes.
- To attempt to live without a memory is to attempt to lose one’s humanity.
- Our memories fail us, however, and so we must continually work to recover and test our collective memory.
- Historical study has at least as much to do with interpreting the past as with gathering “the facts.”
- Nothing is more important for historians than to chart cause and effect — even though nothing is harder to prove.
- Intriguing coincidences sometimes point to relationships of cause and effect, but never are enough to prove cause and effect.
- Human history sometimes seems to involve themes that are common to many cultures and continuous through many ages — but historians do not have the right to assert them until they have paid long and close attention to particular differences of time and space (1996).
Summary
In my own view, there are few things more important in the development of personal leadership than a foundational understanding of the historical knowledge granted to us by our predecessors. They have left us a rich depository of insights, ideas, and research from which to draw our own conclusions about what will and will not work in our present organizational settings. If we ignore the information, pass over it to quickly, or substitute it for the latest leadership or management strategy, we run the very real risk of repeating the mistakes of the past without ever knowing that a workable solution exists.
References
Bass, B. M. (1990). Handbook of leadership: Theory, research, & managerial applications (3d ed.). New York: The Free Press.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
Schlabach, G. W. (1996). A sense of history: some components. St. Paul: University of St. Thomas [Online]. Retrieved November 22, 2004, from University of St. Thomas Web site: http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/gwschlabach/sense.htm
Wren, D.A. (1994). The evolution of management thought (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.