“ I’m not afraid of an army of lions lead by sheep. I am afraid of an army of sheep lead by lions.” Alexander the Great. But maybe he should have been a little afraid.
Poor leadership can make organisations less effective, wast talent, miss opportunities, and fritter away resources but can good leadership compensate for inadequate resources, lack of a talent pool, incomplete management information and outdated equipment?
There is still a view in some areas of business that all you have to do to make your organisation successful is appoint a great leader. However time and again a leader with an impressive track record is appointed only to fail. If it isn’t the quality of leadership that’s undermines success it must be something else. Was there something wrong with the culture of the organisation. Was the structure not fit for purpose ? Did the organisation lack the necessary talent to succeed? Was there a failure to invest in technology? Were successive leaders undermined by an interfering and divided board?
If success is not down to the leader is it more to do with culture or strategy or inventiveness, simply having the right talent and the means to exploit it? If these things were all in place could almost any one lead a successful organisation. Could an army of lions be successfully lead by a sheep? After all not every successful organisation has great leader!
Alexander was right leaders do make a difference but when it comes to organisations maybe even well led sheep are no match for lions. Brian Clough said it best when he said managers take too much credit when things go well and too much blame when they don’t.
Given time , good will and resources a leader can change the structure of an organisation and influence its culture, they can device a wining strategy and implement it provided they have the necessary talent at their disposal. But this is only possible if they have the support and confidence of a united board.
Blair McPherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcphetson.co.uk
