Leading Without Command: A Humane Leadership Perspective for a Vuca World

By Joe Mutizwa

Leading Without Command offers practicing and aspiring leaders in business and other disciplines a new way to lead in a world defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

The compelling argument in this book is that leading through command, control, and deployment of raw positional power can no longer guarantee superior organizational performance on a sustainable basis.

A new leadership model based on a humane perspective anchored on people-centred principles and supported by a set of appropriate skills and behaviours is put forward.

This book is essential reading for anyone in a position of authority or influence over people and for anyone who needs to come to terms with the demands of a globally integrated and hypercompetitive world driven by digital technology, knowledge, and the redistribution of power from leaders to followers in organizations, nations, and societies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Mar 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482806571

Joe Mutizwa

The author is a leading consultant on leadership development in Southern Africa. He has authored six books on various aspects of leadership. He writes from insights developed over thirty years in senior executive positions in the private sector. A Graduate of the London School of Economics, University of Zimbabwe, HEC-Paris and Oxford University’s Said Business School. He is a certified executive coach and a certified mediator. He Lives in Zimbabwe

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Joe Mutizwa.

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4828-0658-8

                Softcover        978-1-4828-0656-4

                eBook             978-1-4828-0657-1

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Contents

Part I: Setting The Context Of Leadership

Chapter 1 Founding Tenets For A Humane Leadership Perspective

Chapter 2 Review Of Changes That Have Affected The Role Of Leaders In Organizations

Part II: The Seven Levers Of Leading Without Command In Turbulent Times

Chapter 3 Expanding Organizational Awareness

Chapter 4 Path-Finding And Communication Of A Clear Direction

Chapter 5 Developing The Talent Pool

Chapter 6 Shaping The Culture Of The Organization

Chapter 7 Developing Adaptive Capacity

Chapter 8 Unleashing Organizational Energy

Chapter 9 Nurturing Organizational Health

Part III: Skills And Behaviours For Leading Without Command In A Vuca World

Chapter 10 The Ten Master Skills Essential For Leading In A Vuca World

Chapter 11 The Five Behavioural Attributes Required For Leading Without Command

Chapter 12 Conclusion: A Holistic Model For Humane Leadership In A Vuca World

Other Joe Mutizwa Leadership Series Books

1. Personal Crucibles: Learning to Lead Through Adversity and Struggles (2014)

2. The Arc of Awareness: Broadening the Gaze and Widening the Heart of Leadership (2014)

3. The Role of the CEO in Corporate Transformation: The Story of Dairibord Zimbabwe Limited (1980 - 2010)

Acknowledgements

Special mention of appreciation to:

Professor Gareth Morgan, who helped me to understand that modern leaders are essentially context-shapers rather than command-and-control champions. The insights he shared with our class at Oxford University inspired this book.

Marc Thompson, who, together with Rachel Amato, led the Consulting and Coaching for Change programme at Saïd Business School (Oxford University) and HEC Paris. They helped me to broaden my appreciation of different perspectives on leadership.

Milton Kamwendo, who, with an expert combination of humour and candour, provided me with an excellent-sounding board and invaluable reality check as I took my first tentative steps towards becoming an author.

My publishers, Partridge Africa, for their guidance and invaluable professional assistance.

Martha Musonda, my long-serving assistant, for her unwavering commitment.

My family for their support and encouragement, without whom this project would not have succeeded.

Preface

Leading in turbulent times presents special challenges for everyone in a leadership position. The traditional ways of leading through command and control are becoming increasingly ineffective—particularly in competitive business environments.

The objective of this book is to seek to understand what has changed and, more importantly, to assist leaders to identify appropriate ways of leading in a VUCA world—a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The term VUCA has become widely used shorthand for capturing the intense uncertainty and rapid pace of change in a globally integrated world.

This book addresses the why, how, and what of leadership by exploring the following questions:

1. Whydo leaders lead? What is the purpose of leadership?

2. In what ways has the context within which leaders lead changed over time and with what implications?

3. How should leaders lead in turbulent times?

4. What are the skill sets that leaders need to develop in order to be effective at leading without command?

5. What are the essential behavioural attributes required for leading without command?

Book Structure

This book falls into three parts. Part I covers the context within which humane leadership thrives. Chapter 1 explores the philosophical underpinnings of the humane leadership perspective that I bring to this book. This addresses the why of leadership. Chapter 2 reviews the changes that have occurred in the environmental context which have caused the need for a fundamental rethink of the ways in which leaders should lead.

Part II of the book explores the seven strategic levers of leading without command in organizations. These levers are the how of leadership. This is covered in chapters 3 to 9.

Part III defines the skills and behavioural attributes essential for leading without command within a humane perspective. These constitute the what of leadership. This is covered in chapters 10 and 11.

The book concludes by offering a holistic and humane leadership model appropriate for a VUCA world that promises to be the dominant characteristic of the twenty-first-century business environment.

Part I

Setting The Context Of Leadership

Introduction

In order to bring focus to this book, I share a set of tenets, or guiding principles, that I believe to be important for the kind of leadership that promotes the building of a humane organization and society.

In Chapter 1, I will give a brief explanation of these founding tenets that underpin my concept of humane leadership.

In Chapter 2, I explore the fundamental changes that have taken place across the world—changes which have made and continue to make ‘leading without command’ a viable way of leading business organizations in a volatile world.

Chapter 1

Founding Tenets For A Humane Leadership Perspective

How can we exercise power, do anything at all as agents without dominating? It is the great question of our historical psyche perhaps of human nature, how to act without dominion, without oppressive control and yet accomplish?¹

James Hillman

What Are the Roots of My Humane Leadership Perspective?

The development of my humane leadership perspective cannot be traced to one source but can be explained in terms of the cumulative impact of many diverse influences that go back to my upbringing, education, and experiences throughout my life. These gave me a perspective of the purpose of leadership—the reason why leaders lead others. I can identify some of the key influences as follows:

• Lessons from My Father

He was a great humanist, charitable, and possessing an unfailing readiness at all times to render assistance to those who needed it. Despite having little formal education, he was a true entrepreneur—always innovating, improving things, and experimenting. In this way, he instilled in his family a burning desire to learn, to be curious, and to be outward-looking, always searching for solutions. The enduring memory that I shall always have of my father is of his desire to improve the welfare of everyone he came into contact with. This is the legacy that my father left me with.

• Encouragement from My Teachers

In both elementary and high school, I was fortunate to have teachers who encouraged me to do only my very best. My high school history teacher Grey Chivanda and my literature teacher Peter Jarvis taught me how belief in myself could unlock my full potential. At London School of Economics and Oxford University, I developed an orientation that embraces multiple perspectives, open-mindedness, and tolerance for diversity.

At London Business School, Professor Sumandra Ghoshal and Professor John Stopford shared with me great examples of those who typified leadership with humility.

• Lessons from My Mentors, Heroes, and Experiences

In my career, I have been privileged to be mentored by leaders like Enos Chiura, Michael Rigby, Dr Robbie Mupawose, and Patrick Rooney at Delta Corporation Limited in Zimbabwe. All were leaders who had a genuine interest in seeing others grow and fulfil their potential. Over three decades as a business leader, I gained first-hand experience of what it takes to move organizations forward in both stable and turbulent environments.

The humility and other-orientation of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Joshua Nkomo, Abraham Lincoln, the Dalai Lama, and Pope Francis have had an indelible impact on me. These are my enduring heroes. I have been repelled by the examples set by murderous dictators, such as Hitler, Idi Amin, Mobutu, Gaddafi, and Pol Pot among others. The leadership styles caricatured by George Orwell in his novels Animal Farm and 1984 and by Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart personify, for me, the antithesis of humane leadership. At Wha Wha prison, as a young political detainee, I learnt that the dignity of individuals was inviolate at all times.

• Influences from Modern Writers

I have found succour in the humane writings of Warren Bennis, Peter Drucker, Bob Buford, James Hillman, Ali Mazrui, Wole Soyinka, and Albert Bandura.

The Tenets of Humane Leadership

Over the years, I have come to distil the convictions guiding my leadership philosophy down to five key tenets. These tenets provide for me a holistic answer to the question ‘Why do leaders lead?’ I believe that leaders have a special mandate that goes beyond the improvement of financial outcomes for the organizations that they lead. Leaders have a responsibility to ensure that their stewardship leads to the building of wholesome organizations which allow individuals to fulfil their potential. The tenets that I embrace are as follows:

• My Destiny Is Shaped by the Choices I Make

I believe that I am capable of dealing with life’s challenges and that the choices that I make as an individual influence my destiny. I believe that I am the captain of my ship and I am guided by the simple motto that I have lived with throughout my life: ‘If it is to be, it is up to me.’ I also believe that people in leadership positions—teachers; parents; organizational, national, and societal leaders; as well as significant others—have a crucial responsibility to get individuals to own up to their responsibilities and to shun too much dependence on others. A significant part of this challenge is how to inculcate self-belief and confidence in the minds of individuals under their leadership or influence.

• Belief in Human Potential for Growth

I embrace a world view that sees every human being as being capable of growth and being endowed with latent potential. I am convinced that organizations that embrace this perspective will devote resources towards optimizing human potential for the mutual benefit of the entity and the individual members of the organization.

• Respect and Concern for Others

My cultural heritage is deeply rooted in the traditions of ubuntu, whose bedrock philosophy is that ‘one is a person because of other persons’. This world view drives my ideal of organizations and societies as humane communities whose governance should be guided by a desire to optimize the common good. This view says that it is inhumane for leaders to see and treat people that they lead as expendable objects to be used as means to an end. It requires leaders to feel empathy and compassion for others inside and outside their immediate organizations.

• Embracing Inclusivity and Diversity

I believe that forward-looking and fair-minded leaders should pay attention to issues such as gender balance, racial, religious, and ethnic diversities throughout their organizations. I argue here that greater inclusivity and diversity can only strengthen an organization particularly in turbulent times. I take the view that diversity and inclusiveness are also about being open-minded and having tolerance for multiple perspectives and different views and opinions. I consider such a mindset as being essential for adaptation to change and for innovation.

• Quest for Societal Justice, Equity, and Sustainability

I embrace a holistic view that sees business organizations as subsidiaries of society, earning their licence to trade from the

Reviews for Leading Without Command

[Peter Chitsah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fundamental nuggets, an oasis of knowledge to aspiring business personnel and entrepreneurial leaders. Thus makes it a must have book.