Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

We all have one person in our lives that has been instrumental in placing our feet upon a new career path. Mine was a gentleman by the name of C.R. "Neil" Duarte. I had the privilege of working for Neil when he was the President of Thermo Flow Systems. During my time at Thermo, Neil taught me to stand up for what I believe in and speak out for those that couldn't. As a result of his support and encouragement, I moved fully into the field of HR.

Neil was kind enough to send me a copy of his article "Where Have All The Leaders Gone" that was published in the Houston Business Journal. The below isn't the entire article, but I did want to take the time to share his words of wisdom.

"What are the characteristics of a true leader? That subject has been debated for centuries by some of the brightest minds in a variety of fields. Little if any consensus exists today. In fact, there is not one field of specialization in business academia devoted to the subject of leadership as there is to finance, accounting and other traditional subjects. Many people believe the old saying that leaders are born, not made. While there are some aspects of being a great leader that appear to be beyond the control of the individual, I believe that many characteristics that are essential to becoming a true leader can be learned or at the least greatly improved upon by study and observation."

In Neil's article, he goes on to reference a 2001 publication "Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values and Defining Moments Shape Leaders" by Professor Warren Bennis of Harvard and former MIT Professor Robert Thomas. In this book, the authors identified four common traits that are essential in a leadership role.

In Neil's own words, "While I fully support the four traits described by Bennis and Thomas, I would add a fifth - acceptance of responsibility. True leaders do not hesitate to accept responsibility for whatever happens under them. Those fortunate enough to work under a true leader know that the leader will insure that due credit is given to those under that leader for any success that occurs. Whatever problems occur, no matter how serious they may be, the leader will accept full responsibility. He will not attempt to pass the blame to those under his supervision.

In business today I believe that too many corporations have confused leaders with managers. Managers tend to look at all people and things under them simply as different types of assets, animate and inanimate. Only numbers are important to them. In stark contrast, leaders understand that their people are the most important part of their job and treat their employees as such. Leaders, though no less afraid than managers, speak the truth both inside and outside of the corporation, no matter how unpopular that might be.

The current malaise in American industry will end when everyone involved with business, including corporate boards, Wall Street and investors, demands that those elevated to positions of corporate leadership truly be leaders. Inherent in this process is that all learn to accept the bad news as well as the good news."

Thank you Neil for your never ending support and pearls of wisdom.