The leader as anti-hero

Citation

Allio, R.J. (2002), "The leader as anti-hero", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 30 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2002.26130bae.002

The leader as anti-hero

The leader as anti-hero

Robert J. Allio

Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing

Joseph L. Badaracco JrHarvard Business School PressBoston, MA2002

Leading Quietly posits an alternative to the widely accepted model of self-heralding heroic leadership. In the view of Harvard Professor Joseph Badaracco, true leaders are not the charismatic figures who are often gloried in the business press as transformers of companies and reshapers of society. Instead, he asserts, the effective leader is far more "quiet" and low profile; one who acts with "modesty and restraint," and who moves "patiently, carefully, and incrementally." For those satisfied with small change, Leading Quietly may be comforting. But it does not inspire those of us who seek to make large changes.

His great leader model is Albert Schweitzer, the prototypical altruist, who gave up a career as a musician and theologian to become a medical missionary in Africa. For his years of service to his patients and the community, Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.

For Badaracco, Schweitzer is more to be admired than James Burke, who gained fame as Johnson & Johnson's rescuer-CEO during the Tylenol crisis. Burke, you will recall, authorized the immediate withdrawal of all Tylenol from all drug store shelves after several bottles contaminated with cyanide were discovered in Chicago. J&J incurred significant short-term costs as a result. But his quick action restored consumer confidence in J&J, and the company soon regained market leadership. Badaracco argues that the many J&J employees who implemented Burke's decision and dealt with the fallout from the problem showed true leadership – and that Burke's "leadership" was nominal.

In support of his hypothesis, the author shares with us a number of case histories in which men and women face innumerable quotidian challenges. For example:

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  Jill Matthews is troubled about a perfect record of inspection for her facility, but in fact a significant part of her operation was never inspected at all ... what should she do?

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  Rebecca Olson must deal with a sexual harassment and discrimination claim against one of her senior vice-presidents, a respected and long-time member of the organization? What can or should she do?

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  Elliot Cortez must meet his quota for selling a new pharmaceutical for treating depression. How can he deflect corporate pressure to recommend the drug for unapproved uses?

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  Kendra Jackson has been urged by her management to fire an employee who appears to be under performing. Should she resist?

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  Shirley Silverman, a public health official in a large city, is conflicted by the Mayor's plan to arrest and prosecute pregnant women addicted to drugs. What recourse does she have?

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  Nick Russo has violated the outreach rule of the center for homeless teens where he works as a volunteer. Can his behavior be justified?

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  Paula Wiley begins to experience the bias against females in her law firm. How can she express her dismay?

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  Eddy Carter is under criticism for his approach to scheduling consultants to projects. Does he have a solution?

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  Frank Taylor needs to recommend new computer servers for his client. Can he proceed without violating his principles or risking his career?

Curiously, though, the challenges faced by these individuals, and scores of others that Badaracco encountered during his four-year study, do not clearly represent leadership challenges. Rather, they seem to call for moral or ethical responses. And so the fruits of his analysis of the possible courses of action offer a combination of moral guidelines and principles that help managers diagnose a situation: you do not know everything, you will be surprised, keep your eye on the insiders, trust but cut the cards, look at your fish, remember your responsibility, do not go it alone, do not be afraid to back out, be sure you really care.

What seems to be missing is in fact a leadership model that differentiates between "doing the right thing" and "leading others forward".

The author makes reference to Immanuel Kant's misanthropic slander about mankind ("From the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made."), but overlooks some of Kant's important contributions to ethical theory, like the categorical imperative. And he ignores completely the exponents of utility theory or social contract theory as a framework for moral decision making. Badaracco's own pantheon of quiet virtues consists of restraint (patience and self discipline), modesty, and tenacity. Again, while adhering to these qualities may make you "moral," it is not entirely convincing that it will make you an effective leader.

For those satisfied with small change, Leading Quietly may be comforting. But it does not inspire those of us who seek to make large changes. Ironically, although the author identifies James MacGregor Burns as a major contributor to the field of leadership with his theory of transforming leaders, he ultimately advocates for the rest of us a transactional approach. When quiet leaders find themselves in complex ethical dilemmas they follow two guidelines. One tells them to take the rules very seriously ... The other tells them to look, creatively and imaginatively for ways to follow the spirit of the rules, while at the same time, bending them.

One of the several literary sources to which the author refers is The Remains of the Day. The protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro's moving novel is Mr Stevens, who "leads" from his position as the head of the serving staff at a British manor – perhaps an inspiration for Badaracco's quiet leader. As the butler at Darlington Hall, Stevens strives to perfect his role, acting at all times as if he were serving a "great gentleman," responding with dignity to minor crises, compromising whenever necessary. In the process, he fails to make a significant difference in either his master's life or his own. In fact, one could well argue that his blind adherence to the "quiet" virtues is precisely what dooms him to a life in the margins.

At the bottom line, the author is a pragmatist – his exhortation is that we should do what works. His quiet leaders "at least got it done." But he does not suggest a policy of mere expediency:

When quiet leaders find themselves in complex ethical dilemmas they follow two guidelines. One tells them to take the rules very seriously ... The other tells them to look, creatively and imaginatively for ways to follow the spirit of the rules, while at the same time, bending them.

Ambiguity and complexity do pervade our lives, and we surely spend too little time addressing the ethical dimensions of our decisions. But rather than bending rules, it seems more true that effective leaders break the rules or invent new rules; they innovate. And they seek collaborative decisions that do not entail compromise.

In sum, Leading Quietly presents only a partial interpretation of the role of leaders. What is absent from Professor Badaracco's guide to leadership practice – his notion of "doing the right thing" – is attention to how leaders map the future of the organization, how they set direction, and how they promulgate their ethics throughout their organizations so that managers are inspired and empowered to implement strategy. Badaracco's model is really about doing things right, the need for ethical behavior. But strategists also need a taxonomy for identifying "how to do the right thing" – the skills leaders need to apply to the ongoing dilemma of managing change.