A couple of months ago a good friend of mine provided me a copy of a talk by Hugh Nibley entitiled “Leaders and Managers”. You can find a copy of the talk here. The speech was given as the commencement address at BYU on 19 August 1983. when Hugh Nibley was a professor emeritus. I have since read through he words a few times and have become truly fascinated with his comparison of ‘Leaders’ and ‘Managers’. While his words have many scriptural and spiritual ties, I wanted to briefly share my thoughts on the application of his ideas in the business world. I would highly recommend people take a moment to read through his talk. Nibley makes very good points about the vanishing leader and the rise of the manager. I feel it is important for all to understand, especially those seeking to be a leader in our world where leadership is so easily discussed, but so often absent.

Nibley takes some time at the first part of his address to discuss, of all things, the robes in which he and the gathered graduating students are dressed. He gives a bit of history of how they came to be and what they represent. He then gives this warning as a start to his discussion of leadership versus management:

“What is wrong, then, with the flowing robes? For one thing, they are somewhat theatrical and too easily incline the wearer, beguiled by their splendor, to masquerade and affectation. In the time of Socrates the Sophists were making a big thing of their special manner of dress and delivery. It was all for show, of course, but it was “dressing for success” with a vengeance, for the whole purpose of the rhetorical brand of education which they inaugurated and sold at top prices to the ambitious youth was to make the student successful as a paid advocate in the law courts, a commanding figure in public assemblies, or a successful promoter of daring business enterprises by mastering those irresistible techniques of persuasion and salesmanship which the Sophists had to offer.”

This first point is critical, though subtle. Throughout my professional career I have continually come into contact with individuals that “dress the part” in order to cover up their deficiencies in leadership. They use their clothing or title to keep people at a respectful distance, or to inspire awe and mystery in others. These others then learn the lesson that they too, must look the part. Thus begins the cycle, or shift, from leadership to management the Nibley states “…marks the decline and fall of civilizations.”

This statement is very bold, but also humbling. While discussing leadership and management, many of us would talk of the failure of a team or potentially even a business, but we would almost never discuss the fall of our civilization. It caused me to pause and reflect on me, and ask the question, “Am I a leader or a manager?”. Do I contribute to the building up of a strong civilization, or do I participate in the decline and fall?

Nibley describes leaders and managers as follows:

“The leader, for example, has a passion for equality. We think of great generals from David and Alexander on down, sharing their beans or maza with their men, calling them by their first names, marching along with them in the heat, sleeping on the ground, and first over the wall. A famous ode by a long-suffering Greek soldier, Archilochus, reminds us that the men in the ranks are not fooled for an instant by the executive type who thinks he is a leader.”

“For the manager, on the other hand, the idea of equality is repugnant and indeed counterproductive. Where promotion, perks, privilege, and power are the name of the game, awe and reverence for rank is everything, the inspiration and motivation of all good men. Where would management be without the inflexible paper processing, dress standards, attention to proper social, political, and religious affiliation, vigilant watch over habits and attitudes, and so forth, that gratify the stockholders and satisfy security?”

I have found no better definition of leaders and managers than this. All of us can look back on our personal and professional life and find a leader to whom we look. It may be a parent, family member, spiritual advisor, teacher, or mentor. This individual is beloved, has always made us desire to be better, and doesn’t seek to inflate themselves over us.

Many may say that management is needed. The minutia of our daily lives, both professional and personal, require management of things (time, tasks, money). I do not disagree with that. Necessarily, some of the manager must be in every leader. However, the issue comes down to motive. Do I seek to inflate myself, to get gain for me, in my actions? Or am I, as Nibley states, “inspired, caught up in a higher purpose, devoid of personal ambition, idealistic, and incorruptible.”

The problem with management is that it feeds on mediocrity. Nibley states:

“To Parkinson’s Law, which shows how management gobbles up everything else, he added what he calls the “Law of Injelitance”: Managers do not promote individuals whose competence might threaten their own position; and so as the power of management spreads ever wider, the quality deteriorates, if that is possible. In short, while management shuns equality, it feeds on mediocrity.”

All of us have seen this in the workplace. We all know a manager who is incompetent, arrogant, seeks his or her own, and kisses up to the boss. When others are promoted under this manager they seem to be the same sort of person. The bureaucracy then expands in both size and power.

As I look at my professional career (as well as personal life), and the positions that I have held and now hold. I am concerned about my devolution from leader to manager. I have long held that I am a leader, inspiring others to succeed. Lately, however, I’m not so sure. I’m concerned that the mediocrity that management feeds on has seeped into my methods and work. That scares me. I’m not one to be just part of the crowd. Affecting change is what I do best, and where I have been successful. Just like the anecdote of the boiling water and the frog, I’ve been getting comfortable in the increasingly warm/hot water. It’s time I jump out and get back to shaking things up again. I’m sure not everyone around me may be pleased, but isn’t that half the fun.

Again, I would encourage anyone reading this to read the address by Hugh Nibley. It is incredible, and fit for anyone looking to better understand leadership, management, and the need for one over the other. You can view it online here.

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I’ve blogged before about Patrick Lencioni and his books here. I recently finished his most recent book, “Getting Naked“. I would highly recommend it.  The book discusses the need for businesses to “get naked” with their customers and be all about helping them be better.  It means being vulnerable with your clients and working to make them better with no pretense or ulterior motive.  Check it out.

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I’ve recently been on a business/leadership book binge.  It helps that I listen to audiobooks to and from work.  Check out audible.com, I love their service.  However, I thought I would quickly blog about a few that I have recently completed, some for the second, third, or even fifth time.

First,  Leadership and Self-deception by The Arbinger Institute.  This book is one of the most impacting leadership book I’ve ever read.  It speaks to not what you do but why you do it.  The focus of the book is changing your motives and way of being toward people…recognizing how we are driven and how to improve.  It is an easy read, as the book is written in the story/parable format. I highly recommend the book to anyone looking to improve in their professional or personal life.

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni.  I really enjoy Lencioni’s work and have read almost everything he has written.  This book, however, is one of his most impactful.  Again, the book is written in the story/parable format, but the latter fourth of the text is actually instructions on implementing the four obsessions, which are:

1. Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team
2. Create organizational clarity
3. Over-communicate organizational clarity
4. Reinforce organizational clarity through human systems

This book is a “must read”, in my humble opinion, for anyone in an executive position or striving to be an executive.  The first time I read this book I was a project manager for a large financial institution with no direct reports.  Many of the principles didn’t really hit home at the time, but it started the foundation.  I’m now a Vice President of an organization with a reasonably sized team and I see the obsessions in a bit of a different light. 

Pick up these books and check them out.  It won’t be a waste of your time.

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