Here are the first five little exceprts from Leadership without Ego by B. Davids, B. Carney & I. Getz (Palgrave MacMillan) in print Jan 2019.
“The biggest shortage in the world is not oil or food—it’s leadership without ego.”
“A superior skill-set makes you better in that discipline. It doesn’t make you any better as a human being, superior to others. The more unique your skill set, the more subordinate you must become. Don’t let your ego grow on account of your superior skills.”
“Leadership is not authority. You can be the owner, chairman, or even CEO and not be a leader. Conversely, a supervisor or foreman can be a leader. It’s not authority that makes a leader, it’s whether people want to follow.”
“Management is controlling the things you can. There are only three things that you can control in business: time, money, and quality. Note that there is no mention of people. You can’t control people, you can only lead.”
“Decisions need to be pushed down to lowest level possible. A poorly led company allows decisions to go up to the next management level. Eventually, the CEO winds up swamped and ineffective.”
Leadership is not authority. You can be the owner, chairman, or even CEO and not be a leader. Conversely, a supervisor or foreman can be a leader. It’s not authority that makes a leader, it’s whether people want to follow.” Dear M. David, before anything, I apologize for my English. I am interested by your definition of authority. Because, as far as I understand the way you use it, it makes me think of power, linked to a status, a place in an orgachart. Is that what you mean? As a consultant, I use the terms of power, authority and… Read more »
Hi Eve, Thx for your comment. First we need to agree on managing or leading people. Plz look at my Ted Talks, Management is control, Leadership is no control. Like Eisenhower and Townsend, I do not believe you can manage or control what goes on in a persons mind. I believe the person with the final decision in an organization has the responsibility to match Authority with Responsibility when assigning a problem/issue. Responsibility puts the problem on a person, Authority gives the decision power to decide/solve. I think we can have a long and fruitful discussion on Power; I use… Read more »