Mary,
The word that comes to mind is "dimensionality". The people I have met that I have considered good leaders, and the handful of times when I think I have done a decent job at leading, all seem to be consistent with the idea of a high number of dimensions that a challenging problem or situation present and the leader not only being comfortable in those situations but thriving on them.

It is as if the leader achieves Csikszentmihalyi's Flow when faced with multidimensional problems with high levels of ambiguity. And maybe that is why the poetry analogy works. A great poem (or most any other work of art, for a broad definition of art) stands alone, without need for someone to tell you why it is great. When you are in flow, it is difficult to explain why things are obvious or why you do what you do, but you KNOW to do them.

Does this intuitiveness suggest, then, that leadership is not teachable? That at best we can mitigate the impact of those around us who are in leadership positions but are not really leaders? Or that leadership training only makes those who are already clearly skilled at leading more effective?
Wayne

Wayne, thanks for such a thoughtful comment.

I do think it is possible to create more attentive leaders and to help them to develop their intuition. I mean, let's face it: if my high school English teacher could teach a 17 year old how to write a poem then anyone can do it! Now of course the issue of quality comes into play (I'll never be a more than a hack), but I was teachable and so was the classroom full of other 17 year olds.

The difference is in the concept of "training" versus "education." I don't think you can simply rely on "training" in order to help someone write a decent poem. You might "train" them in the technical aspects of rhyme, meter, alliteration, assonance, etc., but at the same time you must also educate them by teaching them how to ask questions of themselves and by of course, exposing them to poetry and other forms of art.

Similarly, we can "train" executives about the technical aspects of their work. But for them to be able to be in "flow," requires asking good questions, presenting them with provocative ways of viewing the world, and challenging their assumptions and ideas.

So, my short answer is "yes," I think we can "educate" both leaders and poets. And of course, as is the case with poets, the education will have varied results. There will be good, great, and terrible leaders.

Tom DeMarco, in People Ware, talks about team formation in software companies and says he doesn’t know how to make them happen but knows how to make sure they don’t. Fits well with Dave’s idea of Worst Practices. Is leadership similar? Do leaders emerge out of an environment that is conducive to it without being causally driving it, or is it they are leaders to begin with but are enhanced by their environment?

This is an age old question Wayne, as you know.

I personally think the answer is both. I think leaders begat other leaders when they set an example that others can learn from and then allow them the space and freedom to try out those learnings. I also think that in those circumstances the learning is often reciprocal.

I also think though, that some people have a natural aptitude for understanding how to lead in certain circumstances. The really gifted leaders have a natural ability to read across contexts and adjust their leadership actions appropriately. But this can also be learned.

Maybe I'm just really optimistic about the human potential for growth and development, but also recognize that some people have natural instincts for these things. For example, I could have easily had a real poet sitting next to me in High School English class.

Mary

I realise it is not really poetry but listening to the radio the other day they played Baz Luhrmann's 'sunscreen' record and I was struck by the following lines relating to complexity:

"Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday."

In another line: "Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone" If you substitute "leaders" for "knees" it makes less sense.

Thanks for blogging, Cheers Ron