George Brutchen

My Theory of Leadership
To me leadership is a continuum like that shown below. On the left side we have a simple, direct type of leadership and on the right there is an enlightened kind of leadership.

This continuum concept is consistent with Frydman, Wilson, and Wyer who note that “Leadership is not the same in all situations. When there is a fire in a chemical plant, for example, you don’t want any participative leadership. Instead you want General Patton there saying “Do this. Do that.” Conversely, when you are up against complex problems that are not given to straight forward, known solutions, that requires a very different kind of leadership.” (Frydman et al 2000, p. 196). As a leader I believe I move back and forth along this continuum many times during a day but hopefully most of my time is spent on the right side.
Why do I say that I hope most of my time is spent on the right side? This is because I believe an effective leader for the 21st century needs to be as described in the Tao Te Ching which states “Enlightened leadership is service, not selfishness” (Wren 1995, p. 69). I also say this because I feel strongly it is important to practice “interactive leadership” where the leader actively works to make the leader-follower interactions positive for everyone one involved as is described in “The Way Women Lead” essay in Wren’s book (Wren 1995, p. 150). Finally, I say this because as a leader I have a responsibility to be both a learner and a teacher so I can help others grow since, as Frydman, Wilson, and Wyer state so well, “All of us are potentially leaders at any time; likewise, all of us are potentially followers at any time as well” (Frydman et all 2000, p. 196).
In addition to this leadership continuum I also see leadership as being coupled with a management continuum as described by Dr. Steve Seteroff and as illustrated by the following diagram from his book, Beyond Leadership to Followership. (Seteroff 2003, pp. 16-18).

This diagram shows that as a leader I move back and forth not only on the leadership continuum but also back and forth on the management continuum as well which is required in this complex world we live in. Support for this is also demonstrated by the quote by my colleague Amanda Haskett who states “Despite the differences between management and leadership, both roles are equally important in the real world and the business world. A good leader or manager analyzes the situation or problem at hand and then finds the appropriate balance between leading and managing.” (Haskett, April 1, 2008) This diagram also shows an important function of a leader and that is creating a vision. This is also thought to be important by my colleague Joshua Cox who states that “Creating ideas and vision are must have characteristics of a leader” (Cox, April 1, 2008). I see creating ideas and vision as making connections which I feel to be an important aspect of a leaders role in KM.

My Leadership Role in KM and CI
To me a leader has a very important role in Knowledge Management (KM). Jay Gillette in his papers (Gillette 2000 & 2006) describes the practice of information networking as being how we move and use information and illustrates this in the form of a table as shown below.

However, in evaluating the original table while I felt that it definitely described how information networking occurred I did not see how the leader fit into this networking until I realized that a key step was not being included and this is represented by the row added to the table in bold capital italics.
I believe that in developing vision and in making the “quantum leap” type of adaptations a leader must make making new connections with information is a keystone step. The substeps describe how this is done. First, the leader recognizes a new type of connection or pattern exists within the information. Second, the leader then defines what this connection is. Third, the leader then verifies that this newly defined connection is stable and can be used for future actions. Finally, the leader captures this new connection so that it can be used in the future, preferably for competitive advantage. I have to say that I feel this connecting step is something that could be easily overlooked since with existing information that we have already “connected” we quickly pass through this step without any thought and probably do not even realize that we have done this.
Thus, for me being a leader in knowledge management means that I must be looking to make these “connections”.
This extends over to competitive intelligence (CI) as well which in my opinion is just a specialized branch of KM. I believe that the text that Blenkhorn and Fleisher edited supports this when it is written: “Now , more than ever, competitive advantage in global markets is intelligence driven. Competitive intelligence that targets foreign-based companies, whether state or privately owned businesses, joint ventures, or foreign subsidiaries, requires a through understanding of the local country’s unique business culture and environment.” (Blenkhorn & Fleisher 2005, p. 5)
I also believe that the book Prescott and Miller edited also indicates this by this quote: “Differentiate report generation from actionable intelligence.” (Prescott & Miller 2001, p. 32).

Conclusion
By recognizing that there is a need for a new approach to leadership for the 21st century I hope the sharing of my theory of leadership, which emphasizes enlightened leadership, and what I see as my leadership role and function in knowledge management and competitive intelligence will provide insight to the reader as to what I feel this new leadership approach should be. May we grow as leaders and followers together in this new millennium.

References

Blenkhorn, D.L. & Fleisher, C.S (eds.) (2005). Competitive Intelligence and Global Business. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Cox, J. (April 1, 2008). Leadership 2 [On-line]. Available: http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/jlcox2/2008/02/leadership_part_2.html#more

Frydman, B., Wilson, I., & Wyer, J. (2000). The Power of Collaborative Leadership. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Gillette, J.E. (2000). “Information is Knowledge in Motion”: A Practical Framework for Understanding Knowledge Management. Unpublished manuscript.

Gillette, J.E. (2006). Leadership for the Information Renaissance: Clarity, Challenges, Opportunity. Unpublished manuscript, Ball State University.

Haskett, A. (April 1, 2008). Focusing on Leadership: Utilizing Historic Perceptions to Create a Definition of Leadership [On-line]. Available: http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/amhaskett/2008/01/focusing_on_leadership_utilizi.html

Prescott, J.E. & Miller, S.H. (eds.) (2001). Proven Strategies in Competitive Intelligence. New York: Wiley. (pp. 26, 32)

Senge, P.M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday.

Seteroff, S.S. (2003). Beyond Leadership to Followership. Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing.

Wren, J.T. (1995). The Leader’s Companion. New York: The Free Press.