Contrarian's Guide to Leadership - Essay Example

"Position Paper on the Contrarian's Guide to Leadership" Throughout history, society has borne witness to countless leaders who have inspired and uplifted others to go beyond the limitations of their abilities. These are charismatic, forceful, and highly opinionated characters who by sheer force of will found ways and means to impose their will on others for the greater good or otherwise. These are people who make things happen, the difference makers who shape the world as we know it. But essentially, just how do we quantify leadership Are there pertinent traits which constitute a good leader According to Argyris, (1976), leadership is defined simply "as the art of motivating others to act towards a common goal" (p.4) As Drucker (2001) bluntly put it "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers" (p.194) Traditionally, leaders have been evaluated on the basis of their charisma, attitude, and ability. That is the "boxed-in", prevailing mindset society harbors when quantifying leadership. However, more contemporary views see leadership as the end result of a dynamic interaction between leader and follower, a "collaborative endeavor" between those embroiled in the process (Rost, 1993:12) However we may define leadership, what is infinitely clear is the fact that society has these preconceived notions about what a "good" leader should be. There are some though, who offer a differing perspective on the concept of leadership. In "The Contrarian's Guide To Leadership", Steven Sample argues that leadership is not necessarily measured in black and white. Better known as the current president of the University of Southern California, Sample dissects traditional leadership "values" and professes that leadership is a dynamic, unpredictable entity that is context-dependent and evolving. In line with today's rapidly changing times, leadership can no longer be limited to the predictability and rigidity of the past. Not to detract anything from past leaders of historical lore, but just because one was successful in a different era does not necessarily translate into success in the current one. The dictates of contemporary society need leaders who are flexible, and are not bound by a certain mode of thinking. These are the individuals who will react to situations objectively and creatively, and will use original ideas in asserting their independence en route to solving relevant problems and issues. The aforementioned constitute the hallmarks of the aptly termed "contrarian" perspective of leadership. According to Sample (2002), the contrarian perspective "doesn't mean counter to all conventional wisdom. Indeed, much of it is true. But, you can't become an effective leader by trying to mimic a famous leader of the past. So, you can't develop your full leadership potential, or even fully appreciate the art of leadership by slavishly adhering to conventional wisdom. The key is to break free, if only fleetingly" (p.1) Adopting a contrarian approach ensures that one is looking at things from a fresh and highly adaptable point of view, one that will bode well for the challenges of today. At the forefront of the contrarian framework lies the concept of "thinking gray". Leaders who adopt this maintain their independence by "thinking free" and refusing to think like the people surrounding them. For instance, conventional wisdom dictates that good, efficient leaders make rash, impulsive, and hopefully brilliant decisions. On the other hand, contrarian wisdom offers that leaders should deliberately weigh all sides to an issue, hence arriving at a highly objective, thorough and carefully thought out decision. By nature, people would usually look at things in binary terms - black and white, right or wrong, true or false, et. al. It must be put into consideration though that there will always be "gray" areas somewhere along the point of contention. Nothing can be truly quantified as being absolutely true or absolutely false; there is always something that can be further perused and dissected in order to come up with a better-informed opinion. "Thinking gray" does not come naturally, as human nature almost automatically veers one to think in binary terms. Even society has this preconceived notion of leaders being bold, decisive, and who are strongly driven by their passions and prejudices (Sample, 8) These are traits commonly associated with leadership, and with no intent of undermining those great icons of the past, this mode of thinking was particularly effective for wartime situations where decisions needed to be made very quickly. In actuality, this further affirms the contrarian framework, as these great figures were reacting in a creative and independent manner as the situation called for it. The pressing question is, would they react differently towards a different situation that was not so pressing In retrospect, not all military leaders were bold and impulsive - luminaries such as Napoleon and Washington were very deliberate in their dealings, and they saw the importance of making a decision until the last moment in order to make a wiser choice. There are several inherent dangers that could be attributed to leadership driven by binary thinking. Sample (2002) argues that this kind of leader "forms opinions before it is necessary to do so, and in the process closes his mind to facts and arguments that may subsequently come to his attention. (p.9) Likewise, this attitude would leave the leader open to believing close-minded and very susceptible to the herd mentality, which would naturally be highly detrimental to any leadership role. Adopting this mindset is not all-encompassing though, as that would drive a person absolutely insane. This mode of thinking is most appropriate for selective situations which necessitate sound and erudite judgment. The contrarian leader is open to all ideas, and does not accept or reject anything outright. The ability to tread middle ground without rushing into anything is an invaluable asset for any leader, and would be a welcome respite from the frenetic, impatient pace that leaders adopt nowadays. Another contrarian nugget of leadership worth giving credence to is the concept of "thinking free"., that is, free from all prior restraints (Sample, 12) It can be closely compared to the soon-to-be-clichd "thinking outside the box", only this concept brings an entirely new meaning to the word creativity. The basic difference between them can best be compared to two first- time runners in a marathon. The first runner will exert himself mightily, but once the exhaustion and pain set in he would drop out with no hesitation. The second runner on the other hand would stretch his body to hitherto unknown levels of pain and exhaustion, but in lieu of quitting he would find a way to work through the excruciating suffering en route to finishing the race. The first runner represents "thinking outside the box"., a leader who is willing to stretch the limits of his free thinking only so much. The moment it gets a little bit awkward and the idea becomes too outrageous he would retreat to the confines of his safe haven - conventional thinking. The second runner is the contrarian leader, someone who is willing to forcibly engage himself into thinking free for a sustained period of time. No matter if the idea gets ridiculed or he is flouted as a pariah, he sticks to his guns. And more often than not these are the people who end up having the last laugh, as their steadfastness results in the great innovations that shape and make society what it is today. If one is to look at all the movers and shakers from a historical referent point, how many outrageous ideas at the time were terribly panned and their purveyors ostracized The true contrarian leader has the innate ability to face the fire and persevere where people of lesser mettle would have crumbled. They possess the chutzpah necessitated by their deviance from the norms of society. For example, how many people put down Michael Dell when he dropped out of the University of Texas in 1984 Some thought was crazy to mortgage his future for a business centered on fixing computers. At the time this seemed like an extraordinarily gutsy and irrational move, and some thought he was downright insane. (Ho, 2006:2) Of course, we all know what happened next. Promulgating this contrarian approach to his chosen industry, Michael Dell revolutionized the way computers are sold with his direct sales business model. At the time this was a highly unconventional, against-the-tide approach which cut out the middleman altogether in computer sales. Early on pundits savaged the model, saying it had no sustainability factor (14) Billions of dollars worth of sales later, Dell had silenced all his critics, and in 2005 Dell, Inc. was named America's "Most Admired Company" by Fortune magazine. So is it safe to say that the contrarian approach worked well for Michael Dell He exercised free thinking by adopting the direct sales model at a time when everyone in the industry was relying on local distribution channels. He was willing to try something different, something out of the ordinary, and when people were throwing him under the bus he kept his nerve. His steadfastness and perseverance has led him to become one of the country's most revered business icons, a veritable household name recognized the world over. Now, what if Dell had stuck to conventional thinking and given up his "crazy computer dream" when the going got tough What if he had gone back to university Most probably , we would have never even heard of him. And who knows how the computer industry would have turned out It's a good thing he stuck to "thinking free", and in the end it was the contrarian leader who ended up making history. To conclude, the contrarian approach to leadership encourages dynamism and intellectual independence by going against the dictates of conventional wisdom. This leadership perspective showcases leaders who are highly adaptable to any situation, and would reserve judgment on crucial issues until the very last minute in order to produce the best-informed decision possible. Issues become greatly objectified, and hence the leader is less susceptible to any underlying bias and pressure. This approach espouses free thinking, were the leader would stand by outrageous and highly unconventional ideas even if the general sentiment is very adverse and negative. It is only by staring down conventional wisdom and holding one's ground can the world's greatest innovations come forth. After all, how can the world evolve if everyone sticks to what is safe and predictable The contrarian approach offers a fresh and unique view to leadership, one that is highly contingent on the context of every given situation. There is no predictability, no boxed-in thoughts. One can never fully appreciate and understand the intricacies of leadership if the main objective is to merely emulate leaders of the past. These icons were acting under the pretenses of a different time and place, and what was effective back then may not be as advisable in the contemporary era. Each generation has its own set of heroes to look up to. These men and women captured our hearts and minds because they dared to be different, and ventured to do things no others would. They pushed to succeed when the chips were down , and the conventional thing to do was to call it a day. Do you want to be the next iconic leader of this generation Adopting the contrarian's approach to leadership would be a good start. Or you could choose not to, which is the easy thing to do. Just think of the possibilities. You could be the next Michael Dell, with a $17.5 billion dollar fortune to his name and household name recognition the world over. Or would you rather lead a safe, conventional, and happily ordinary life Now that's for you to know, and the world to find out. Bibliography 1. Sample, Stephen . (2002) The Contrarian's Guide To Leadership. New York:Wiley 2. Argyris, Chris (1976). Increasing Leadership Effectiveness. New York: Wiley. 3. Drucker, Peter (2001) The Essential Drucker. New York. HarperBusiness. 4. Rost, Joseph (1993) Leadership For The Twenty-first Century. New York: Praeger 5. Ho, Mary (2006) Dell: Overcoming Roadblocks to Growth. Asia Case Research Centre. The University of Hong Kong. Read More