COPs & ACEs

After a refreshing session today with the APM group, using paintings as a methodology to access insights in leadership I feel in the mood to go back to Warren Bennis writings on Leadership.

I recall the two acronyms used by Warren Bennis to move to and  from control mode and the empowerment mode. Cops and Aces. The effective leader uses both modes depending of the situation of the environment and the persons in question. As an outstanding musician, the leader should be able to play in the high pitch registry as well as in the lower bass chords depending on the score.

Control Order Predict or Acknowledge Create Empower

Maybe we’ve got to move from macho to maestro in the way we’re thinking about leading our organizations. Maestro is an interesting metaphor because an orchestra, a symphony orchestra, is not a bad metaphor to think about with contemporary organizations. They are filled with specialists, but have a flattened hierarchy. How does the leader transcend what appears to be dilemmas? are people supposed to be zealously committed to visions and missions, and yet remain agile, flexible, adaptable? So the new game of change creates all sorts of tough dilemmas for management and leadership to take into account.

I have been reminded again today, that a leader or entrepreneur in the  face of a problem sees the solution of the problem in the problem itself by a twist of his vision. A speech or music is a succession of sound and silence is not it? What makes a successful speech or music? The orderly and sensible patterns of sounds and silence in the appropriate set that yield sense.

Should you be interested in Warren Bennis’ s  work read the article from the economist written on him last year.