[Vnbiz] Staying to be a leader - The leader in a changingenvironment

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear Brother Thien & CACC,

Brother Thien, I am not talking about leadership in the "administrative
approach" or any approach.  That is your word.  I am just talking about
"leadership".  I am not adding any label to the word "leadership."  As you
add more labels into what I am saying, you will confuse yourself and
everyone else.

Leadership is the quality of a leader, just like "accounting skill" is the
quality of an accountant, be he working for a food company, an IT company,
an NGO, or the army.  Accountant is accountant.  Each different company may
require a bit of special knowledge from him.  But generally, accountant is
accountant.

Similarly, leader is leader, regardless of where he is and who he leads.

Let me give you an example.  President Ho Chi Minh is clearly a great leader
that led Vietnam through two major wars.  But did he have any military
credentials to fight a war?   Was he great in financial management to raise
funds for the war?  Is he superb in organizing skill?  I am not sure if he
was good in any of these technical skills.  He had his general, his
minister of finance, his organization gurus do all these specialty works.
He just led.  And his quality was that he had great leadership.

The same thing can be said of President Reagan of the US.  He was not good
in anything, not even in movie acting.  He was just good in leadership.

The question is:  What is leadership?

The answer I have tried to go over, in different forms many times, is that:
"Leadership is the ability to master your own heart, to understand other
people's hearts, to attract them and to lead them to a destination that is
both your own vision and your people's vision."

Let me break the above sentence into elements:

1.  Leadership is the ability to master your own heart,
2.  to understand other people's hearts,
3.  to attract them and to lead them,
4.  to a destination
5.  that is both your vision and your people's vision.

Everything I have said about leader is very much within the five elements of
the above sentence.  I will go over these elements again and again in
different ways.  But whatever I will say, will be within these 5 elements.

Other things that people talk about in "leadership training", such as
organizational skill, communication skill, reward and punishment, are more
properly called "managerial skills."   They may help make good managers.
But they are not good enough for leaders.

Managerial training is the training on the techniques of management.
Leadership training is the training of the human heart, to have the heart
(and therefore the skills) of a leader.  The true leadership skills come
from the heart.  If you have the right heart, you have the right skills.

Don't confuse managerial training with leadership training. Most "leadership
seminars" in the market place and in school are really "manager training";
they are not really leadership training.  They may produce good managers,
but not good leaders.

Hope I am clear enough, brother Thien.

Have a great day!

Hoanh


On 4/30/07, Tran Ba Thien <tranbathien at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
>  Dear brother Hoanh and CACC
>
> Thanks for your logical explanations about leadership and "dump everything
> together". I understand that your approach for the issue of dump everything
> together is administrative approach. yes, it seems that we can dump
> everything together in leadership. I am not sure that I understand well
> administrative view. I interprete administrative view as they try to solve
> the problems in relationship between people and people. So that, people know
> how to collaborate together. Therefore, leading commercial companies,
> leading state offices and etc are likely using the same way.
>
> I understand sister Lien is using another approach when she talks about
> the issue of dump everything together. Please read my experiences below.
>
> I have worked in social work and community development field for many
> years. In vietnam, many community development and social work organizations
> employ accounters to be their project managers. The accounters graduated
> economy university and financing schools. When they manage community
> projects, they use financing technology. that's good point. Unfortunately
> they try to reach economic goal for the community projects. They always
> worry on monetary problems. For example, first I pay 10 dong to support 10
> people by certain activity. Then I pay 10 dong for 5 people in other
> activity, they will disagree the second plan. They don't care of the
> differences of the 2 group but the differences of the amount of money. They
> don't understand that in community activity, health activity and etc money
> is not the top priority but human.
>
> Can you guess what happens when a business man directs a hospital? Of
> course, besides him there must be a group of doctors. but how can the
> business direcdtor take dicision on varous medical orientations? What
> happens when a marine general control a agriculture bank? How can education
> expert manage planting forest project?
>
> Today we can see many doctors study community development for their future
> job of public health. Many mechanical engineers study leadership for their
> new position of management. it seems that we can dump everything together in
> leadership but not very easy. We should not ignor skills and talent of
> leaders in new field. With a few months of training, a doctor can get
> understanding how to manage a hospital. But the knowledge is not enough for
> him to successfully perform the role of hospital management. In the same
> mode, with a few months of training medical knowledge, a business man can
> understand something about medicine. But it's neither enough to manage a
> hospital. we need someone, whose talents are medicin and management to be
> the hospital director. yes, he must have open heart, responsibled mind and
> other virtues. those virtues are not measurable indicators.
>
> I predict sister Lien's approach aims on purpose and social value system
> of leadership. Some people's behaviors are based on their purpose. Some are
> base on their social values. Thanks for sister Lien's points. Her points
> open my mind well. In addition, thanks for brother Hoanh's approach. Your
> points help me understand leadership better.
>
> Tran Ba Thien
> tranbathien at gmail.com
> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> Attorney of Law
> Washington DC
>
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