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SCMP Reporter

What winners have on their shelves

Not Bosses But Leaders

By John Adair (with Peter Reed)

Kogan Page

IT ISN'T OFTEN you read a book written by an expert who is also the first, and probably the foremost, figure in his/her field.

Not Bosses But Leaders  by John Adair is a classic on the subject of leadership, and the author is not only the first professor of leadership studies in the world but also one of the leading  thinkers on the subject.

This pioneering text, now in its third edition, examines how leadership works and how executives can become business leaders.

Adair's guide, which first hit the shelves in 1987, is a wise, ground-breaking assessment of leadership, its roles, functions and attributes.

It is to the writer's credit that he introduced readers to his then breakthrough concepts in a highly palatable form, as an extended dialogue between a young manager and himself. The writer's protege is on the bottom-most rung of the leadership ladder and in need of guidelines that will take him to the top to become the chief executive of a medium-sized company.

'[This book's] message is both simple and important,' the author writes. 'Leadership matters - it matters to you. It matters at every level. Leadership at the top makes the difference.'

Another key concept is that what industry needs is not bosses but leaders - and by leaders, Adair means people who do not feel the need to be the boss all the time. These are people who can manage less and lead more.

All well and good, but do today's cut-and-thrust young managers, who have had every point about leadership driven into them, have any real need for a potentially dated text - one that has been around for almost 20 years?

The analyses of the qualities, functions and styles of leaders remain relevant, and the book is highly readable in its tutorial form discussions between a greenhorn manager and an experienced professor who look at leadership from the aspect of the daily grind.

The book's central premise likewise still holds good: that leadership is largely an issue of people and their ability to communicate effectively with one another.

Says the writer:  'There is no one who cannot greatly improve their leadership through a little thought and practice ... and it is such good leaders - and leaders for good - that society is now seeking'.

Adair, who early in his colourful career served as a platoon commander in the Scots Guards in Egypt, considers the qualities that make a leader:  integrity, enthusiasm, warmth, calmness and a combination of toughness and fairness.

The writer believes that leadership qualities can be cultivated and developed - 'some more than others' - through practise and experience.

Over the next 200 or so pages, the book explains how you can turn yourself into someone with all the hallmarks of a successful leader.

The nine chapters range from levels of leadership to coping with redundancy and hierarchy. Other  topics include how to share decisions, establish two-way communication and run a sharing, caring business.

Everything is explained by means of the mentor-student dialogue. The pages are enlivened  by the occasional fact box, catchy titles and a punchy list of key points at the end of each  lesson.

To illustrate the writer's method, let us look at, say, the chapter on leadership and power.

We learn how organisations used to be run three or four decades back, largely by benevolent dictators or committees. The young executive points to the future  in the shape of a team leader who achieves tasks, builds teams and develops the individual.

Adair then examines how power can be used intelligently and sensitively through a suitable demonstration of humility and by giving and gaining respect.

Adair has written a range of books and articles on management development and leadership, and this book is certainly worth reading.

If you can take  the didactic narrative style and give yourself  five minutes to digest each crisp, insightful lesson, you will stand to gain.

Incidentally, the government of China awarded Adair the title of honorary professor in recognition of his 'outstanding research and contribution in the field of leadership'.

Five insights: This book at a glance

1 As the strategic leader of the enterprise, a chief executive must ensure that various essential questions are answered, writes author John Adair in Not Bosses But Leaders. These include 'Where have we come from'; 'Where are we now'; 'Where do we want to get to'; and, finally,

'How are we going to get there?'.

2 Every good leader has a high-performance team, according to author Adair. 'A high-performance team has the following characteristics: clear realistic objectives, shared sense of purpose, best use of resources, atmosphere of openness, reviews progress, builds on experience and rides out storms.'

3 To achieve the task and hold the group together, certain key functions have to be performed. These include setting objectives - in other words, defining or identifying the purpose, aims and objectives of an organisation or group. Making sure that there is a plan to achieve the objectives and explaining both plan and objectives clearly is also essential. Finally, organising, monitoring and evaluating should not be neglected.

4 Leaders identify with their groups or organisations, but not at the expense of their commitment to the common task. Caring for the individual should be essentially practical: it means taking seriously his or her needs and interests. Indeed, leadership is a form of service. In order to lead, a leader should be willing to meet the needs of the individuals in the team.

5 Being underpowered is as bad as being overpowered.

The leader should take and use the power given to him in a responsible way. He should also empower others to act and to fulfil their potential.



Manage less, lead more