America Needs a New Style of Leadership
It’s time to retire the “big man,” heroic warrior model of leadership
In our society, women generally understand the soft power of attraction better than men, but the opposite of the Big Man is not the Sensitive Woman. Even if communications-based societies are more open to "feminine" styles of leadership, it is a mistake to identify the new type of leadership we need by using gender stereotypes.
We need to see leaders less in heroic terms of command than in terms of encouraging participation throughout an organization, group, or network. Questions about appropriate leadership styles revolve around when to use hard and soft power. These skills are equally relevant for men and women, and should not be clouded by traditional gender stereotypes.
George W. Bush famously described his leadership style as "the decider," but he was often decisively wrong. How a leader decides, whom he consults, and when he acts in different contexts are the relevant tests. Adept leadership depends not on stereotypes of style but on how individuals combine hard and soft power skills to produce smart strategies. That is what our new president will need to demonstrate if he wishes to be successful and regain public confidence.
Joseph S. Nye Jr. is University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard and author of The Powers to Lead (Oxford University Press)
Reader Comments
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Leadership crisis in America
Many aspects of the article I can agree with. It became apparent to me that America had a leadership crisis as far back as our days in Viet-Nam. The military attempted to train individuals to be effective leaders in a very limited amount of time. I'm not sure what criteria the military used in selecting individuals for leadership. The fact was there were leaders but many were not in the position of authority. It has been, in my opinion, down hill ever since the Viet-Nam era. Schools across America were hiring individuals with the "coach" mentality as principals and superintendents. It seems obvious now that the "coach" style of leading is ineffective beyond the sports arenas.It isn't a style that is healthy for our schools, business or our government. It seems, that even though individuals can be taught to lead, it would be more beneficial to train people who have particular qualities which have been proven to be desirable and found in effective leaders of the past. Leading is a service of sacrifice of self to guide others to a higher level, not to self serve. The reward is to see others attain higher goals.
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