Historians on Leadership and Strategy: Case Studies From Antiquity to Modernity PDF
Preview Historians on Leadership and Strategy: Case Studies From Antiquity to Modernity
Martin Gutmann E ditor Historians on Leadership and Strategy Case Studies From Antiquity to Modernity Historians on Leadership and Strategy Martin Gutmann Editor Historians on Leadership and Strategy Case Studies From Antiquity to Modernity Editor MartinGutmann ETHZurich Zurich,Switzerland ISBN978-3-030-26089-7 ISBN978-3-030-26090-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26090-3 #SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020 AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors, and the editorsare safeto assume that the adviceand informationin this bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Foreword Someweeksbeforehisdeathin2018,KofiAnnan,formerUnitedNationsSecretary General, gave a talk in Zurich. He explained that he was once given 6 weeks to reorganize theUnited Nations. He complained toSergey Lavrov,then Representa- tiveoftheSovietUnion,thatthiswasamissionimpossibleforayoungleadersuch ashimself.Lavrovsmiledandexplained,“Well,Godreorganizedthewholeworldin just6days,”towhichAnnanrememberedtohavereplied,“Mr.Lavrov,don’tforget, Hewasworkingalone!” Is there anything that has not been tried to understand, explain, teach, and train leadershiptograspthisconceptlikeNewtongraspedthemovementoftheplanets? FromMaxWeber’scharismaticleadertotoday’stransformationalheadofamulti- nationalcompany,hundredsofconceptshavebeenproposedbybothacademicsand practitioners with no enduring success. Strong opinions prevail: Peter F. Drucker, one of the most-read management thinkers said: “Effective leadership doesn’t depend on charisma. Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, and Harry Truman were singularly effective leaders, yet none possessed any more charisma than a deadmackerel....”Moreover,ArchieBrownhaswrittenawholebookabout“The Myth of the Strong Leader”, questioning the overall contribution of leaders to the successoforganizations.Heisconvincedthat“Somepresidents havebeenattheir mosteffectivewhentheyletotherstaketheleadinimportantpolicies.”Thereisno simpleanswertothequestionofhowtolead,noonesizethatfitsall. Onemajorreasonisthesheerdiversityofdifferentsituations,differentcharacters, and different followers. “If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important, and you do that by being genuine and humble.”Thesewords,writtenbyNelsonMandelawhilehewasleadingfromjail, arenotthesameasMr.Trump’s“Iamaveryinstinctualperson,butmyinstinctturns outtoberight.”Trumpisright,ourindividualpastexperienceguidesusinsubtlebut profound ways—a fact which is not always helpful in our managing the future of biggerorganizations. So what can we do about leadership, about shaping our future? Training on the job is still perceived as the most effective process—but it takes time, and personal experience imparts a very narrow picture of corporate reality. Could science help? LordRutherfordonceremarkedthatallscienceiseitherphysicsorstampcollecting. Physics, building general principles to be followed in well-defined situations, has v vi Foreword had little success and stamp collecting, categorizing situations, has some limited applications. However, science is not the only way we humans learn to cope with complexsituations:Thereareinterestingstoriestoldandretoldaccordingtochang- ingcontexts.Ifcombinedwithaspecificinterpretation,suchstoriescanenableusto think and learn about the different aspects of leadership situations. Managers must become like Archilochus’foxes, not hedgehogs:“The fox knowsmany things,the hedgehogonebigone.”Maythecollectionof13leadershipstoriesinthisbookhelp youtogetabroaderunderstandingofleadership! ETHZurich RomanBoutellier Zurich,Switzerland Preface Lookingbackintimeforexamplesofhowtolead—orhownotto—isnotnew.From NapoleontoAbrahamLincoln,GenghisKhan(orChinggisKhan,asheisknownto historians)toJuliusCaesar,pastleadershaveoftenservedasinspirationforcontem- porary insights, in works by both academic and popular writers. Two things make thisbookofhistoricalleadershipcasesunique. First,thisbooklooksbeyondtheclassicleadershipparableofmeninmilitaryor politicalcrises.Allofthebook’scasesexaminealeadershipchallengewithastrong strategicdimension—achallengethatrequiredtheinspiringoffollowersbutalsoa complex plan of action and allocation of resources. Beyond that, the temporal, regional, and contextual setting of each case and the gender and social rank of the leaderexamineddiffers.Onecasefollowsanenterprisingschooldirectorwhoruns afouloftheNazistate.Anotherprofilesapolarexplorerduringthefirstnavigationof the famed Northwest Passage. Yet another case analyzes the efforts of Chinggis Khan’sdaughter-in-lawtomaintaininfluenceinthecontextofimperialinfighting. Second, the cases presented here were authored not by management scholars taking an intellectual excursion into the past but by historians—or scholars with a stronghistoryfocus.Theauthorsare,assuch,verymuchathomeintheperiodsthey arewritingabout—afactthatgivestheirrenderingsofthechallengesarichcontex- tualnuance.Thenarrative-drivenstructureofthebook’schaptersshouldthusnotbe mistakenforsimplification.Whilethecasesaredesignedtobeeasytoread,theyare based on exhaustive research. Rather than serving as a vehicle for advancing a particular theory of leadership, each case invites the readers to reflect, debate, and extracttheirowninsights. TheideaforthisprojectbeganwhenIwasaskedbymydeanseveralyearsagoto teach a course on leadership. Being a historian, I wondered if this request was misplaced.Leadershipis,afterall,thedomainofspecializedmanagementscholars, most of them with a background in psychology. Yet in the process of teaching, discussingwithcolleagues,andspeakingatcorporateevents,Icametorealizethat historians have a unique and valuable perspective on the core questions of leader- ship: how can individuals influence, motivate, and inspire others to work toward a common goal? What characteristics, behaviors, or skills do good leaders possess? Whatdefinesgoodleadershipinthefirstplace?Howmuchofasuccessfuloutcome (orfailure)canbeattributedtoleadershipandhowmuchtocircumstance?Despite vii viii Preface framing questions in different terms and employing different methodologies, historianshavelongbeeninterestedinsimilarlinesofinquiry.TheIntroductionof this book explores these potential contributions (as well as the limitations) of the historicalperspectiveoncontemporaryleadershipstudies. Thisbookisintendedtogiveinterestedleaders,scholars,andstudentsaccesstoa differentsetofstoriesfromwhichtodrawinspirationandinsights.Itismysincerest hopethatthebookfulfillsthisgoal. Freiburg-im-Breisgau,Germany MartinGutmann November2018 Acknowledgments My primary gratitude is to the book’s contributing authors. They are exceptional historians,scholars,andwriterswhotookthetimeoutfromtheirexhaustiveresearch andteachingschedulestocontributetoaprojectoutsideofthenorm.Iwouldliketo thankAshleyCurtisandMarkSpoereradditionallyfor,ontopofeachcontributinga case,helpingwiththeconceptualframeworkofthebook. IamalsogratefultomycolleaguesatETHZurichfortheirsupportandencour- agement, in particular Michael Ambühl, Philip Grech, Linda Sulzer, Tobias Langenegger,andStefanoBrusoni.RomanBoutellier,too,deservesspecialmention forprovidingvaluablefeedbackonthebook’sintroduction.Iamalsogratefultothe Springer team, in particular Prashanth Mahagaonkar, who guided this project with careandprofessionalismthroughout. Finally, my heartfelt thanks are due to my family—Djahane, Espen, Emil, and Ylva—fortheircontinuedsupportthroughyetanotherbookproject. MartinGutmann ix Contents Introduction:TheValueoftheHistoricalPerspectiveforLeadership Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MartinGutmann PartI ThePostwarPeriod LeadershipinWarandGenocide:RoméoDallaireinRwanda. . . . . . . . 15 MichaelGeheranandDavidFrey LostinCulture:C&A’sFailureintheUnitedStates,1946–1964. . . . . . 41 MarkSpoerer PrisonersasLeadersofPoliticalChange:Cage11andthePeace ProcessinNorthernIreland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 DieterReinisch PartII TheSecondWorldWar WhenComplexityCostsLives:SecondaryGoalsand CompartmentalizedInformationintheSecondWorldWar’sGreatest Raid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 RetoMichaelWegmannandJoshuaLorenzoNewett PaulGeheebandNaziGermany:ProgressiveEducationintheAge ofFascism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 AshleyCurtis PartIII TheAgeoftheIndustrialRevolution MaryvanKleeckandtheInternationalIndustrialRelationsInstitute: ResolvingConflictsBetweenLaborandCapitalThroughthePower ofKnowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 HannahMormann RoaldAmundsenintheAgeofPolarExploration:Entrepreneurship andInnovationintheQuesttoConquertheNorthwestPassage. . . . . . . 123 MartinGutmann xi
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