Who’s shining?
I’m reading Warren Bennis’s introduction to Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World – Sharon Daloz Parks’ book on the leadership work of Ronald Heifetz.
Bennis tells an anecdote of two 19th Century British prime ministers:
It was observed that when you had dinner with William Gladstone, you left thinking, “That Gladstone is the wittiest, the most intelligent, the most charming person around.” But when you had dinner with Benjamin Disraeli, you left thinking, “I’m the wittiest, the most intelligent, the most charming person around.” Gladstone shone, but Disraeli created an environment in which others could shine.
Are you doing a Gladstone? Or are you doing a Disraeli?
Posted in self-management
Tagged Bennis, Ron Heifetz, shining
Disraeli was true coach before the profession was invented!
makes me think of the question ‘do you want to be a power source or a power drain?’ don’t know who asked it first but really like that we have the choice.
Reminds me of the thought that some people brighten a room when they enter, others when they leave. And Lao Tzu’s quote: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, we did it ourselves.”
I find the Disraeli approach difficult. As a leader, I’m eager to share and teach and often forget to dial it back. Often people only want a drink, and I respond by turning on a fire hose.
I think there is a place for both a Gladstone and a Disraeli approach. I don’t see it as either or, but when. There are times that people need and want a leader to shine, to point the way and create a compelling vision. Afterward, of course, a Disraeli approach is needed. But certainly, one-on-one, the Disraeli is the way to go.
Thanks for sharing Michael! I always learn from you.
In Management teaching, you begin being a Gladstone to command respect and attention, then you slip into a Disraeli to pass on the experiential learning and thinking.