Page 130 - The extraordinary leader

5

LEADERS MUST FIT THEIR

ORGANIZATION

Old thieves make good jailers.
—German Proverb

Bruce worked in administration for a large university, and because of an
excellent referral from a university professor, he landed a position with a small
consulting firm. His role was to start out as the office administrative manager,
but he was slated to move quickly into the role of managing director of the
firm. At the university, Bruce had been a shining star. He was extremely metic-
ulous in his work and paid a great deal of attention to detail. He always made
sure to ferret out all the information before making a decision. These were
valued traits at the university. As he began his role in the consulting firm, he
found the environment to be extremely different. At the university, the pro-
posals moved slowly through committees. Ample time was allowed for study
and debate.
The small consulting firm moved quickly. Partners, all of whom felt they
had decision-making authority, controlled the firm as a group. However, one
partner would make a decision one way and then a second partner would
reverse that decision. The partners would meet occasionally to hammer out
the decision and resolve the disagreement. Partner meetings would be hard-
ball discussions where differences were debated openly. The partners, rather
than staying in the office to implement decisions, were constantly away on

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