Page 131 - The extraordinary leader

108 • The Extraordinary Leader

consulting assignments. They assumed that the decisions they made would
be implemented.
Bruce approached his new assignment warily and decided that what the
firm needed was more deliberate decision making, clear lines of authority,
and a committee structure to consider various decisions. He worked for six
months to implement these changes. After six months, the only thing Bruce
accomplished was convincing every partner that he needed to leave the firm.
The partners ultimately recognized that this new role for Bruce was not work-
ing, nor was it likely that he would ever succeed. They provided a severance
package to Bruce. He quickly landed a job in administration at a hospital.
Over the next several years, Bruce was promoted in the hospital and enjoyed
an excellent reputation with the staff and the physicians.
Was there something wrong with Bruce? Why was he so successful at the
university and the hospital but such a failure at the consulting firm? Was there
something wrong with the consulting firm? The consulting firm continued
to grow and prosper.
What this series of events illustrates is that leadership is specific to the
organization. Some combinations of individuals and organizations just
do not work out well. Although it was certainly true in this episode that
neither was without a share of responsibility for the failure, what becomes
evident to everyone with a variety of work experiences is that some organ-
izations fit certain individuals better than others. Individuals have unique
competencies, beliefs, and experience. Organizations have extremely
different cultures and needs. Although there can be some accommodation
by either the individual or the organization at some point, people are more
effective when they are themselves. In his book Jack Straight from the Gut,
Jack Welch describes his experience at GE shortly after being named
chairman:

At one of my earliest board meetings in San Francisco shortly after being named
vice chairman, I showed up in a perfectly pressed blue suit, with a starched white
shirt and a crisp red tie. I chose my words carefully. I wanted to show the board
members that I was older and more mature than either my 43 years or my
reputation. I guess I wanted to look and act like a typical GE vice chairman.
Paul Austin, a long-time GE director and chairman of the Coca-Cola Company,
came up to me at the cocktail party after the meeting.