The 21st century is going to put expectations on managers that many have never considered, much less had brought to their attention. We know that thinking skills, people skills and creativity are going to be at a premium. That could be intimidating if you think about yourself from a genetic perspective, but the mantra today is a bit different: Talent is grown, not born. As a result, viewing these competencies from the perspective of excellent narrative can be a useful exercise for personal growth.
One of the finest descriptive analyses of a bureaucrat that I have seen in years is George Packer's work on Richard Holbrooke in the September 28 New Yorker. Holbrooke, who brokered the Dayton Peace Accords with Slobodan Milosevic, now serves as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration.
Lest you think that the article is one liberal journalist, George Packer, writing about another liberal politician, Richard Holbrooke, I urge you to read David Frum's appreciative blog on George Packer. Frum, you may remember was an economic speech writer for Bush, is now resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and also writer for the National Review. As Frum summarizes, Packer is an exceedingly elegant writer.
What's especially useful for businesspeople is that Holbrooke's skills are detailed and placed in a work context that includes current affairs, historical matter and personal bio, so you've got a concrete description of the specific competency. Packer provides you with masterful descriptions of strengths along with the warts, while emphasizing personal complexity. For example,
His great advantage over most colleagues and opponents is his analytic and synthetic prowess, which allows him . . . to break down the reasons for the Taliban's successful propaganda campaign in the tribal areas while connecting it to imperial British history in the region. As for his flaws, he seems remarkably unaware of them. Holbrooke cannot be kidded about the trait for which he's best known: his ego.
With that kind of information, you'd think that Holbrooke might be an insensitive jerk.
The notion that Holbrooke craves attention . . . is accurate but misleading. Far from undermining those he works for, Holbrooke is a loyal servant to power, with an old-fashioned respect for the presidency.
His mentoring skills are legendary, along with his willingness to give credit where its due. He also knows not only how to access power, but how to get the support and people he needs. Packer relates Holbrooke's need for a certain Afghani human-rights specialist who was wary of losing her independence. It took him a month, but eventually he won her. Henry Kissinger's comment on recruiting skills is telling:
If Richard calls you and asks you for something, just say yes. If you say no, you'll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful.
The take on ambiguity, that difficult and little understood competency underlying business success, is, well . . . unique, to say the least. Christopher Hill, who has held ambassadorships to Korea, Macedonia, Poland and now Iraq describes Holbrooke's thinking process this way:
He often works on the music before he gets to the words, creating an atmosphere and a sense of what we are dealing with--are we dealing with a sad song, or what? Right now, Richard Holbrooke is getting a sense of the issues, the people. Eventually, the music will shift from Vietnam to the Balkans (Holbrooke's background). And if he gets to a negotiation it will be realistic.
Holbrooke's comment about institution building was that things are not sequential. They have to be parallel. In business language, you've got to deal with the strategic complexities and keep focused on the big picture.
Technically, the article is analytical narrative and that's what makes it so valuable for the reader and the businessperson. The competencies are surfaced, but spelled out in actions. They're easier to recognize and remember in narrative form.
I could go on and on, but this is such an impressive article that you'll find many things to get you thinking. Some of the behaviors may be grating, and I certainly can't imagine recommending some of them. But the strengths are amazing.
I'm saving it and keeping it for my favored clients because it will generate a lot of useful conversation about managing and learning. The September 28 of the New Yorker is on the newstands now, or you can buy the article on the internet for download.
Tell me what you think about it.