Six Visions on Leadership

Six People In A Bar – Part 2
Joe: Let’s start a drinking game!
Jan Kees: Why are you always turning everything into a competition? We don’t need a game to start drinking… All we need is a discussion, and we are already discussing, so let’s start drinking!
Heinz: OK, let’s get organized: who wants beer? I will take note of what each person wants and I will get the drinks at the bar. Next round will be taken care of by Jean Pierre, who is sitting on my left, and so on, in a clockwise fashion.
Zé Pedro: My dear friends, let’s not argue about something so pleasant as drinking among friends. Go ahead and order beer for everyone, Heinz. I have something to talk about with all of you, I need your help.
Jean Pierre: That’s fine, Zé Pedro, but I want an Amstel beer, not a Heineken, Heinz.
Hu Tan: It’s the same thing, Jean Pierre. Heineken bought Amstel years ago and they’ve changed the formula, now Amstel tastes the same as Heineken.
Jean Pierre: Maybe it’s the same to you, but not to me! Heinz, get me an Amstel, not Heineken!
Zé Pedro: Enough with the discussion, guys. I’ve been asked to write an article about “Leadership” and I don’t know where to start… Any ideas?
Jean Pierre: That “leadership” stuff is bullshit! We don’t even have a word for it in French… It’s just another American stupid idea. Somebody says “leadership” and suddenly the whole world is following the Americans without understanding what they are talking about.
Joe: I’ll tell you something about leadership: it’s about taking action! You know why there’s no word for “leadership” in French? It’s because the French are still discussing about whether there should be a word for it or not, and what kind of definition should there be, and is it a noun or a verb, and so on! Meanwhile the Americans are just doing it!
Jan Kees: According to me, leadership should be a rotating function in a team. Everyone should have a chance to be a leader, depending on the situation. The leader should not be always the same person.
Jean Pierre: What do you mean “according to me”? What is this, “Dutchlish” again? Just state your opinion, say “I think…” and so on and so on!
Jan Kees: I will drop the “Dutchlish” when you drop your accent, OK? Hu, what do you think? Give us an oriental perspective.
Hu Tan: Lao Tse said: “In order to lead a people, walk behind them!”
Joe: That’s weird!... How can you lead anybody if you’re not in front of them? You have to be out in front, in order to face the challenges, bite the bullets, make the decisions and show the way! You can’t do that from behind…
Hu Tan: Both these things are true… They are not mutually exclusive.
Jan Kees: Hmmm… I don’t know… They look mutually exclusive in my opinion. You either lead frpm the front or from the back, so what is your position? It looks like a dilemma to me. Where is Heinz? He didn’t say what he thinks…
Zé Pedro: He is still getting the beers… Maybe he needs help. I will go and help him. (leaves and goes to the bar)
Jean Pierre: We were having the discussion for his sake, and then he leaves…
Jan Kees: I think a leader should understand three things: that we are all in a situation together, that you need to be frank and honest with yourself and with the people around you, and that…
Heinz: (interrupting) Here we are, six beers! They didn’t have Amstel or Heineken, so I got Jupiler for everyone.
Zé Pedro: It’s not bad, it’s my boss’s favorite beer.
Heinz: Now we can start the discussion.
Joe: We’ve already started! We’re way ahead of you…
Jan Kees: I didn’t finish what I was saying! I think a leader should understand three things: that we are all in a situation together, that you need to be frank and honest with yourself and with the people around you, and that you need to communicate a vision.
Jean Pierre: That sounds very Dutch to me…
Jan Kees: It can be very Dutch and it can also be very right!
Heinz: It’s better if each of us gives our definition of leadership, speaking one at a time, with no interruption. Everyone else should listen, until we finish going around the table.
Zé Pedro: That’s fine by me, I’ll go along with that.
Joe: Anything, as long as we move! Let’s get on with it.
Heinz: Wait! Let’s do something creative, now: let’s go counter-clockwise!
Jean Pierre: (rolling his eyes) Beautiful, Heinz! OK: Hu, you start. What is leadership?
Hu Tan: Maybe the question should be: “How is leadership?”…
Joe: Oh, great! Answer a question with another question!...
Heinz: No interruptions! Mr. Tan, do you want to say anything more?
Hu Tan: The worst deaf is the one who refuses to listen…
Heinz: Thank you. Mr. Poireau, it is now your turn.
Jean Pierre: The concept of leadership actually comes from the middle ages, when horse-drawn coaches were traveling along the countryside in Brittany and other parts of France, at a time when a portion of France was unduly occupied by English invaders, before Jean D’Arc defeated them at the battle of Orleans and later helped the Dauphin to become the rightful king of France. In those days…
Joe: Will you come to the point?!
Heinz: No interruptions!
Jean Pierre: (rolling his eyes again) … In those days it was common for the coach to be driven by someone who was called a “manager”, his job was, in French “manager les chevaux”, that is: to handle the horses. He would steer the horses, take care of them when the coach stopped for the night at a roadside inn, feed them, brush their hide, prepare them in the next morning to continue the trip, etc. This French verb “manager” (in English: to handle) was wrongly adopted, or adapted, by the English as a noun, meaning “the administrator”, or “manager”. The person in charge of ensuring that the horses are properly treated and that the coach is going along the way that it is supposed to go.
Joe: What’s that got to do with leadership? Come to the damn point!
Heinz: Mr Peartree, no interruptions! Carry on, Mr. Poireau.
Jean Pierre: (rolling his eyes again and sighing deeply) … D’abord, it was usual that the coach was not traveling alone, only with its passengers. There was usually one or two other horsemen, maybe more, who traveled with the coach. They could protect the passengers against highway robbers, go for help if the coach broke down, all kinds of things.
(Joe taps his fingers on the table impatiently; Heinz gives him an annoyed look; Jean Pierre pretends not to notice; Zé Pedro suppresses a smirk)
Jean Pierre: One of these additional horsemen was there to lead the way. As you can imagine, the roads in those days were not always clearly marked. They did not always have a map, and there was no GPS… The Dutch had not invented the Tom Tom yet…
(Jean Pierre smiles at Jan Kees, who pretends to be humbly embarrassed, but feels secretly proud)
Jean Pierre: So one of the riders would ride ahead, making sure they were still on the right way. His job was simply to show the way, or “to lead the way”. This role was named by the English as “leader”.
Heinz: OK, good. Anything else?
Jean Pierre: I just want to emphasize that the term “leadership” is actually a distortion, because there was never such a word in French… This is something that the Americans created after the war, but it doesn’t make sense, in terms of the concept. I will stop here because Joe is getting angry, so we can discuss this later when everyone has spoken.
Heinz: Gut! Mr. Peartree, you may speak now.
Joe: Well, like I said, leadership is about action. When people are kind of lost, a leader is someone who will take charge of the situation, make a decision and lead the team out of the woods, to victory! A leader will not only show the way out, he will also be the example, the role model for what needs to be done! He will be brave, and focused, and committed to results. ‘Cause in the end, it’s the results that count, and a leader will drive the team to overcome obstacles and achieve the target, get the results and win!
Jean Pierre: Does all that come with Sylvester Stallone, with Bruce Willis or with both?...
Heinz: Please, Mr. Poireau, allow him to finish.
Joe: I’m through. Next guy.
Heinz: That would be you, Meneer Peerboom.
Jan Kees: I’ve already spoken. Zé Pedro is next.
Heinz: Please, Mr. Pereira. What are your ideas about leadership?
Zé Pedro: Well, I started by asking all of you to help me… I guess I think that a leader is someone who should take responsibility for the team, show the way they should go, but also make sure that they are all following him, and that they continue to work as a team. I mean, if people start scattering along the way, then that leader is not a good leader. He has to keep the team together, and they should trust each other and trust him as a leader. There needs to be trust before they can follow him anywhere, and the leader also needs to be respected and followed.
Heinz: Gut! Anything else?
Zé Pedro: No, tudo bem, that’s all for now. So tell us, Herr Birnbaum, what is your expert opinion on this?
Heinz: (clears throat, sits up straight) Leadership can be very simple, as long as there is a structure and a process in place. The leader should be an expert in the subject at hand, but if he is not, then he needs to listen to the experts and subsequently make an informed decision. That is all there is to it!
Zé Pedro: Thank you all for your input. Who wants another beer?
Jean Pierre: I think I’ll have a Cognac instead…
Joe: Bourbon for me. On the rocks.
Jan Kees: I’ll have a wittebier this time.
Heinz: I will have a schnapps!
Hu Tan: Maybe I will have any beer made by Inbev… a Budweiser, Stella Artois, Brahma, Beck’s, Leffe…
Zé Pedro: Why does it have to be made by Inbev?
Hu Tan: We are buying the company, so I might as well taste one of their products…