ORacle
The Interim Leader
by Douglas A. Samuelson
John was unhappy.
An excellent analyst by background, and somewhat a natural leader, he had risen through a couple of supervisory ranks. Now, with the sudden departure of a senior executive, he had been thrust into that person's former post — with the word "interim" added to the job title. About a year had passed, and John had made decisions, organized, evaluated, motivated, planned and controlled about as well as his predecessor and his new peers. At least so it seemed to him, and to a number of his friends. Unfortunately, some of his subordinates disagreed.
Their reasons were varied. Some were genuinely critical of decisions John had made. Some were not so much critical of the decisions as unhappy with the outcomes. Some, including a few of his former peers, felt envious of John's elevation to higher authority. In any event, no consensus in favor of appointing John to the position permanently was developing. John felt frustrated and unappreciated.
What could he do? His friends assured him he was a good leader and would eventually be recognized properly. His detractors were polite enough but gave little indication that anything would change their minds. He thought of consulting a counselor, but he suspected that would only help him to work through his own feelings, which were clear enough to him already. His wife gamely assured him of her support, while quietly hoping he would abandon the fight and have more time and energy left for her and the kids.
It was, he realized, quite ironic. The people who opposed him most strongly did so precisely for his best decisions: closing an unproductive unit, passing over an egotistical and self-important subordinate for a promotion, pushing through a reorganization that broke up a tight, conservatively run unit with too much power and opened things up for new people and new ideas. "Are you supposed to do nothing until they remove the 'interim' label?" he complained.
Finally, as chance would have it, he found — an oracle! Yes, a few still do exist. This one was not easy to find, but one of John's friends had heard of him, and so John went. The oracle listened quietly and patiently as John poured out his tale. Then the oracle wrote a short phrase on a small piece of paper and handed it to John with a kindly smile. John took the paper, read it, struggled with the idea, then slowly realized he had received the key not only to his current problem, but to his whole future. He thanked the oracle profusely. The oracle smiled and waved, wishing him well, but still did not say a word. He didn't have to.
John's career from then on was a wonder to behold. He quietly withdrew from the competition for the permanent job and enthusiastically helped his replacement to get started. Before long, he found the first of a succession of leadership posts elsewhere — and did remarkably well in all of them. The organizations grew and prospered. They all had unity of purpose, commitment to objectives and sustained good performance. His vision of what could be done transformed every organization he led. His subordinates praised him, and many went on to become good leaders themselves.
Perhaps most noteworthy was his uncanny ability to avoid bad situations. In interviews, he made few bold statements, although he did generally outline his idea of what he would want to try to do. He asked many questions about the people and divisions in the organization. What did they want to do? How did they expect to do it? What were their strengths and weaknesses? What would constitute achievement beyond what they had conceived so far? Most important, how could he help bring their ambitions to fruition? Many wise leaders ask such questions, but John seemed especially astute at understanding the answers and using his understanding to determine what was possible with the organization. When he accepted a post, everyone rallied around him. When he rejected one, or was rejected (rarely, but it did happen on occasion), the person chosen instead often ran into much contention and disappointment.
John seemed to be leading a charmed life. Others came to him for advice, and he became like the oracle himself: he would, on occasion, show an especially promising disciple the little piece of paper — in return for a promise of secrecy. His disciples, too, went on to great accomplishments, and his reputation grew accordingly. So did a circle of curious admirers who really wanted to know about the secret key to success John was rumored to have.
After many years, John retired, a wealthy, honored, happy man. "At last," he announced, "I am ready to share the secret of my success." And he recounted the story of the oracle, and his many listeners strained eagerly to hear what wonderful words the oracle could have written, to have such a profound effect.
"It seems so simple," John admitted humbly. "It seems so obvious. But profound truths sometimes seem overly simple once revealed. Now listen carefully."
This is what the oracle had written: Why do you seek to be named to lead people who have shown that they do not want to follow you?
Doug Samuelson is president of InfoLogix, Inc., a consulting company in Annandale, Va. He is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University and at the University of Pennsylvania, and an external research professor at the Krasnow Institute, George Mason University.
OR/MS Today copyright © 2003 by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. All rights reserved.
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