Excellence Hall of Fame
Henry is one of the leading management thinkers in the world and has been for many years. The Economist magazine referrers to him as the “Guru” Henry Mintzberg (although he prefers the term ‘swami’ himself). One of two sons of Myer and Irene Mintzberg, Henry was born in Montreal in and grew up there so speaks French as well as English. His father owned and ran a dress manufacturing company with an Irish partner.
Henry wanted to be an Industrial Engineer but as the discipline was not taught in McGill University, he went there to study mechanical engineering instead since it was the most similar course they offered. He graduated in with a Bachelor’s degree and the following year, having attended evening courses, also earned a bachelor’s degree in general arts from Sir George Williams (now Concordia University).
Henry started his career working in the Canadian National Railways, where he spent two years in Operational Research, which involved creative thinking using numbers and analytical thinking. Then, wanting to further his studies, he applied to a number of universities in the States and was accepted into NYU and Columbia to study industrial engineer
Richard Straub, who runs the Drucker Forum, tweeted recently about my forthcoming book Bedtime Stories for Managers: “Good to know—maybe one or two preview chapters for the Drucker Forum at the end of the month?” So here is one, related to my contribution on “Leading Smarter Organizations.”
Say organization and we see leadership. That’s why those charts are so ubiquitous. They show us who sits on top of whom, but not who talks with whom, when, and about what. Why are we so fixated on formal authority? Is there no more to organizing than bossing? Have a look at Figure 1 to see an Organization. Then look at Figure 2 to see a Re-organization.
Figure 1: This is an Organization
Figure 2: This is a Re-organization
Did you notice the difference? A few names were changed in a few boxes, but the chart—the very perception of organization—remained the same. Do you know why re-organizing is so popular? Because it’s so easy. Shuffle people on paper and the world is transformed—at least on that paper. Imagine, instead, if people were shuffled around offices, to make new connections?
Say leadership and we see an individual—even if that individual is determined to &#;empower&#; eve
From Leadership to Communityship
- The government and business sectors are highly visible areas of society today, but to help balance our support of society, we need to also prioritize the plural, or community, sector.
- The term “communityship” helps convey the idea that leadership should not be individualistic but should instead focus on groups.
- We are all a part of the plural sector, and helping students understand this concept can help them become better managers.
Transcript
Henry Mintzberg: [] Exactly 30 years ago, around this month, I went to Prague. I went there just two years after the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
[] In the West, we had that all explained. We said that capitalism had triumphed. This was a cold war between communism and capitalism, and capitalism won. It didn't look to me like that at all in Prague.
[] Right there and then I thought, "Capitalism didn't triumph, balance triumphed." The Eastern European countries were utterly out of balance on the side of their public-sector governance. Utterly out of balance. Whereas, the countries in the West were much more balanced. The successful countries in th
Henry Mintzberg
Heard the word “leadership” lately, for example in the last five minutes? We are obsessed with leadership: say organization and we think leadership. That’s why those organization charts are so ubiquitous. They tell us who sits on top of whom, but not, for example, who talks with whom? Must we be so fixated on formal authority? (Have a look at Figure 1 to see an Organization. Then look at Figure 2 to see a Re-organization.)
Ever heard the word “communityship”? If not, fear not: you won’t find it in a dictionary.1 Too bad, because we need it to put leadership in its place.
Say “leadership” and you invoke the image of an individual—at the limit, the great white knight riding in on a great white horse to save us all (even if headed into a black hole). Everyone else is a follower. Even if the intention of the leadership is to empower other people, its effect can be to disempower them. Do we really want a world of followers?
Think of the organizations you most admire. I’ll bet that front and center is a powerful sense of community. To use a phrase that I cannot repeat too often, effective organizations are communities of human beings, not
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