an office holder—or perhaps someone stuck with an additional duty—and a leader. They will learn to understand the difference between formal authority and real authority. This paradigm has had a profound impact on academic performance, which has dramatically increased over the time the school adopted this “leadership framework,” and has led to a marked decrease in discipline issues. At the time of this writing, more than 3,500 schools have followed this model with remarkable results.
Patrick tells the story of an extraordinary government leader he had the opportunity to interact with over a twelve-year period. “In 1998, I was assigned to work on a project at a U.S. Air Force base. My work focused on studying and documenting highly complex financial-management processes. The project required me to meet with various subject-matter experts, conduct interviews to understand aspects of the overall process, connect the dots to define the entire system, and work with my teammates to create a handbook that would be used throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). In all honesty, the project was a bit daunting. After all, with a system that complex, where does one start?”
The first day on the job, Patrick met Rick and was informed that if he needed any guidance, Rick would point him in the right direction. “When we first met,” Patrick explains, “I didn’t realize that I was standing in the presence of the one of the best leaders and change agents I would ever meet. In hindsight, the initial introduction was rather prosaic. Rick was sitting in a cubicle space like everyone else in the building, had no ‘block’ on the organizational chart, and introduced himself using only his first name. He was friendly and said he was willing to help me if I needed anything.”
As it turns out, in addition to being a wealth of knowledge about how Patrick could tackle his work, Rick was working on a major project of his own. Where Patrick’s project was complex, Rick’s assignment proved to be a tortuous labyrinth. He was tasked to define the Air Force’s requirements for a multiservice computer system. The project required him to travel often, make recommendations to senior leaders, and keep his team on track as they worked to accomplish a number of high-visibility deliverables. Patrick later learned that while others ran from the thought of working on the project, Rick volunteered—he stepped up to lead his part of the endeavor. In doing so, he played an invaluable role in getting the solution right for the thousands who would use the system in the coming decades. While others were saying the project wouldn’t work or would be too daunting, Rick took ownership.
If he had done this once, it would have been remarkable, but leading out on tough issues became a hallmark of Rick’s careers. Over the next decade, Patrick saw Rick not just as one of a hundred program analysts working in a cubicle farm, but the one program analyst who chose to lead from where he sat and changed the trajectory of the organization. Rick volunteered his best and played active roles in creating a DoD-wide cost accounting system; establishing several workforce-development programs, including the certification of thousands of employees; and negotiating a relationship between the U.S. government and one of the nation’s top universities to establish a graduate-studies program for high-potential government employees. Rick did not seek out formal leadership positions—in fact, he turned down the ones he was offered. Nonetheless, he was a strong leader, made huge contributions, owned numerous projects, mentored many people, led lots of teams, and left a legacy that is felt throughout the Air Force.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
