Leadership and Adaptability

The qualities that make a great leader are various.  Many powerful and capable leaders can mold and motivate an organization within a specific scope but their talents are not suitable for an array of roles or companies.  For instance, a college football coach, such as Nick Saban, can excel at that level but struggle in the NFL.  Saban's "Process" didn't work because he struggled to adapt to NFL and he was unable to micromanage his teams in the same way that he could at Michigan State and LSU.  In soccer, a manager can move between teams in the same league and struggle if the new club and its players don't have a similar playing style and personnel.  In England, Brian Clough's disastrous 44 days at Leeds United are book-ended by an English First Division triumph at less prestigious Derby County and back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest.  In his case, his skills were more suited toward a team with adversity rather than a more regimented club.

The more adaptable leaders have a more conceptual mindset and understand their own strengths and weaknesses.  They understand what they do know, and more importantly, what they do not know.  They are able to find and develop talent that acts as experts and advisers on various issues.  These individuals tend to take a "bigger picture" view of problems and craft solutions that not only solve immediate issues, but also serve an organization's interests over the long term.  This type of leader can compensate industry or business expertise with placing competent individuals in places of power that highlight their strengths.  In addition, he or she has to understand how to motivate people and lead by example.

I find Bill Gates to be someone who embodies a hybrid of these types of leadership.  His technical process and technological genius are easy to notice, but there are more subtle qualities that allow him to succeed beyond the PC.  He is aware that he doesn't have the expertise or ability to solve every third world problem, but through his foundation, he provides funds and opportunities to those who can.  He employs his success at Microsoft to empower others to become leaders and he develops programs that allow many to focus and develop a specialty to solve complex resource and humanity issues.  He's a rare type of leader and someone to emulate for his management persona.

The adaptability of a leader truly depends on his or her skills.  Each type of leader is effective as long as he or she can place people and structure around to highlight personal strengths and maximum comfort in the role. 



Works Cited

O'Keefe, Brian.  "Leadership lessons from Nick Saban."  Fortune.  Online.  7 Sept 2012.  Accessed 11 Nov 2012. <http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/07/news/companies/alabama-coach-saban.fortune/index.html>.

"The inside story of Brian Clough at Leeds."  The Independent.  Online.  11 March 2009. Accessed 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/the-inside-story-of-brian-clough-at-leeds-1641947.html>.

Wessell, Maxwell.  "Idolize Bill Gates, not Steve Jobs."  Harvard Business Review.  Online.  1 Nov 2011. Accessed 18 Nov 2012.  <http://www.businessweek.com/management/idolize-bill-gates-not-steve-jobs-11012011.html>.