Multi-Operational Managers

Multi-Operational Managers

Publication: The Lookout

Date: May 13, 2007

Column: First Look

Category: Leadership; Mother

Many books have been written about leadership, but there's still something missing. In fact, a large group of significant influencers often go unnoticed in the vast amount of literature about leadership.

These key influencers do not wear a name tag that calls them the boss or the person in charge, and no one brands them with a trendy moniker like Servant-CEO or The One Minute Manager. So I've made up a new title. I suggest we call these key leaders "Multi-Operational Managers."

Jim Collins, author of the popular book Good to Great (Harper-Collins, 2001), insists that the most successful leaders (he calls them "Level 5 Executives") are those who demonstrate a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.

In The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive (Jossey-Bass, 2000), Patrick Lencioni argues that a leader's foremost task is to build teamwork based on high levels of trust, accountability, and constructive responses to conflict.

According to leadership guru John Maxwell, one of the "21 irrefutable laws of leadership" is "the law of sacrifice"—you have to "give up to go up."

Executive coach and author Marshall Goldsmith says today's leadership models require asking, listening, and participating instead of a top-down approach that simply bosses people around. According to Goldsmith, the great achiever says, "It's about me," but the great leader says, "It's about them."

Ted Engstrom, who served as Executive Vice President of World Vision, observed that "New Testament leadership is not flashy public relations and platform personality, but humble service to the group."

In his book Courageous Leadership (Zondervan, 2002), Bill Hybels says "leaders are at their best when they are raising up leaders around them," investing time and energy to coach and empower younger leaders.

The people I call Multi-Operational Managers understand all this. Their leadership style is based on high levels of respect and trust, earned over the long haul. They take great delight in helping others succeed. They make personal sacrifices on a daily basis. Unselfish and attentive, they devote themselves to the well-being of every person entrusted to their care.

You know a lot of these Multi-Operational Managers yourself. In fact, at least one probably wielded a powerful influence on your life.

Maybe my concept of Multi-Operational Managers would catch on better if we shorten the title a little. Let's just use the initials. The Multi-Operational Manager you know best may not carry a business card, but she deserves a Mothers Day card. She's the high-impact leader known as "MOM."