RESOURCES

Other voices gives the business community an opportunity to speak directly to Atlanta Journal- Constitution readers. Robert L. Turknett, president of Turknett Associates Leadership Group, is an executive leadership consultant and licensed psychologist.


First in Series: How Must Leadership Change?

Fortune magazine called it a revolution. Management guru Peter Drucker called it a new economic and social order.
Whatever is is, most of us in business recognize we are in the midst of profound change. Leadership in corporate America must respond to a series of converging and mutually reinforcing trends that transform the way we manage our organizations.

Five major trends make leading in the new ecomony challenging. They are the emergence of the so-called knowledge worker--computer programmers, systems analysts and medical technicians; powerful peer-to-peer computer networks; the increasing importance of speed; globalization; and the demise of the organizational hierarchy.

In the new economy, knowledge--not capital or raw material--is the key resource. Michael Dell's challenge to IBM from his garage was only the beginning. Huge, established corporations are feeling the threat of upstarts with creative ideas, computer savvy and a business bound to the outside world by computer networks and telecommunications.

Drucker estimates that knowledge workers will make up one-third of the work force. Frederick Taylor's "scientific management" -- very specialized jobs with close, direct supervision -- worked well for Henry Ford but can be disasterous when the environment needs creativity, collaboration and new ideas.

Future Shock

Futurists 40 years ago foresaw the explosion in computing power, but they thought the power would be tied to large mainframes. Mainframes keep power and information stored and controlled at the top. Peer-to-peer netwroks give everyone access to the same information available to the chief executive officer.

Organizations can allow people on the front lines to use information to serve customers quickly.

SynOptics Communications found that delivering mail and files electronically sped up product development by 24 percent.

Lewaders who are threatened by the openness of networks or by subordinates having information to make decisions without them will hamstring the business.

Time is the currency of the '90s and the key competitive advantage. Customers want it yesterday, competitors work to make your new product obsolete and everyone wants documents delivered by fax. Organizations that make decisions by funneling problems through corporate layers never can respond fast enough. Leaders who insist on managing details or signing off on trivial decisions cripple their companies.

Leaders can no longer look simply at national business cycles, national currencies or national competitors. When scanning the competitive environment, their view must be global.

The hierarchy hasn't fallen on its own. It has been decimated by information technology that makes managers who serve only as information conduits unnecessary.

Leaders must not only learn to lead without the control and order of the hierarchy--they often also must face work forces demoralized by corporate downsizing. The challenge is clear. Leaders must give up command and control and learn to create adaptive organizations that can respond to constant change and get the best from everyone.