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FORUM on Corrections Research
Prairie Region Management Workshop: "Leadership and Change"
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Teamwork, a central theme in the management philosophy of John Duggan, Deputy Commissioner, Prairies,
was the impetus for a workshop held with Prairie Region senior managers in October 1989. The workshop
was part of an initiative toward the attainment of the corporate objective to coordinate guest speakers,
seminars and programs on topical management issues. Art McNeil, co-author of The "I" of the Hurricane
and The V.I.P. Strategy, was invited to deliver a one-day session on management initiatives and
forward thinking in the management and leadership of complex organizations. Prairie Region managers
contributed to the discussion of innovative management techniques by providing examples of their daily
environment and the corporate culture within which they manage. The workshop provided managers with
insights into issues they will need to address in their management role. Central to both of McNeil's books and his management seminars is the difference between management and leadership. Both are present and needed but they are not synonymous. This is best described in his first book, The "I" of the Hurricane, as follows: The two sides of the figure highlight the differences between management and leadership. The goal side provides direction; it, in turn, fosters a need to accomplish the goal. Success is measured by results. The process is rational and is executed at the conscious level. The more experienced you are, the more logical your thinking. Figure 1  As our society developed its management side, we became more efficient. The price we paid, however, was a loss of the human magic that comes from the other side. We lost our ability to dream, to develop vivid mental pictures of different places to be or ways of being. The very term "to lead" implies having a different place to go or way of being. How can you be a leader if you've got no place to go? And yet, organizations are filled with managers who have no vision. They are trapped within the real or imagined barriers and constraints of the status quo. Good management is vital to performance. Without it, opportunities would be recognized and talked about but never realized. It is not necessary to belittle the value of technical managers and their analytical approach; clearly, what is needed is balance. And to regain balance, most executives must strengthen the leadership skills of their management teams. North American managers already "know" more than they "do". Visible leadership can encourage action and provide a spark that will ignite corporate energy. Some of the other concepts that Art McNeil uses are very familiar - Reason for Being, Values, Mission, Key Success Factors, Vision of a Preferred Future and Objectives. In leadership terms, core values and vision are very central to who we are. Core values and vision provide a focus for corporate energy, a plan. Management shapes them and provides direction for the plan. As described in his second book, The V.I.P. Strategy, Vision is compelling but not controlling. It shows you where you want to be, but not exactly how to get there. Vision is the power; planning is the tool. A plan shows you how to get so far, but then, to get further, you need another plan. It's been said, "The minute you lay down a plan it's out of date." A vision shows you where you're going - and why you are going there. Visions are flexible, dynamic, organic. Vision: A Context for Goals Vision provides the broader themes or directions for goals: Goals
In this seminar, McNeil takes his management/leadership model and applies it to real life with
examples from both his experience and experience of the participants, in our case, corrections. The
theoretical concepts become tools and skills that all participants can use in the future. Art McNeil
uses both small and large groups, involving participants in the learning process. Sometimes
forgotten, but remembered during the seminar, is the truism that adults learn best by experiencing
the learning process. |
