The latest in Joe Nye's series of books about leadership and power,
The Powers
to Lead, builds upon his earlier writing concerning the paradox of
power and
the increasingly important concept of soft power to define a more
advanced
resource for leaders in government: smart power. Drawing upon case
studies,
a review of the vast literature about leadership, and his own
experience in government
and academia, Nye has produced a valuable primer for students and
practitioners on the relationship between leadership and power. In
fact, he says
he was motivated to write this book when he was preparing to teach
a course
on leadership at the Kennedy School and could find no such
treatment that
combined theory, analysis, and case examples. Leadership can be
learned, according
to the author, though experience seems to contribute immensely to
the nuanced use of smart power.
Soft and Hard Power
He argues that effective leadership requires smart powerthe
strategic use
of either hard or soft power skills or, in most cases, a
combination of the two,
depending on the context of the situation.We all recognize hard
powercommand
and control, carrots and sticks to change behavior, and
organization of
people and processes to produce desired outcomes. Soft power skills
are more
often connected to feminine traitscollaboration, persuasion,
empathy, and the
ability to attract others and build ownership of visionary change.
In a technologyenabled,
networked world, the value and use of soft power skills by both
women
and men in a variety of positions, in all sectors, are on the rise.
For the Millennials, ages eighteen to thirty, the exercise
of soft power through a variety
of networks is such a natural act that
it seems to be part of their DNA.Some
experience may be required for these
young leaders to advance to the level
of smart power;on the other hand, they
may define yet another level or concept
to meet future challenges.
Transformational leaders tend to
use soft power more than hard power,
though not exclusively; transactional
leaders and managers are more focused
on structures and processes that include
incentives and rewards to influence behavior
and produce desired results.This
is a somewhat simplistic version of
Nyes framework of leadership styles
and power skill sets,but it sets the stage
for his new concept of smart power, in
which leaders choose from a menu of
hard and soft resources, skills, and
styles to achieve either a transactional
or transformational outcome, with
sensitivity to current trends, changing
attitudes, and situational context.
For example, Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
more associated with using hard
power skills to clean up and improve
the safety and quality of life in New
York City, intuitively chose soft empathetic
and communication skills to
lead, comfort, and inspire people in his
city and across the country after the
September 11 attacks on the World
Trade Center.Such an effective choice
of either soft empathy or hard operational
command and control skills
was not evident in the leadership of the
response to Hurricane Katrina, until
Admiral Thad Allen assumed federal
leadership in a chaotic, desperate situation
with a simple direction to all
federal workers on the scene (until
more specific commands and controls
could be established):Treat everyone
as if they were a member of your family
you will know what to do.
Transition Skills
Nye says that contextual intelligence
will be a key skill for the next
president.Contextual intelligence is
the intuitive diagnostic skill that helps
you align your tactics with your objectives
so that you get smart strategies
in different situations.
Okay, so lets try out our contextual
intelligence to consider leadership
styles and smart power tools in a time
of transition.Transition is defined in
Websters as a movement from one
form, stage,or style to another. Its synonym
is change.
Change is definitely on the horizon
as we prepare for a historic presidential
transition and a massive
turnover in the federal workforce as
baby boomers retire in a wave described
by some as a tsunami. Both
transitions are taking place in the
context of increasingly rapid growth of
interactive communications technology,
which is flattening, not only the
world, according toTom Friedman,but
virtually all organizations, structures,
enterprises, and group relationships.
More contextthis presidential
transition comes at a time when our
representative democracy, our government,
is faced with a multitude of
indicators and trends going in the
wrong direction or not keeping pace
with others around the world. Partisanship
is up, confidence in government
is down (confidence in the
Congress and president has sunk to historic
low points), budget deficits and
the national debt are up and up, education
and health are not keeping pace
with other countries, and energy and
global climate change are creating
pain and anxiety in households and
communities across the nation.
The good news may be that we
will have new leadership, grounded in
this sobering reality,and the engagement
in this election of people who want
change in order to solve big problems.
The challenges we face are daunting.
The stakes are high as the demand
for change increases along with concern
about the negative consequences
of ineffective leadership.What combination
of hard, soft, and smart power
should the next president and his top
appointees choose in this context?
What approach and tools should career
government leaders use to increase the
odds that the upcoming presidential
and workforce transitions will produce
better outcomes for the people served
by public managers?
Leading from the Middle
Rather than trying to channel
smart power strategies to the presidential
candidates and their yet-to-bedetermined
top team, leading from the
middle seems more constructive. In The
Powers to Lead,Nye points out thatmost
people lead from the middle to influence
the behavior of both the boss or
bosses and subordinates.There are ways
to prepare, personally and organizationally,
to embrace the potential of new
leadership, such as the following:
Prepare yourself personally, engage
your team, broaden your
network, and take some risks to
help new appointees understand
their new context and their
choices as leaders.
Understand your new context by
paying attention to the candidates
and their priorities, and draw
upon your team and network to
come up with ideas to improveoutcomes for the people you
serve, with a new framework of
priorities in mind.
Welcome the transition team and
new appointees with a clear picture
of the current situation and
some practical steps to achieve
what can be with their new
agenda.
Connect (indirectly or directly as
appropriate) with the people you
servelisten and understand their
concerns and their priorities, evaluate
the impact of your actions on
them, and give them the information
they need to hold you and
your new leaders accountable for
progress and results.
This advice leans on the use of soft
power, but hard power should also
come into play with respect to systematic
measures of performance,
evaluation of the impact of the approaches,
and interventions of an
agency or network on the intended
mission or desired outcome.
Soft and hard power choices are
mostly aimed at the supply side of effective
government. Harnessing your
team and network, using technology,
performance measures, and other
toolswith discipline and high ethical
standardscan improve the supply
of transactions and even transform the
culture of the suppliers.What about the
demand side? A troubling trend for
many government decision makers is
that the external demand for effective
leadership is often trumped by the demands
of organized special interests.
What combination of soft and hard
power can change this equation? Can
the demand for leadership in the
public interest be informed and engaged
enough to become a force for
realizing government of, by, and for
the people?
Other Perspectives
A few thoughts about the use of
soft and hard power in this regard by
leaders inside and outside of government
follow:
Hold appointed leaders more
clearly accountable for progress
and outcomes, not just by measuring
overall program performance
but by making it more
personalfor example, asking for
a commitment to a few critical
goals and measuring progress in a
transparent way.
Publish user-friendly progress reports
on public priorities with
facts (sometimes brutal facts) and
indicators of progress, decline,
whats working, whats not, and
plans for improvement by government
leaders.
Use quantitative survey research
and qualitative discussions and
feedback to factor in the public
perspective on priorities and
tough tradeoffs into decisions
about policy and implementation
actions.
Independently produce scorecards
for legislators on their commitments
in areas of public priority,
factual indicators of progress, and
approval ratings by their constituents,
with local media coverage.
Their elections should
depend on these factors as much
as the ratings of their voting
records by special interest groups.
Demand for Effective Leadership
If not these approaches, what can
be done to enhance the demand for effective
public leadership?
One final leadership challenge is
related to the workforce transition:
what combination of soft, hard, or
smart power skills can be applied to attract
and recruit the next generation
of leaders and more experienced leaders
to government servicepersuasion,
incentives, or a combination?
We all know about the brain
drain from government, as huge numbers
of senior executives and civil servants
become eligible to retire. The
competition for talented workers in the
future between public and private
employers will be fierce. Recent surveys
show that a majority ofAmericans
now say that government service
would be appealing, with more than
one-third ofMillennials expressing significant
interest in working for the federal
government.They are attracted,not
only by the missions, but by the intellectual
stretch and growth potential.
Many are also attracted by flexible
work schedules and student loan repayment
incentives.
A recent Gallup survey found
that 60 percent of young people and
70 percent over thirty say they have
never been asked to consider government
service.But if asked by their parents
or the next president, a significant
share say they would seriously consider
it.The next president tops the list of
motivators for those over thirty.This offers
an exciting possibility for the
next president to use his soft power of
persuasion to reprise President
Kennedys call: Ask not what your
country can do for you; ask what you
can do for your country.
Those who are leading from the
middle can also asksoftly and follow
up with some hard incentives. Smart
powerthe combination of hard and
soft power skillsuses contextual intelligence
as a guide.Thank you, Joe
Nye, for this insightful and accessible
book for public leaders at all levels.