Leader’s Role in Organizations
– Musings of Dr. Jamie C. Hsu, 7.17.2017
In traditional Chinese teaching, the masters often use parables to illustrate a lesson and a particular point. One of my favorites is the wagon wheel analogy.
What determines the strength and sturdiness of a wagon wheel? Some might say it is the material used, and others will argue it is the size of the cross section of each spoke. But the most critical determinant is the invisible space between the spokes. If the spokes are unbalanced or not spaced properly, the wheel will either collapse or be too weak to last a long time.
That is how a leader needs to function: to understand the strengths and weaknesses of her team members and assign them appropriate roles. This way the individual members can complement each other and create a high performance team.
In a large organization with a lot of functional groups and program teams, the leader can’t be an expert in every field and has to rely on subject matter experts to carry out various tasks. A leader has to resist the temptation to micro-manage each function or team. That will stifle the ownership and development of team members.
Instead, a good leader should first establish and articulate a clear vision, and provide inspiration. The next thing is to find the right team for the different positions and empower each team to do its best in that particular function and program. In an effort to discourage a silo mentality, the leader must pay attention to the “white space” between teams. That is where conflicts may arise, but that is also where synergy can occur.
To be a good leader, please pay attention to the spacing and balancing of your teams and organizational groups. This is essential to build a high performance team to reach the vision and goals.
嗨！領導者！
–作者 許俊宸博士
–中譯 薛乃綺
在傳統的東方教育中，大師們經常用比喻來做為一個訓誡、或強調某個重點。當中我個人最喜歡的是以下的比喻問答。
什麼會決定一個車輪的強度和堅固？有些人可能會認為是材質、有些人可能會認為是每個輻條的橫截面大小。但其實最關鍵的因素在於輪輻之間的隱形空間。如果你將輻條們置於單一個側邊或者不適當的間距，車輪就會倒榻、或不夠堅固耐久。
領導者們正需要如此：要能了解他整個團隊的優缺點、並適當地分配每個人的角色。透過這種方式，每個成員因為在組織中能相互彌補不足而創造出一個具備高績效的團隊。
在一個擁有許多功能型團隊以及專案型團隊的大型組織中，領導者不可能精通各種領域，也因此必須要仰賴各專業領域的專家，來執行各項任務。領導者也相對必須克制想要對每個功能型團隊或專案型團隊都進行細部指導或管理的想法，因為這樣可能會扼殺了團隊成員的發展，学習和自發的精神。
相反的，一個好的領導者應該先建立並且清楚表達組織的願景、給予激勵。接下來，則是為不同的職位找到合適的團隊，並且驅動他們能夠在各功能別或專案別中做到最好。領導者必須要留意的，是那些存在的各個”孤鳥”，及團隊之間的”空白空間”。那就是可能出現衝突的地方、也是需要進行協調溝通之處。
作為一個優秀的領導者，你該注意輪輻與組織主體之間的空間關係，以避免造成組織內部的隔閡，才能加强综效作用，創造出一個高績效的團隊。
