You Can’T Do It All Yourself

To modify a famous Trumanism, the buck starts with a firm’s CEO … its Chief Entrepreneurial Officer. As a consequence, that person has to be perpetually “pumped” to master the many tasks at hand.

Q. I run a division of a company with almost 300 employees. I’m trying to make some important changes, but help from the managers above me and support from the employees who work for me is mighty scarce. How do I get these folks to be more cooperative? This shouldn’t be a one-man band.

A. Don’t turn in your kazoo. Both corporate leaders and band leaders typically suffer solitary, unshared responsibility. Keep in mind, as the divisional honcho, you - and you alone - are responsible for creating a compelling vision, orchestrating meaningful participation, inspiring extraordinary contributions and appropriately rewarding those who help you accomplish the mission.

Naturally, you can’t do everything yourself, but before you can entreat your followers for assistance, you must look to your own personal orientation, attitudes and needs to ensure that they are primed for the task at hand. Such a self-analysis has to be penetrating and honest, and it must focus only on the internal strengths that you can muster - and demonstrate - as an individual.

Most managers have, at least, minimal material support from the organizations of which they are a part. But capital, systems, equipment, and the assistance of a willing work force merely add to the primary, propelling vim and verve that must be summoned by a leader.

This driving force of change must be conceived, energized and directed by the leader as an individual. While organizational resources are always important to the task of implementation, it is the leader, solely and individually, who is responsible for the initiation and guidance of all change-making activity.

Indeed, in today’s world, where cost-cutting, downsizing and “re-engineering” are de rigueur, managers are finding that they frequently have to “fly solo,” without a lot of the organizational support that was available in days gone by. No longer can you depend on having elaborate organizations of people and extensive resources at your beck and call.

These days, most managers are being asked to do more with less, to function more like “guerrillas,” combatants who must plan their own attacks, draw their own maps, recruit supporters along the way, and adjust their tactics as they move. When it comes to material support, they must find and forage, and earn their support through worthy accomplishment. This type of performance requires a strong, burning entrepreneurial desire.

In his 1961 book, “The Achieving Society,” Harvard social psychologist David C. McClelland tells us that people are motivated by three principal needs. The three needs defined my McClelland are: the need for power, the need for affiliation and the need for achievement.

Persons with power needs must be able to influence others and are very concerned about how they are perceived by others. Reputation and status are extremely important to them. As a consequence, they tend to take forceful actions that impact others and generally try to gain control over people by regulating their behavior. These folks tend to arouse emotional feelings and reactions both as a means of achieving dominance and as a result of their actions. They tend to make good policemen or drill sergeants, but not bosses of contemporary corporations.

Individuals with a need for affiliation strive to build warm relationships. Friendships are critical to them. They are very attracted to social situations and commonly exhibit deep concern for other people. They do not like to be separated, in any way, from people with whom they have relationships and they make special efforts to be liked.

Those with a need for achievement have to excel at everything they do, especially projects that are unique or extremely demanding. They work to do well at every task they undertake, and they like to have their performance measured. They strive to surpass self-imposed standards. They do not need taskmasters. They are adept at “firing their own starting gun.” As a consequence, they seek honest and meaningful feedback.