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Book profiles true leaders, old and young

Authors spotlight good leadership that spans generations

By Davis Bushnell, Globe Correspondent, 11/10/02

The rash of top executives who have been indicted for plundering public companies for personal gain, from Adelphia to Tyco, is of particular scholarly interest to Robert J. Thomas, a leadership specialist and coauthor of the recently published ''Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders'' (Harvard Business School Press, $26.95).

In contrast to these tarnished corporate chieftains, the men and women cited by Thomas and leadership guru Warren G. Bennis all have a passion for learning about themselves and others, steered by what Thomas calls ''a moral compass.'' These leaders from different generations have been put to the test in what the authors call ''crucibles'' - intensely transforming experiences - yet have emerged with a keen understanding of what really matters to them and what they want to do with their lives.

Thomas, 49, is a senior research fellow and associate partner with the Institute for Strategic Change in Cambridge, operated by Accenture LLC, a Wellesley management and technology consulting firm. He and Bennis, 77, a distinguished professor of business administration at the University of Southern California, zero in on leaders age 35 and younger (geeks) and 70 and older (geezers) who, despite some setbacks, have learned how to adapt and prevail.

Many of those whose stories are woven into the book's commentary on what makes true leaders tick are well known, including Mike Wallace, the longtime CBS reporter, and Arthur Levitt Jr., former commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Others are less so, such as Jeff Wilke, a senior vice president of Amazon.com; Elizabeth Altman, a Motorola vice president; and Brian Morris, founder and chief executive of Legacy Unlimited LLC of Baltimore, a service provider to minority communities.

Thomas spoke with the Globe about leadership and the ways leaders of any era emerge.

How do you view corporate leadership today, given all that has happened in the last year?

It has been appropriately chastened, and now may turn back to values-based management. But essential questions to be asked of an executive are, 'Do you know what you stand for and will you do the right things?'

You and Warren Bennis began the research for your book in early 2000, before the unearthing of misdeeds by some corporate leaders. What were your motivations?

Warren had been grappling with the question of why older people [in business] were unfamiliar to students. And I kept remembering a comment from a former student of mine who said he was going from a traditional company to a dot-com because, he said, he ''wanted to make history.'' So, when Warren and I met, we agreed that we should explore leadership in terms of differences growing out of different eras.

Of all the people interviewed, whose leadership efforts are especially compelling?

Of the two people who immediately come to mind, one's a geezer, the other's a geek. In 1967, Muriel Siebert bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, the first woman to do so. She later served as New York State banking commissioner. Muriel's a powerful lady yet retains the earthiness of her upbringing in Cleveland.

A member of a younger generation, Brian Morris, grew up in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Baltimore and saw people around him get arrested for drugs. He's now created a company to build affordable housing in Baltimore. And he left a career with Wall Street to do that.

Are there two seminal ideas about leadership that you would like a reader to come away with?

There are actually three. The first idea is the most powerful: Experience may be the greatest teacher, but you have to know how you learn. Then there's the notion of neoteny, or a concept emphasizing the importance of being able to be surprised and to be inquisitive. Some people have to work on those things. Thirdly, there needs to be an understanding of how different eras affect leadership. Leaders in this digital era, for example, are much more likely to be networking rather than going it alone, as many did 50 years ago.

What can managers coming up through the ranks today learn from your book?

People have to learn by surviving, evaluating all their experiences, good and bad. You can't learn those things in school or on weekend retreats. They have to come from within. And all of these learning experiences enable an individual to know what he or she stands for, which is crucial.

How did you draw up your lists of geeks and geezers?

We established two criteria: an individual would have to have accomplishments as a leader, and be a person who would be identified as a leader by his or her peers. Then we set up an advisory board to help us with our selections. One of the board's 10 members was Lester Thurow (a former head of the Sloan School of Management and an economics professor at MIT). We came up with 100 candidates. A quarter of them were ruled out because they were only thought leaders and were the subject of some disputes among their peers. Another quarter of the candidates said they weren't interested [in being part of the book] or were unavailable to be interviewed.

Was one of the greatest geeks of them all, Microsoft's Bill Gates, in the latter category?

No, and besides, he's over 35.

Was it difficult finding qualified women candidates?

It was difficult finding women 70 and over because those of that generation hadn't been given leadership opportunities.

Do you and Bennis have plans for another collaboration?

We're already starting a book, ''Crucibles for Leaders,'' that will examine how organizations can create conditions for people to learn and lead. We'll be studying organizations as different as the Mormon Church, the Hell's Angeles, the US Army, and Fortune 50 companies.

Davis Bushnell is a freelance writer who can be reached at davisbushnell@compuserve.com.

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