In our time of crisis, Alexander Hamilton might be perceived as a rather unusual example to learn about executive leadership. He is best associated with the US Coast Guard, the US Mint, the Report on Manufactures, and paving the path for the American Constitution. But, In addition, he also created a new kind of job; the Presidency. 

The President of the United States was the first CEO

Hamilton’s astute understanding and practice of executive leadership is well preserved in the Federalist papers (for example Federalist #70 – The Executive Department Further Considered). Hamilton created the President that was limited in power but absolute in decision making. It enabled future executives to handle large social, economic, and political projects for the public good – effectively and responsibly. 

Hamilton was the first to practice what he preached in the private sphere; the Bank of New York and the Second Bank of the United States. To quote Peter F. Drucker, “our CEO has been fashioned by Alexander Hamilton, when he fashioned the US president, which was a radical invention, unprecedented.” 

Drucker Forum 2020

This article is one in the “shape the debate” series relating to the fully digital 12th Global Peter Drucker Forum, under the theme “Leadership Everywhere” on October 28, 29 & 30, 2020.
#DruckerForum

CEOs need to consult Alexander Hamilton again

My Years with General Motors (1963), was considered by Peter F. Drucker “the best management book” out there. In this book, we learn that Alfred P. Sloan consulted the spirit of Alexander Hamilton – and the American Constitution – to successfully develop his management principles and concepts for GM.

This practice seems forgotten by many CEOs. Many leaders have lost sight of Alexander Hamilton’s ideas and concepts. They embrace titles of “Chief Executive Officer” and neglect their deep responsibility towards people, organizations, and society.

The way forward

CEOs need to define the destination they are leading people towards and work backward from there. In a time of crisis, this can inspire a new direction and motivate individuals and organizations to get back on the right track.

Frivolous, frantic, and fraudulent leadership, as again seen recently in the Wirecard scandal, must remain the exception. Management affinity with conflict and populism are at odds with the foundations of the Executive.

The modern CEO was an evolutionary and visionary model based on the most fundamental human values – not corporate structures, ideologies, and politics stitched together for self-serving reasons.

In essence, the modern CEO is an apprentice of liberty. Societal liberties allow organizations to exist and destroying them destroys the foundations of corporations.

The apprentice of liberty – which Alexander Hamilton created – is an unprecedented concept in the private sphere. It is the most effective way to make humanity, freedom, and democracy productive. We should learn from him.

About the Author:

Sebastian Woller, 26, was a finalist for the Drucker Challenge in 2018. Sebastian is a management professional based in Germany. He currently serves in the Task Force of Germany’s 2020 EU Council Presidency. Previously, he gained experience in the consulting, automotive, and banking sectors.

This article is one in the “shape the debate” series relating to the fully digital 12th Global Peter Drucker Forum, under the theme “Leadership Everywhere” on October 28, 29 & 30, 2020.
#DruckerForum

New technologies have radically transformed society, business and industries. Today, the world is much more adventuresome, connected, and disruptive than yesterday. As our world is reshaping and new ecosystems are emerging, education must adapt an active, new approach.

Drucker Forum 2019

This article is one in the “shape the debate” series relating to the 11th Global Peter Drucker Forum, under the theme “The Power of Ecosystems” taking place on November 21 & 22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria.
#GPDF19 #ecosystems

Education can have a significant impact on developing an open mind and preparing us for the world of tomorrow. However, in the midst of technological and economic disruption, a too specialised degree or education can be a handicap.

Granted, a university cannot teach you everything. Yet, despite the changing ecosystem, universities still render creative capabilities and achievements in relation to grades of the past. This is discouraging because it not only under-assesses potential and talent, it also measures curiosity through inflexible standards.

For business to meet its needs in innovation, and for education to satisfy this generation of inquisitive minds, it is imperative that we endorse an ecosystem without boundaries – one that has yet to be given clear rules. The world is no longer convenient or mechanistic. The best managers, business executives and world leaders know this. They are more intrigued with new ideas and ambitions, people who think differently, take initiative and learn outside the classroom.

Undeniably, we need to drop our prejudices and dispense with an education system born out of the Industrial Revolution. We need to promote those who express their own ideas, curiosity and intelligence – in contrast to those focused on memorisation. We need to encourage and illuminate multifaceted activities and achievements, which are at first glance out of our reach and perhaps even difficult to grasp. The future is hiding in plain sight – and not in a gilded classroom.

About the Author:

Sebastian Woller, a finalist for the Drucker Challenge in 2018, is a Hamburg-based management professional with experience in various sectors

This article is one in the Drucker Forum “shape the debate” series relating to the 11th Global Peter Drucker Forum, under the theme “The Power of Ecosystems”, taking place on November 21-22, 2019 in Vienna, Austria #GPDF19 #ecosystems

Since Churchill, ideas about leadership have changed. Unlike in his day, social media plays a vital role in “proving” leadership qualities. Today a person is judged on leadership skills based on the number of “followers” they have, regardless of how those followers are acquired. Peter Drucker’s definition of leadership is being literally applied: “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers”, although perhaps not in the way he intended. Today, for a person to present him- or herself as a “future leader,” he or she needs to not only demonstrate purpose, the ability to empower, and a preference towards learning, but also well-known and reputable firms on their CV.

At the end of November, I was selected as a finalist for the “Drucker Challenge Essay Award 2018,” at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna. To learn and participate with guests who, like me, appreciate the contributions of Peter Drucker to management and leadership and consider his achievements of the first order.

The Forum pointed out that the most important qualifications of leaders and managers are their character and integrity – a human element. The decay in social and moral responsibility, which we are sadly witnessing currently, requires the right leadership and management skills and the right priorities to restore it. The Drucker Forum made it clear: more effective leadership and management techniques as well as more morally-driven narratives will be needed in the future.

However, where and how do we develop and identify these right leadership and management skills? In firms?

Emerging managers, current and former presidents, ministers, CEOs – you name it – all use social media and experience at elite business schools, consultancies and other blue-chip organisations to demonstrate their leadership credentials. In turn those organisations proudly point to their CEO alumni to prove the efficiency of their leadership production lines. Yet, many of today’s esteemed managerial class and leaders have been coming under increased media scrutiny for their apparent lack of essential leadership skills. Top management at Facebook, Uber and Theranos are three obvious examples.

This begs the question as to whether many of our world and corporate leaders are really destined for authentic leadership at all.

Most certainly, experience gained in A-list companies births both knowledge and skills to solve complex problems. Employees learn to develop higher levels of conceptual capacity and to deal with difficult long-term problems as they climb the organizational hierarchy. But can composing PowerPoint presentations and attending workshops really teach you the true leadership à la Churchill?

High-performance companies require constant availability that leave no time for the pursuit of personal hobbies, whether it be reading, painting or correspondence (as a winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1953, Churchill appreciated the unity of poetry and art). A company culture of “up or out” does not encourage passion and loyalty. Having insufficient time for friends and loved ones does not enable a person to develop an outstanding personality; that same outstanding personality that ironically these companies require.

Back to Drucker. Management and leadership are embedded in culture, history and tradition, and because it deals with the fundamental disciplines of philosophy, expressed through knowledge, and wisdom, Drucker considered management an art; an art that required the ability of drawing together knowledge from the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, economics, and history.

Churchill is immortalized, not just for leading the Allies to victory in World War II, but for his character, foresight, passion, loyalty, personality, determination, and the optimism he was able to communicate. None of these traits can be learned behind an office desk. Future leaders need to redefine the meaning of leadership. Leadership is more than about working at high-ranking firms, holding titles, and having a social media following. As Churchill once said, “Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it”.

About the Author:

Sebastian Woller is a Management professional with experience in banking, consulting, the public sector and the automotive industry.

This article is one in a series related to the 10th Global Peter Drucker Forum, with the theme management. the human dimension, that took place on November 29 & 30, 2018 in Vienna, Austria #GPDF18

This article first appeared in Linkedin Pulse.