Part of the continuing series: The Organization We Are Building
Series: The Organization We Are Building
But it also made me wonder whether we sometimes quote Drucker more than we actually read him.
If there is one lesson I took from Drucker’s work, it is this:
Before deciding what kind of leader you want, first ask what kind of organization you have.
A startup may need a disruptor.
A struggling organization may need a reformer.
But an organization like FA, one that is rebuilding trust, preserving peace, moving toward unity, and trying to carry long-term projects across administrations, needs a steady hand.
Drucker spent much of his career reminding leaders that management is not about doing what is exciting. It is about doing what is necessary.
That distinction matters.
Because stability is what FA needs at this moment.
As a student of history, I know that history often remembers the revolutionaries.
What history sometimes overlooks are the men and women who quietly kept institutions together long enough for progress to take root.
Organizations do not survive on excitement alone.
They survive because someone keeps the ship on course.
Each time I reflect on the future of Fako America, I find myself asking what I suspect Drucker would ask:
What does the organization need most right now?
The more I think about that question, the more I appreciate how difficult it can be.
It is often easier to debate personalities than to diagnose organizations.
Easier to discuss candidates than to discuss needs.
Drucker however seemed to believe that effective leadership begins with understanding the institution itself.
His works remind us that leadership is not simply about finding capable people.
It is about finding the right fit for the task at hand.
And that task begins with understanding the organization we are building.
Wonyamoeeh!
To each of us, the question is not simply who can lead.
The question is: What kind of organization are we recruiting a leader for, and how does that leader meet the needs of FA at this very moment?
