Competent, Not Complacent

Of all the controversial bits that I wove into the fabric of my two AgileMan books, it's probably true that nothing else was as likely to fan the flames of disgust - in certain quarters, at least - as my none-too-subtle questioning of the competence of some of those among our leadership group (myself, included, at times). It's not at all surprising that unflattering categorizations such as "borderline incompetent" would upset some, as they in fact did. Frankly, similar views expressed on my work blog (at the time) received the exact same chilly welcome, and that eventually led to me shutting down that particular avenue of communication (as described in More Real-Life Adventures of AgileMan, Issue # 45, Can We Not Talk?).

It was with great interest, then, that I read the following section in Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope:

"[I value] competence. Nothing brightens my day more than dealing with somebody, anybody, who takes pride in their work or goes the extra mile - an accountant, a plumber, a three-star general, the person on the other end of the phone who actually seems to want to solve your problem. My encounters with such competence seem more sporadic lately; I seem to spend more time looking for somebody in the store to help me or waiting for the deliveryman to show up. Other people must notice this; it makes us all cranky, and those of us in government, no less than in business, ignore such perceptions at their own peril."

Now, I'd never be so pretentious as to compare myself to President-Elect Obama. After all, he's a great man who's overcome incredible odds to reach the highest office in the most powerful nation on Earth (and is the author of a couple of best sellers), while I'm an unemployed schmuck who was unable to get Agile successfully implemented into a mid-sized company (and had to self-publish his two books about the experience). And yet... if nothing else, we two have in common, apparently, a dissatisfaction with the laissez-faire attitude toward incompetence that others seem to exude when they encounter it.

Beyond that, much of what Obama writes about in his second book revolves around the notion that even unwelcome viewpoints should be discussable in our society. In his context, that can mean Democrats and Republicans being ready, willing and able to sit across the table from each other and talk productively about hot-button topics like abortion, regulation and health care without either side shouting down the other or shoving their fingers in their ears. I suspect that Mr Obama is the sort of man I'd enjoy working for or with, although I have my doubts as to just how well I'd live up to his obviously-high standards. At the very least, though, I doubt that he'd adopt a stance of "I agree with what you're saying but just don't think you should be saying it" as I experienced (on a few occasions) during my time as Agile Manager.

I also agree with the "ignore such perceptions [of incompetence] at [your] own peril" sentiments with which Obama closes that section. That head-in-the-sand attitude was clearly an issue in my former workplace at times, and continues to contribute to morale problems there even now (despite the most obnoxious voice of dissent - mine! - removing itself from the mix). Just as children naturally expect their own parents to be perfect authority figures, most people in subordinate roles desire to be led by not just competent, but hopefully "superior" individuals (in terms of skills such as decision-making, job knowledge, reliability, trustworthiness, etc), safe in the knowledge that everyone involved is doing their part (or more) to ensure success. Great leadership inspires everyone around it; anything less has the opposite effect, unfortunately.

The further I get into The Audacity of Hope, the more impressed I am with the character of its author and the leadership qualities that he embodies.