A Passion for Leadership Read Online Free PDF Page A

solutions to important national problems, and other irresponsible actions, not to mention the government’s long-standing reputation for red tape and hierarchy—discourage young citizens with desirable and needed talents from entering public service. If, through this book, I can demonstrate that despite the politicians public institutions and other organizations can be reformed, made more efficient and more responsive to the needs of our people, perhaps more young people will be encouraged to consider devoting some portion of their lives to their fellow citizens.
    I hope that this book will be of value to young people who aspire to become leaders: first, by demonstrating to them that public service organizations can be worthy of their talents; second, should they choose that path, by offering them, early in their careers, some of the tools and personal attributes for leading change that they can begin to develop and strengthen. After all, today’s new recruits will be tomorrow’s senior leaders.
    John Adams, our second president, wrote to his son Thomas, “Public business my son, must always be done by somebody—it will be done by somebody or other—If wise men decline it others will not: if honest men refuse it, others will not.” My fervent hope is that this book will encourage the wise and honest among us, especially young people, to consider serving our fellow Americans—with confidence that public institutions can be reformed and shaped to succeed.

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Where You Want to Go: “ T he Vision Thing”
    M y dictionary lists fifty-four definitions of the word “leader.” One is “a pipe for conducting hot air”—an apt definition perhaps for Washington, D.C., but not suitable for my purposes here. No, the definition that best fits what I have in mind is “one who guides, one who shows the way.” The implication is that what lies ahead is new territory and the guide knows how to reach the destination. It is a good analogy for organizations and change. The problem is that too many leaders start on the path of change without deciding or knowing where they are headed. Sort of like Moses and the forty years spent wandering in the wilderness.
    One of my favorite bumper stickers is “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m making good time.” Sadly, that describes too many organizations today: once-great institutions that are losing (or have lost) their edge and don’t know how to regain it; good institutions that want to be great but can’t move beyond the rhetoric; organizations that are failing to adapt to new circumstances and problems, are floundering, and don’t know what to do; self-satisfied and smug institutions running on the momentum of past achievements and moving obliviously headlong toward mediocrity and irrelevance; and bureaucracies seemingly “too big to fail” but also apparently too big to change and too resistant to reform. And then there are the many public entities mired in mediocrity, disinterested in and currently incapable of providing quality, efficient services to their customers, the taxpayers.
    All such institutions have one thing in common: the need for bold, visionary leaders at all levels who can discern a different and better future for the organization, no matter its size, and who can map a realistic path to attaining that future. If there is to be transformation, it must start at the top. But the person at the top cannot succeed alone: leaders are needed throughout an organization. They are often there; they just need someone to liberate and mobilize them.
    To be successful agents of change—of reform—leaders not only must be able to envision a new way forward but also must be practical, with the skill to build broad support for and implement their vision.
    Recent history has examples of political leaders who were pragmatic visionaries: Margaret Thatcher revitalizing the United Kingdom; Ronald Reagan restoring America’s confidence after the disastrous 1970s and