Leadership Styles/Approaches

[DJlaysitup]

Thought I'd post this ramble here since it isn't really specifically related to the on-court Hawks.

I don’t pretend to know what really goes on at the upper levels of Hawks management, but I do have a good bit of experience with working for a wide variety of leaders. Having been a junior to mid-management grade officer in the navy for many years, I’ve worked for a lot of “type-A” leadership personalities (some very sharp – some not so sharp). I’ve noticed a few things:

Sharp leaders tend to appreciate other points of view. They enjoy the “mental exercise” at looking at different viewpoints and developing contingency plans. In short, they tend to be better able to adapt within situations as the environment changes. They don’t take differing points of view personally and are willing to explain their own reasoning because they are generally more secure people.

The less sharp tend to be more rigid in their outlook. They see other points of view as dissent and a challenge to their master plan. They take things more personally. They tend to be more secretive and operate with a small group of “insiders” who they can dominate. I always disliked this because I knew – even if I was bringing up a point that could save them trouble down the road – I would be viewed as a troublemaker. These are the type of leaders who will “stay the course” until the ship sinks – then try to lay the blame elsewhere.

A good analogy would be how one plays no limit poker:

A bull-headed “stay the course” type player is one who, when he/she gets Ace/King, will bet it every round of betting (likely ending up going all-in) because that is their plan and they figure they should win. There may be four community cards on the table – and all of them are diamonds – but they will forge ahead because that was their original plan.

More adaptable players love going against that type because they are comfortable with their ability to switch gears as the situation dictates as can usually defeat them handily over the long haul.

When the game’s over the bull-headed player will react defensively – saying something like “I ended up going all-in on AK, the other guy just sucked out”…when in reality the other guy outplayed them.

As I mentioned, I don’t know for sure, but BK seams to act more like the secretive, rigid type from where I sit. This approach can work if everything falls into place as expected, however, it rarely does. Hopefully, for the future of the Hawks, I’m wrong.