Work, Responsibility, and Trust define the Leadership

“Leadership as Work”, an article written by the well-known father of modern management Peter F. Drucker, points out that leadership has something to do with work, responsibility, and trust, rather than charisma or “personality traits”. Mr. Drucker's writing is elegant and to the point. I am delighted to read this topic because it makes me reflect my experiences in the past 5 years about my leadership.

Leadership has little to do with charisma, as what the author wrote that it is unnecessary to make every CEO “look like a dashing Confederate cavalry general or a boardroom Elvis Presley.” I cannot agree more than this description with a little bit of selfish consideration. In the highly developed media age, every CEO, it seems, are reported abundantly in all kinds of newspapers, magazines, business TV programs and radio show with a image of super star, who probably have published several books and won a band of fans. At times, I felt kind of frustrated because I am not so charismatic that I can attract eye balls of my audience. Instead, I even tend to avoid many public occasions because of my shyness, although I do know the importance of public-speaking in the demanding business world. Thus, when I read that the master overturned the idea of leadership which was thought of the equivalent of charisma by the public, I was more than happy with his concept.

So what is Mr. Drucker's concept of leadership? It is work, responsibility, and trust that count. The central idea is that the leadership is not something desirable. Instead, it is only a boring, unromantic means to achieve some goal. Under this definition, I think I can meet all the three criteria to become an excellent leader. Firstly, I always work hard. Secondly, I am responsible for my mission in any organizations I belong to. In fact, just several days ago, Ma asked for my home phone number and called me at midnight to express his willing to further cooperate with me because of my precious sense of responsibility, which is very rare among the work force of China. Last, all my former associates and subordinates not only in Beijing, but also in Shanghai, trust me very much. Especially in the last year in Shanghai when my company encountered financial crisis, all my subordinates believed in me and supported each decision I made. In contrast, they doubted the integrity and sincerity of my successor after I decided to leave the company.

In sum, this essay from Peter F. Drucker really encourages me to continue pursuing my business career. I know that I will have to conquer a lot of looming obstacles on the road I have chosen. However, I do believe what teacher Kang said, "You must do the thing that you think you cannot do" in your life. I choose it, and I would never regret it.