The management literature often uses the terms managing and leading interchangeably. Is there a demarcation line between resilient leadership, leadership, and managing?   Does one term blend into the other at different points? Consider this example: There are bosses that are very good administrators of systems, methods, and procedures, but when it came to having the intuition, sense, or gut feeling to make a decision in the best interest of his or her people, one of the two fell short. Several considerations outside the area of administration is important to effectively lead an organization including understanding different sub-cultures that make up the whole, the current discourse among the people that lead to potential changes in the culture, the effectiveness/quality of their interactions, and the external conditions (financial, environmental, and political). Having intuition or the sense to gauge what is going on around you and take appropriate actions relates directly to resiliency.

It seems apparent that teaching someone resilient intuition or having the sense to make the right decision at the right place and time is a very specific individual leadership characteristic compared to the standard daily administrative or logistic skills many managers possess. Should resilient intuition or having a resiliency sense be a senior leader characteristic for business and political leaders fortunate to hold life-influencing leadership posts? Surveying some thoughts from the book Sun Tzu, Art of War (Sawyer, 1994), one could surmise that leadership is more art than science when it comes to making critical decisions. Although Sun Tzu’s purpose several thousand years ago was probably to provide a collection of ideas, thoughts, principles, and theories designed to outwit the other opponent, there are many insights to glean from this interpretation relating to the topic of resilient leadership.

Isn’t it clear that throughout history, the effective administrators are distinguished from the great leaders in war? Some of you may personally know a military leader or have read about one from history. More than one senior General has iterated that really effective leaders have to know the battlefield calculus (i.e., the knowledge to move people and equipment over extended distances)—this is the science of leadership, while at the same time, making timely and accurate decisions based on cognitive intuition, sense, and gut feelings—this is the art of resilient leadership. When you consider hiring a person to an important or influential post affecting their people’s health, welfare, and future prosperity, doesn’t it seem that leadership art and specifically, resilient leadership is one of the most important leadership characteristics to have?

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References

Sawyer, R. D. (1994). Sun Tzu, Art of War. Colorado: Westview Press.