Teaching my gargoyles about leadership I read with interest Mark Shields’s commentary in our local paper. (I always read with interest, but I never read things that don’t interest me.) Mark is a columnist with Craters.com. He was writing about Washington D. C. and the national political leadership. He wrote in his article about Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, who was the Chief of the German General Staff from 1858 until 1888. Apparently, Moltke used
a grid to categorize his officers. It is called the von Moltke Grid. In it, Moltke said that officers fall into one of four groups: 1) the mentally dull and the physically lazy, 2) the Mentally Dull and the Physically Energetic, 3) the Mentally Bright and the Physically Energetic and 4) the Mentally Bright and the Physically Lazy. The latter group make great generals, apparently.
Of course, leadership is not that simply. I am sure that von Moltke stole that idea from Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon recommended shooting the Mentally Dull and the Physically Energetic on sight to eradicate the breed. I tried to find the quote this morning but could not, so I am not 100% positive that it was Napoleon. Can someone help me out here?
It is one thing to classify different style of leadership and there are many great studies on that subject. It is quite another thing to classify followers. I think it is easier to look at their values. I wrote about types of leadership styles and values in my book, Leadership for New Managers: Book Two. It is available for purchase at http://smashwords.com/b/300090.
a grid to categorize his officers. It is called the von Moltke Grid. In it, Moltke said that officers fall into one of four groups: 1) the mentally dull and the physically lazy, 2) the Mentally Dull and the Physically Energetic, 3) the Mentally Bright and the Physically Energetic and 4) the Mentally Bright and the Physically Lazy. The latter group make great generals, apparently.
Of course, leadership is not that simply. I am sure that von Moltke stole that idea from Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon recommended shooting the Mentally Dull and the Physically Energetic on sight to eradicate the breed. I tried to find the quote this morning but could not, so I am not 100% positive that it was Napoleon. Can someone help me out here?
It is one thing to classify different style of leadership and there are many great studies on that subject. It is quite another thing to classify followers. I think it is easier to look at their values. I wrote about types of leadership styles and values in my book, Leadership for New Managers: Book Two. It is available for purchase at http://smashwords.com/b/300090.
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