In order to develop and maintain their own resources, here are some of Drucker’s
recommendations: first, a leader and/or knowledge worker needs to find out what
his or her strengths are. “Most people believe they know what they are good at;
usually they are wrong. People also tend to know what they are not good at – but in
this respect the majority is also wrong.” For Drucker, there is only one way to find
out what your strengths are, an approach he referred to as “feedback analysis.” This
is how it works: whenever you make a key decision you write down what results
you expect. After 12 months at the latest, review these expectations with regards to
the actual results. In this way, within 2–3 years you can find out what your strengths
truly are. Drucker claimed to have used this method himself for over 20 years.
This feedback analysis – which should not be confused with the classic oral
feedback – allows us to make several conclusions, such as: concentrate on your
strengths. Develop your strengths. Make sure to notice where your intellectual
arrogance leads you to be ignorant. Try to get rid of your bad habits. Improve
your manners. Waste as little effort as possible on trying to improve in areas where
your expertise is limited.
To manage yourself you have to know your own values. Personal values must be
compatible with the values of the organization; otherwise frustration is sure to arise.
According to Drucker, there is rarely a conflict between the strengths and practices
of a manager. But sometimes there is conflict between a person’s values and their
strengths. Finally, it is still important that people discover where they belong. In a
large organization? In a small company? At the university? In business? This is
another point that Drucker associates with the management of our own strengths.
Drucker felt that we were all on the way to becoming an “entrepreneurial
society.” Everyone – not just the executives – must increasingly take personal
responsibility for his or her life-long learning, development and career. In this
future society, the free market will have more of an effect on the exchange of
information than on traditional commerce. The future growth sectors will be two
areas of knowledge: health and education. “The most important thing, however, is
that the next society will have a completely different social composition. It will be a
knowledge society, where knowledge is represented in the work of the largest and
most expensive group of employees. In fact, this transformation has already taken
place in all industrialized countries” (Drucker 2004, p. 398).
2.1.1.6 The Principle of Responsibility
Drucker criticized much of the literature on management. He found it lacking and
believed it did not ask difficult questions such as, “What is the responsibility of the
management, who (specifically) is responsible, what is management based on and
how is it evaluated?” Political issues also cause situations in management and must
be evaluated and not disregarded. Drucker posed the question to the upper-level
management and leadership team regarding stakeholder value vs. shareholder
value. A stakeholder is an employee who may or may not have an interest or
share in the enterprise. A shareholder is someone who actually owns stocks, shares
2.1 The Craft of Leadership 25