The Techniques of Inner Leadership: Making Inner Leadership Work

The Techniques of Inner Leadership: Making Inner Leadership Work. By Gilbert W. Fairholm. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2003. 308 pages. $64.95. Reviewed by Dr. Robert M. Murphy, Professor of Management, US Army War College.

At first glance one would assume that this book is simply another in the long list of "how to" books on leadership. Although this is a fairly accurate assessment, the book has some merit. This is one in a series of books by the author involving what he refers to as "inner leadership." Fairholm defines this as leadership involving face-to face contact with the workforce as compared to what he terms "top leadership," leadership that is more holistic and includes a focus on the structural and strategic issues of an organization.

A major benefit of this book is its fairly good thumbnail sketch of the leadership literature, offering the leadership enthusiast a quick survey of the history of leadership research. Another interesting benefit is the author's succinct dialogue on the concepts of management and leadership. Although many, including this reviewer, might take issue with some of the distinctions that Fairholm articulates, he does make the effort to demonstrate that leadership studies have been tainted by their association with management theories. A case in point is when he quotes Antonioni: "management deals with such issues as performance, productivity, system control, and measurement." According to Fairholm, leaders have a different value set than managers. In other words, managers and leaders value people, programs, and policy differently. Fairholm seems to be saying that managers deal with things, while leaders are mainly focused on people and values. While this observation may resonate with some readers, there are many basic college texts on management that take exception to this distinction.

The crux of the text is the author's presentation of his formula for gaining inner leadership. His formula involves 21 techniques that the author feels will provide the necessary foundation to enable low-level leaders to blossom into mid-level leaders. As is the case with many of the "how to" books on developing effective leadership techniques, many of the points are valid but not really new. In fact, although the terminology he uses may be a shade different, the basic concepts have been repeated in many of the books addressing these subjects over the last decade.

The author does touch on one interesting theme: the link to an individual's spirituality. Although the concept of spirituality usually carries a religious overtone, Fairholm's point is more holistic. The focus on a worker's individuality is not a new concept, since the Hawthorne experiments by Elton Mayo in the 1920s opened the door to this venue in organizational studies. What is new, however, is Fairholm's examination of spirituality in terms of a person's sense of ultimate purpose that leaders may draw upon without getting bogged down in a person's religious orientation. Although human motivation scholars like Maslow and Alderfer addressed this issue in their hierarchy-of-needs models, Fairholm takes the concept of spirituality to another level. The author views spirituality as an inspiration for today's workforce to find personal worth through a union with humanity and by their actions within the organization.

Is this book a must read for today's senior members of the defense community? Probably not. Does it have a message or two that senior leaders need to listen to? Definitely. Fairholm's laundry list is neither unique nor profound. Nevertheless, while the book's emphasis on leadership techniques is aimed at mid-level leaders, the author makes the point that senior leaders need to create an environment that will allow the inner-leadership potential of people throughout the organization to flourish.

Lastly, Fairholm's notation that there is a major difference between management and leadership is a critical message for senior Defense Department leaders and a military that is leadership-centric. As the author points out, management and leadership have been so interwoven through the years that most individuals are unable to separate the two concepts. His point is that each has its own domain in organizational studies, and each is needed in today's organizational environment. Knowing the difference and properly employing the appropriate concepts is a must for any successful organization, especially those in the defense community.

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