Canadian HR Strategy

10 Minutes 18/CANADIAN HR STRATEGY H ow can organizations keep sight of shared values and community in an era of rampant individual- ism? Why do we talk so much about leadership — yet we have such a dearth of truly excellent leaders? Those are some of the questions pro- li c author and management thought-leader Henry Mintzberg has pondered at length. Mintzberg, professor at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management in Montreal, spoke to Canadian HR Strategy about what truly makes a good leader, why community-building is more important that competition and why being the best isn't the goal you should be shooting for (the interview has been edited for clarity and length). CANADIAN HR STRATEGY: You've often said "community-ship" is more im- portant than leadership — even though leadership gets much more attention. Why is that idea of community-ship more important? MINTZBERG: Effective organizations are communities of human beings, and they're not just collections of human resources. There are two types of organizations we most admire. One is entrepreneurs that have done really, really well. And they may be miserable people and lousy with their staff and everything, but they just do amazing things. (Former CEO of Apple) Steve Jobs might be the ultimate example of that. But of established organizations, I think it's the ones where people love to go to work. They feel a sense of community, they're respected, and so on. Leadership is important, but it's important in the service of communi- ty-ship. It's important because it enhances that kind of community-ship. And so much of what we call leadership these days is not leadership at all. Any chief executive who attempts to be paid hundreds of times more Sitting down with the management thought-leader to talk about collaboration, community and leadership with 10 Minutes with 10 Minutes Henry with Henry with Mintzberg Henry Mintzberg Henry By Liz Bernier PHOTOGRAPHY BY OWEN EGAN

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