All Blacks' loss shows pitfalls of hero leadership
victoria-university-of-wellington
Mon Oct 08 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
All Blacks' loss shows pitfalls of hero leadership
Monday, 8 October 2007, 2:55 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington
08 October 2007
All Blacks' loss illustrates the pitfalls of hero leadership
The All Blacks' World Cup loss illustrates the pitfalls of ‘hero leadership', and holds important lessons for organisations thinking about making large-scale changes says a Victoria organisational behaviour academic.
Dr Todd Bridgman says that instead of looking for individuals to blame for the defeat, the public would be better to try and understand some of the deeper, systemic causes.
“Organisations that experience a crisis have a tendency to put their faith in new leaders who advocate radical changes. This is a risky approach because if those changes fail, the organisation can get caught in a vicious spiral of large-scale change.
“Following the World Cup defeat in 2003, New Zealand rugby was facing a crisis. Graham Henry had a radical plan and because of past failures at the World Cup, people felt compelled to buy into his vision."
Dr Bridgman says that while Mr Henry’s innovative policies cannot be pinned as the cause of the defeat, it is a concern that people involved in New Zealand rugby were generally reluctant to openly question his strategy.
“There is an impression that if you did raise questions you are somehow being disloyal to the All Blacks. This is an unhealthy state for any organisation to be in.”
He says the danger is that New Zealand rugby will now go in search of a new hero leader.
“Leadership is critical for any organisation but it is a popular myth that leaders are only those at the top of the organisational hierarchy.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
“The challenge is do develop leadership capacity throughout the organisation and to create an organisational culture where it is acceptable to challenge the views of those at the top."
The All Blacks' defeat held important lessons for any organisation thinking about making large-scale changes, he says.
“It is generally assumed that change is good and that maintaining established ways of doing things is bad. We need to recognise that when we introduce radical changes we are in danger of destroying some of the good things about our organisations.”
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from Victoria University of Wellington on InfoPages.