Power tends to Corrupt


Work is done by those who understand what they do not manage and dominated by those who manage what they do not understand.
-- Putt's Law



The American ethos is realistic about human corruptibility. The Constitution codifies a system of checks and balances based on the principle that unconstrained power tends to be abused. Puritan notions and the framers knowledge of history went into the separation of powers that is now considered to be integral to sound governance. Neglect of both the premises and the principle of constraint in corporate management has made business entities into hierarchies of self-serving ambition in an environment of intimidation and counterproductive, networked incompetence. Business has become the domain of an aristocracy. Nearly every working person contends with the resulting dysfunction on a daily basis. Working dangerously is to acknowledge the pervasiveness of bad management while trying to remain employed.

Turn the other cheek and read this blog for perspective. It's cheaper than a psychiatrist.


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Playing to employees’ strengths

Talking leadership with the Comptroller General

U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro is head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the “congressional watchdog,” GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Comptroller General Dodaro helps oversee the development and issuance of hundreds of reports and testimonies each year to various committees and members of Congress. An employee of GAO since 1973, he has held a number of key executive posts including chief operating officer.

What lessons have you learned from your previous positions within GAO, and how are you applying them as comptroller general?

An important part of my job is spending time getting to know the people—what motivates them, their strengths—and being able to match their strengths with institutional needs to help them grow and develop as employees, leaders and managers of the organization. I've found in managing a large organization with a diverse portfolio of work and hundreds of reports and testimonies put out every year that unless you have the right person for the job, we’re not going to produce the highest and most optimal results for the Congress and for the country. At least 75 percent of success is picking the right person for the right job.

Since we support Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities, I also think it’s important to understand members’ and staff’s top priorities, what their needs are and how to deliver the best services to them. I've carried this forward into my current position by meeting with as many members as I can, particularly the chairs and ranking members of committees, and being the most responsive to meeting their needs and helping improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ask-the-fedcoach/post/playing-to-employees-strengths-talking-leadership-with-comptroller-general-gene-dodaro/2011/03/04/AFuDCpsE_blog.html
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJuly 7, 2011 at 3:15 AM

    Aligning one's strengths with the needs of the organization - this is a great path to success, all the way around.

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