“He who loves practice without theory
is like the sailor who boards a ship without a rudder and compass and never
knows where he may cast.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
On Feb 19, 2016, I travelled by flight
to keynote leadership conference in Nagpur, India. The person who sat beside me
asked about my profession. I informed that I am an executive coach, author and leadership
keynote speaker. He curiously asked me how to bridge the gap between leadership
theory and practice. Will books help readers grow as leaders? The question was
quite interesting and I replied him as follows:
Books don’t groom readers as leaders
but serve as guidelines to them by providing different perspectives to widen their
mental horizons. They provide theoretical inputs to help readers understand the
various aspects on the topic to equip with expertise and build confidence. They provide knowledge from multiple
perspectives as authors do intensive research before writing books. If the
authors are from research background, they provide various aspects on
leadership research with pros and cons to enable the readers to understand and
apply. Since the readers may not have research mindset, time and resources, the
books help them immensely. If the authors write books from practitioners’
perspective, they help readers understand various challenges in exploring the leadership
concepts. They make readers become
better leaders as they serve as blueprints for them. Having theoretical knowledge
helps minimize mistakes and maximize leadership effectiveness.
Nobody can become a crackshot unless
they lose some ammunition. So real learning about leadership starts in
practical life with trial and error methods. When readers apply theoretical
aspects in real business environment, they understand what works and doesn’t
work in their specific environment and industry. They accept and apply what is
relevant and discard the rest. In this way, the readers can close the gap
between theory and practice. When you look at leadership educators in various
business schools, they refer various case studies share with students and
discuss with them. They share the pros and cons of theoretical aspects that
enable the students to understand and explore. After students enter into
corporate world, they encounter the real challenges and adapt to the environment
accordingly.
Leadership basically depends on
theoretical inputs. Of course, the practitioners change their strategies at the
ground level to suit their needs and expectations of the industry and
stakeholders. Hence, theory is the
foundation to leadership which guides and grooms. Theory provides the
principles and philosophies on leadership. It provides directions for the
practitioners to move forward cautiously and carefully. Hence, theory cannot be
ignored. At the same time, there must be changes at the practical front as
challenges differ from industry to industry and leadership style differs from
the personality of the leaders. Yogi Berra rightly remarked, “In theory there
is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” Therefore, there is no quick fix formula to
leadership learning. There is no one-size-fits-all-approach to leadership
development. Leadership must be customized as per the situation, style of the
leaders, environment and the industry.
Conclusion
To achieve leadership effectiveness,
there must be symbiotic relationship between the leadership scholars and
practitioners. Scholars must visit industry regularly to understand the
corporate ground realities and practitioners must visit campus to customize the
curriculum as per their requirements. It helps both scholars and practitioners
to understand each others’ expectations and aspirations to bridge the gap
between theory and practice. To conclude, books build confidence in the
readers. They offer theoretical leadership ideas and insights to prepare readers
as leaders and help them understand various aspects on leadership to minimize
mistakes and maximize leadership effectiveness to achieve organizational
excellence and effectiveness.
“Experience without theory is blind,
but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.” ― Immanuel Kant
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Professor M.S.Rao, India
Founder of MSR
Leadership Consultants India
Recipient
of 10th International Prestigious Sardar Patel Award―2015
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