Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities
by Mark Gerzon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark GerzonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-04-12
ISBN: 159139919X
Number of pages: 273
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Book Reviews of Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities
Book Review: A discussion of the leader as mediator
Summary: 5 Stars
In this work, Mark Gerzon presents what he views as the three faces of leadership (the demagogue, the manager, and the mediator), followed by a discussion of eight leadership tools for the mediator: integral vision, systems thinking, presence, inquiry, conscious conversation, dialogue, bridging, and innovation. The author states at the outset in his introduction that he wrote this book because "although conflict is built into our commercial and civic institutions, the skills for dealing with it are rarely taught". According to Gerzon, the demagogue "leads through fear, threats, and intimidation", "turns opponents into scapegoats", "uses lies and propaganda to dehumanize the other", and "resorts to violence to dominate or destroy the other". The author admittedly refers to extreme demagogues in order that this archetype be contrasted with the other two within the discussion, and although some of the individuals chosen are a bit tiresome, he makes his points well. The manager "operates based on an exclusive, limited definition of 'us'", "defines purpose in terms of the self-interest of his or her own group", "cannot or will not deal with issues, decisions, or conflicts that cross boundaries", and "is productive and effective only on home turf". It is within his discussion on managers that Gerzon starts to introduce small case study scenarios to illustrate the concepts being presented, and the remaining chapters follow this instructive pattern. The mediator "strives to act on behalf of the whole, not just a part", "thinks systematically and is committed to ongoing learning", "builds trust by building bridges across the dividing lines", and "seeks innovation and opportunity in order to transform conflict". The remaining chapters that focus on the eight leadership tools each conclude with several pages of tips that discuss how to apply what the author presents. For example, the first tool chapter, on integral vision, presents the following tips: "check your vision", "don't replace one border with another", "watch your language", "go to the balcony", "develop maturity of mind", and "learn to see through walls". In my opinion, the chapter on conscious conversation is especially well written. Included in this chapter is Table 8-1 which presents the eight forms of discourse (verbal brawling, debate, presentation/Q&A, discussion, negotiation, council, dialogue, and reflective silence), Figure 8-3 which presents ground rules to create a safe environment for open conversation, and Figure 8-4 which maps the forms of discourse to the demagogue, manager, and mediator. The chapter on dialogue furthers the discussion on discourse by its inclusion of Table 9-1, which compares debate and dialogue. Interestingly enough, the appendix was included for "all of us who lose our tempers" and for "those calmer souls who have to deal with people like us". Essentially, the appendix provides, in just 9 pages, some succinct principles for situations where time is of the essence. My only real criticism of this book is that the author evidently is not concerned about sharing his political bias within a discussion where one would think such bias would be a little less transparent. After a while, this bias gets a bit tiresome, much like his examples in the first chapter, but because this text was so well thought out this quality does not detract from the substance of the book.
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