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Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows, by Richard Hytner

MOST organisations are pyramidic, and our society has traditionally focused on the positions at the top, the alphas. “Now is the time to learn about the enigmatic betas, whose ambitions and motivations are little understood by the alphas, by the outside world, even by themselves,” explains the author, Richard Hytner.

Consiglieri unpacks the relationships between alpha leaders and their deputies. ‘Consiglieri’ is the name given to the advisers to the heads of Italian mafia families who provide counsel and support, and deliver for the leaders.

Hytner refers to the Leader as “A” because he or she is ultimately ‘Accountable’ for the organisation, and the consiglieri as “C”. The A and C demand different strengths and produce very different benefits for their organisation. One can attribute many of the difficulties experienced by organisations to the “leadership’s failure to acknowledge what the roles (of As and Cs) really are and how they relate to each other”, asserts Hytner.

The book intends to encourage many more people to embrace the role of C and to choose to lead the organisation from “beyond the A” as effectively as possible.

“The most rewarding place to be, in my view, is the C. No role has presented more challenge, required as much subtlety, or so demanded the leadership behaviour I most admire in others,” Hytner explains. He held the position of CEO of Europe, Middle East & Africa for Saatchi & Saatchi, and then chose to be a consigliare.

Importantly, the majority of successful Cs have chosen their roles. Both A and C are leaders in very different ways, but contribute equally. You cannot be successful if you have reluctantly settled for the C role after having been rejected for the A role.

Margaret Thatcher explained the importance of one of her Cs, Lord William Whitelaw in this way: “Everyone needs a William and, for the most part, it feels good to be the William that’s needed.”

When Hytner chose to relinquish the role of CEO to be the C, “peers were no less bemused, giving me hopeful looking thumbs-up, saying, ‘Wow, that’s courageous’ and far too polite to say what they were thinking, ‘You’ve lost your marbles’.”

Hytner identified the qualities required to be a successful C from his observations of Cs, and from interviewing Cs. These are Courageous, Content, Constant, and Catalytic.

“Courage” is essential to truth-telling required by any competent leader from his consiglieri. Kevin Roberts, of Saatchi & Saatchi, told Hytner: “I want advice that is truthful, not diluted.” Weak Cs try to second-guess what the A will want to hear. A consigliere never needs to ask if he may be candid because no leader of quality wants to hear anything else. Candour is possible only through courage, and is a fundamental C characteristic.

To be successful a C needs the maturity to be “Content.” Cs cannot be content when they see the position as getting power from being a consigliere to the leader. When they feel they are ‘moved to do my duty’, they are Content.

Chief of staff to Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell, reports: “My tuppenceworth was not always gratefully received and sometimes I must have been infuriating. I would put provocative points to Tony and he would roundly insult me in return but I couldn’t help noticing that he was absorbing them anyway, and sometimes the suggestions would pop up later in speeches or in his conversations with ministers.” 

The ‘Content’ C can deal with this type of unpleasantness because it is understood as “doing my duty”.

Being “Constant” is the sense of professional purpose that once discovered stays with one, and becomes part of any decision. Being Constant gives others a sense of confidence in the C.

Cs need to be “Catalytic”, to realise the leadership dimension of the role. Successful Cs enjoy influencing people and engineering important interventions. Cs need more than just the intelligence to structure arguments and proposals to have an impact; they need to have what the author calls ‘contextual intelligence’ as well.

David Nussbaum, former CE of Transparency International and now of the Wild Life Fund, explains: “I don’t have to be at the head of the table but I want to be at the table, I don’t want to be outside the room waiting to hear or be called into a presentation and then out again.”

Alistair Campbell only accepted Blair’s offer when he heard Blair declare: "I’m not hiring you as a press guy, I’m hiring you as part of the absolute core strategy team."

Perhaps the most attractive part of the Cs role is the ‘driver of new ideas’, a constant source of fresh thinking for their leader. This is why the role of C attracts so many insatiable learners.

Consigliere is an extremely valuable book. It is a guide to Cs and to would-be Cs. It is also a valuable tool for As to understand how to choose, develop and motivate their Cs.
 
Readability:    Light --+-- Serious
Insights:        High +---- Low
Practical:        High --+-- Low

*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works. Views expressed are his own.

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