You do not get to survive the business publishing industry for 50 years without knowing a thing or two. So it is a fair bet that in marking its half-centenary with a mini-series devoted to business myths Kogan Page is on to something. Covering PR, Work, Management and Leadership, the books are designed to use a combination of research and practical insights to challenge misconceptions. And - albeit in slightly different ways - this is certainly what the last two - about management and leadership - do.
Anybody familiar with the writing of Cary Cooper, 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Alliance manchester Business School, and Stefan Stern, a journalist who is a visiting professor at London's Cass Business School as well as director of the think-tank the High Pay Centre, will know to expect plenty of entertainment along with the insights. And they do not disappoint. In Myth 28 of Myths of Management they tackle "authenticity", one of the rallying cries of our time. "What could be simpler than being yourself? You know who you are, don't you? OK, so just be that person. Go back in on Monday and ... be yourself," they write, before pointing out: "The life of a manager is a bit more complicated than that." As they say, circumstances, along with the demands made upon you, change. Nor can all people be treated in the same way. As a result, the effective manager should not have a fixed approach. Just as important, managers should not be lulled into thinking it is all about them. Cooper and Stern quote with approval the view of Herminia Ibarra, a business school academic whose latest book is Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader. According to her, people have become so used to hearing and talking about authenticity that they have begun to use it as an excuse for anything - and assume that people are "happy just to get full transparency". But that is not what they want - they want there to be some sense of working together and of the leader creating a culture and climate in which other people - not just them - can be themselves.
There is a similar dismissal of the idea that "people hate change". They write: "Ah yes, people. They're so tricky, aren't they? Always objecting to stuff and being awkward. They should be grateful they've got a job here in the first place. And so on." But, pointing out that people often in fact like change - why else, for instance, would they move home, look for a new car or buy new clothes - they say it is bad change, poorly introduced that they don't like. And "after all the experience organizations have had by now of trying to introduce change, the track record really ought to be a bit better than it is." Quite.
In Myths of Leadership, Jo Owen takes a slightly different tack. He uses the misconceptions as launching points for better ways of doing things. So his take on "authentic leadership" - myth 42 - is to look at the two traits that appear consistently in discussion of the concept: a leader has to be true to who they are and authentic leaders are open about their thoughts and beliefs. The former, says Owen, creates a paradox in that you cannot succeed by trying to be somebody else (i.e. aping the characteristics of previous leaders described in countless business books) and you cannot do so just by being yourself. The solution, he adds, is to be "the best of who you are". The latter threatens to create danger. Just as in our personal lives, in business discretion is often better than honesty. Yes, it is good that leaders are trustworthy. But there will be times when being open and honest about their feelings will be destructive for leaders. That is when they need to wear "the mask of leadership" and so project the style they want their teams to follow.
Myth 27 tackles the tricky subject of merit. Most leaders, says Owen, support the principle that leaders succeed on merit. This is important because it lends some sort of legitimacy to their positions. It is difficult for people to trust a leader who has reached their position on the basis of birth or some other form of luck rather than merit. But most reflective leaders also acknowledge the role of luck, even though they also assert that where they have been lucky they have made the luck. Owen's conclusion is that both luck and merit are required, but he explains that because much of the luck is created it is also a skill and so merited.
Such a nuanced argument is typical. Far from demolishing the myths of leadership, Owen suggests that - on examination - they are often based in reality - even if a little context here or some adjustment there is required to make them effective. Of course, that is why the myths persist. Like the best jokes, business myths are grounded in real life. Even Cooper and Stern, at the end of their deconstruction, adopt a conciliatory tone. "There are no simple solutions to the permanent challenge of managing people. There is only practice, experimentation, learning, developing and carrying on... Management is a human task and, as such, mistakes will be made."
