1. In the Kirkpatrick and Shane article, several leaders are mentioned including President George W. Bush, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff, and FEMA director Michael D. Brown. Briefly evaluate each of these leaders on their overall effectiveness at managing execution and driving for results. 2. We learn from the Kirkpatrick and Shane article that FEMA director Brown was removed from his job one week after Katrina struck New Orleans. What portion of this outcome for Brown would you attribute to organizational factors versus his personal ability to manage execution and drive for results?
3. Compare your analysis of Mr. Brown with an analysis of General Honore?'s overall effectiveness in terms of execution and results. Which of the two is more effective? Why? What part of the General's performance do you attribute to organizational factors? How much of his performance do you think relates to his personal skills?
4. In the Q & A with General Honore?, the interviewer describes the General as someone who knows quite a lot about bossing people and who stresses that above all, the last thing a leader should do is "boss" people! The general is quoted as saying, "A leader's job is strategic: to set people on the right path and to do the planning and then to motivate the execution." How do you interpret the general's call to "motivate the execution" and his advice NOT to boss people? Are these two ideas consistent with the frameworks we have discussed in this competency?