A Respectful Approach to Leadership Development

Fred Harburg

Designed for Life by Arthur F. Miller. Life (n) Media, LLC, 2007, 328pp., $25.

With the precision of a surgeon and the tenacity of a trial lawyer, befitting his origins, Arthur Miller builds the case for a unifying theory of persons in his provocative book, Designed for Life. This book provides a wake-up call to all who are involved in any human resource job and, more importantly, to leaders who make daily decisions regarding the hiring, placement, and career moves of people. Miller’s reverence for the dignity of each human life and for the Creator of the miraculous panoply of gifts and talents resident in humankind provides a stirring call to arms for leveraging diversity in the most profound sense of the word.

The prevailing wisdom with respect to selection in most organizations is the fundamentally flawed idea that people can be molded and “developed” by an organization to be whatever the organization needs them to be. This position represents extreme organizational hubris, defies practical observation of the nature of human beings, and is enormously disrespectful of the uniquely valuable people who make up an organization’s workforce. 

Miller points out that the idea that people are infinitely malleable is most egregiously applied to leadership development. The common approach is to identify a set of leadership competencies that universally apply to all managers and leaders in an organization. This competency set normally is approved by the CEO or the senior team and is then used to measure how effectively leaders are doing their jobs. Although there is normally a high level of subjectivity for a company’s selection of competencies, this approach has a logical appeal. But the approach unfortunately starts to fragment when an individual leader is invariably found to be lacking in some critical dimension and is then “fixed” so he or she can be a more effective leader. There is no data to support the idea that prevalent approaches to “fixing broken leaders” result in more effective leadership or more effectively led organizations.

Miller’s approach, tested and verified with more than 50,000 people over the past thirty-five years, is to collect and analyze a set of achievement stories from each individual. The methodical review of these stories using a rigorous evaluation process and an equally rigorous set of screens—which he elaborates in exquisite detail—produces a motivational pattern of the “giftedness” of the individual. Miller clearly and firmly demonstrates the validity and integrity of his approach.

With this “motivated abilities pattern” in hand, both the individual and the organization can make informed decisions regarding the individual’s placement and advancement. Finding job fit using this approach is based on a rational and defensible position rather than on an opinion, a guess, or a hope. Rather than presuming one person can or should be all things to all people, this approach values people for the remarkable giftedness they have; encourages us to place them where they can use this giftedness fully; and advocates placing them appropriately with others who have the remaining skills required for the situation.

The pinnacle of the book is achieved in its emphasis on personal purpose. At a time of enormous interest in purposeful living, Miller steers clear of mysterious notions and sophomoric exercises for identifying purpose by demonstrating how clearly purpose is etched in one’s achievement stories. He provides a compelling argument that each individual is endowed by the Creator with a unique purpose of unsurpassed personal value. He uses the term “payoff” to express the immense sense of connectedness and fulfillment that people experience when enjoying the full expression of their purpose.

As I read this book I was reminded of the powerful lessons from Viktor Frankl’s remarkable volume, Man’s Search for Meaning. Miller and Frankl are cut from the same cloth, for they both demonstrate in practical ways that no power is stronger than the power of people living in a way that respects that for which God has designed them. We all stand amazed at what is possible and what has been achieved by people who understand that each of us was designed for life.  

Fred Harburg is a management consultant and a Senior Fellow of The Trinity Forum.

Reviews, Business, Meaning and Calling, Thu 21 Feb 2008