1930s Leadership

I have started a leadership series in which we stroll through the decades of the 20th century and compare the events that took place during that decade with a leadership style. Yesterday we looked at the roaring twenties. A mostly positive and uplifting decade. Unfortunately today we will be looking at one of the more depressing decades of the 20th century.

When the stock market crash occurred in October of 1929 it spun the nation into an economic depression that lasted most of the 1930s. The 1930s became known as the decade of "The Great Depression". Many people lost their jobs and homes. To compound matters the nation's farmlands saw a major drought that lasted half the decade. This drought became know as the "dust bowl", it destroyed farms and lives. On a global scale the rise of a dictatorship in Germany occurred when Adolf Hitler took office. When he invaded Poland it started World War II. Franklin Roosevelt signed the New Deal (A bail out) to combat the great depression.

What kind of leadership style can we pull out of the 1930s? Not a very pleasant one. I would not want to be a 1930s leader. What are the traits of a 1930s leader?

• Have your leadership skills and style dried up into Dust? You might have a dust bowl mentality when it comes to leadership. You might want to water the seed of leadership and keep it moist so it can grow and prosper.
• As a leader have you been spending frivolously and now everything is gone and you can't keep some of your employees? Maybe you are not a very financially sound leader and because of that your company has spiraled into their own great depression. People are losing jobs and lives are being turned upside down. You might want to watch your finances and surround yourself with financially secure leaders.
• Maybe you are the type of leader that wants complete control over everything. Maybe you have a dictator mentality. Be careful with this style because it will cause anguish and wars within the walls of your company.
• Maybe you have a bit of benevolence within you and want to help out others who are less fortunate. Don't bail them out with other people's money but use your own to help them and be a philanthropist.

A 1930s leader is a real self serving leader and leading in this manner will surely doom your leadership and the company. Focus on the philanthropist art of a 30s leader and let the rest blow away with the dust.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information on the 1930s and the picture.