I have also assigned each of the three pure-domain strategies a specific color—which relates to a theory of leadership I have described in previous essays in this series. The Assessment strategy relates directly to what I have identified as a Thoughtful (Golden Yellow) style of leadership, while the Chartering strategy relates to an Inspiring (Azure Blue) leadership style and the Empowerment strategy to an Assertive (Ruby Red) style of leadership. The fourth Participating (Rainbow) style of leadership involves the collaborative engagement throughout the Enterprise Cycle of all six strategies.
With this brief overview we are ready to explore each strategy in some detail. I begin a series of essays by introduce key concepts regarding the Assessment strategy.
Assessment in the Enterprise Cycle: An Overview
Objective: Maximize the generation of and access of employees and others who are implementing ideas in a closely held enterprise to valid and useful information about the performance of specific program units in this enterprise, this information being provided in an appreciative, timely and systematic manner, based on the mission, vision, values and purposes of the enterprise.
“The tragedies of science,” according to Thomas Huxley, “are the slayings of beautiful hypotheses by ugly facts.” The entrepreneurial leaders in many closely held enterprises face this prospect when confronted with the need to design or select ways of evaluating their efforts. Program assessment may indeed be threatening to their cherished notions about how human and organizational resources are developed and about how change and stabilization actually take place. More immediately, evaluation can be threatening to one’s beliefs regarding how a particular project is impacting a particular department or group of customers.
