Leave It to the Professionals
On the 24th day of June 1806 in the colonial-predecessor of Buenos Aires, shocking news struck the ears of Viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte y Núñez del Castillo: the British Navy lurks at the horizon line of Rio de la Plata and it’s on its way to disembark, frighteningly 60 kms away from the city center. Confusion quickly builds up. As the local militias feverishly gather to plan how to counteract the imminent invasion, the viceroy has a slightly different plan: run away. Not without taking with him all the gold.
This was one of few unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America—in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of France.
By the way, the Viceroy guy—and the gold—didn’t go too far: the British troops found him, imprisoned him, confiscated the gold and sent it to London.
The story of Viceroy Sobremonte is nothing but a story of a professional manager acting how professional managers do. Professional here understood as “being a manager as a main paid occupation”. What was a viceroy at the end of the day, besides a subordinate of a distant king? A manager. Someone being paid (in actual quid but also in power, influence and connections) to handle a situation or context that needs to be kept under control, for the best interest of higher powers. With no real connection to the local scene, culture nor with those he leads—in fact, with an aristocratic contempt for them—a viceroy represented accurately what professional managers are.
Unlike managers who rise “from the trenches” and earn themselves the responsibilities and power from leaving their skin behind—or, in other cases, thanks to their social skills to befriend the right people—professional managers are purposely hunted and hired to manage. That’s all they know to do. You hire an electrician to fix an outlet. You hire a gardener to water your daisies. You hire professional managers to manage. It's always been somewhat fascinating to me seeing someone who was leading a dog food company being hired to lead a struggling aerospace corporation. Nothing to look here: pro managers at play—with a tad of magic from executive recruiters.
The life of a professional manager can be tough, as they are inserted in strange contexts and are expected to perform right away. Pro managers often adopt symbols that broadcast in all directions the message that they are powerful, also in exchange for drawing the short straw. They tend to give strategic importance to things such as comfy offices, assistants, fancy housing and, of course, succulent salaries1.
No surprise here. Professional managers are as attached to their causes as Viceroy Sobremonte was attached to colonial Buenos Aires—can’t fully blame him though, it’s a tad too humid. He was only truly attached to one single thing: gold.
Next time you’re sitting in a meeting with the mighty professional managers of your organization, run the mental exercise to think who, upon the first cannon shots, would be the first one asking the coachman to give the horse a whip.
For closing credits, “Leave it to the Professionals” by Arthur Benson
They might be kindly reminded by the distant king, every now and then, about such privileges, and how those could disappear with a flick of the finger.