“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”-Nelson Mandela
I was recently gifted a wonderful book titled ‘You Can’t Order Change’ which chronicles the leadership journey of Jim McNerney, current CEO of Boeing. McNerney spent much of his career as a rising star and major player at General Electric, where he was one of the three finalists to replace Jack Welch. Now at Boeing, McNerney cleared up a mass of legal problems, tackled the cultural issues that allowed them to arise, rebuilt the brand, and invested in new programs that promise a long, profitable future for the company. I was quite inspired by the profound leadership insights this book had to offer. Some of McNerney’s strategies that grabbed my attention were:
1. Help your people get better through measurable goals
2. Build strategy on customer focus
3. Invest in your strengths
4. Tighten operations with process improvement tools
5. Partner with global suppliers to reduce risk and accelerate time to market
6. Make ethics and compliance a clear competitive advantage
Closer to home, we have our own share of great leaders who have single-handedly redefined industry standards and set new benchmarks. One such leader I have always admired in Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways. Under his pioneering leadership, Jet Airways set the gold standard for customer service in the country’s booming aviation industry. I’ve always heard my dad say, “A great leader is present in his absence”, so true! I see Naresh Goyal in every employee of Jet Airways, right from the staff at the check-in counter to the ground and cabin crew. I am amazed to see the level of commitment and customer care that each employee exudes that one would only expect the leader to demonstrate.
I believe that one of the qualities of a great leader is the ability to build a culture based on shared values, and approach the change process in a very respectful way. A great leader realizes that in order to achieve the organization’s goals, he needs to win the hearts and minds of the employees. Like McNerney puts it, “You can’t order change, after all, there’s only one of me and 75,000 of them”. Another awe inspiring story is that of Matsushita, and the meteoric rise of National/Panasonic under his leadership. At the end of World War II, Matsushita stood up before a gathering of his dejected, demoralized workforce, in an occupied country, with all the company’s inventory taken by the occupying power, and said “I’ve been thinking about purpose”. He then painted a word picture that spoke to everyone, about how taking the lead in quality and innovation and low prices would force competitors to do the same and would ultimately eliminate poverty in Japan. He sat down to silence. Then, one by one his employees stood up, some with tears in their eyes, and said “I think I could dedicate my life to this.” Much of the ‘Japanese way’ that conquered the world’s economy in the 1980s can be traced back to that moment.
Jim Collins in his book ‘Good to Great’ gives us an interesting analysis on leadership. He deconstructs leadership development in five phases. According to Collins, the journey towards greatness begins from individual competency [level-1] and ends at greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will [level-5]. As Collins puts it “A Level-5 leader is the antithesis of the great ego centric leader, they operates first and foremost with genuine humility. But it is humility defined as a burning, passionate, obsessive ambition for the cause, for the company, for the work and not themselves. And they possess the utterly stoic will to make good of that ambition.”
LEVEL-5 HIERARCHY
A level-5 leader channelizes his ego needs away from himself and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that level-5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves. Further, there is a stark difference between a level-4 and a level-5 leader. A level-4 leader is charismatic and trusts his personal competency to get things done whereas a level-5 leader believes in taking people under his wing and developing future leaders.
So, what are the shared traits among great leaders? A great leader is one who…
1. Exudes energy and enthusiasm, does not need an external stimulus
2. Is consistent in his actions, walks the talk and leads by example
3. Faces problems squarely, is able to take unpleasant decisions in a timely manner
4. Is able to set a culture in the organization based on commonly shared values
5. Is not ‘resource myopic’ – is willing to trust other’s judgment in areas he lacks knowledge
6. Strikes a balance between hands-on and hands-off style of management
7. Is able to motivate his workforce to deliver results and pursue a shared vision
8. Is not afraid to nurture the second line of leaders under his wing
9. Is charismatic yet non-intimidating, is approachable and nurtures open communication
10. Sets precise goals and fair measures of performance
11. Is an effective delegator, but refrains from micro-management
12. Is never afraid to expose his ignorance and ask “silly” questions
13. Is genuinely empathetic
14. Demonstrates the highest order of personal trustworthiness
15. Puts his people and the company ahead of himself
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”-Lao Tzu
