I have such fond memories of growing up in Bay Ridge - Brooklyn, NY in the 60’s. As a kid, we played stickball with a pensy pinkie that you could buy for 10 cents (for those of you not in my generation – it’s a pink rubber ball we used for baseball – we would lose at least one a day, hitting them through the windows of irritated residents) and enjoyed the magnificent views of Narrows Bay as it linked up with the New York Harbor.
But my fondest memory and perhaps the greatest impact on my childhood was the Presidency of John F. Kennedy (JFK). This had nothing to do with affiliations of political parties – it had everything to do with his leadership style.
Little did I realize it at the time, but JFK would become a pillar in the foundation of my adult life. I guess it started when Mrs. Jacobskind, our fifth grade teacher (we had great visionary teachers in the N.Y. public school system in those days) would wheel in a monstrosity of a cart holding a TV set with rabbit ears so we could watch the goings on at the U.N. and see President Kennedy give his many speeches to the citizens of our country and on the world stage.
Even as a boy, JFK embodied for me what a great leader was made of. What rang through for me was his passion, his vision and his commitment to his goals. My fondest memory was the speech he gave at Rice University, Houston Texas, on September 12th, 1962, when he delivered his address about the Space program:
“But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Shrewdly, he used the exploration of space not only for defense and economic reasons, but to UNIFY people. His unifying message is in talking about being the strong leader – that takes the responsibility to get things done even if they are difficult (not because they are easy). Another trait of strong leadership was his inclusiveness of all peoples with different views (His comment – why does Rice play Texas, 2 big football rivals).
So how do these experiences play into the business world with business leadership?
Because great business leaders play the same way in business as they do in life – with passion, commitment, determination, courage, faith; and inspiring and motivating the teams and people around them.
There are a group of great business leaders in the corporate world who have created great companies (I will detail characteristics a bit later) – but let’s look first at what we have been impacted by – corporate greed at the top with egotistical “leaders”.
Tyco and Enron come to mind, as millions of honest working shareholders put their retirement savings into these companies, believing their hype. And how were they rewarded? CEOs who drew millions in salary but also used corporate funds secretly to buy expensive personal items (yachts and condos) and secretly ‘cooked’ the books to show non existent profit; the most tragic part was witnessing thousands whose life saving were instantly wiped out.
So what does the right business leadership look like?
The right leadership style will build a repeatable and sustainable ethical business model.
They will observe how their target customers perceive their problems and environment; they will envision the solution to that problem in terms of a product or service they will sell. They will then deliver that solution in an innovative way so that the customer views that company as their differentiated solution – every time. The right leader, in a spiritual perspective, is very careful of looking through the eyes, the feelings, the emotions and needs of the customer.
The right business leadership focuses on long term quality service or products, delivered the same way, every time. Predictability engenders trust from customers.
The right leadership sells solutions and products - not by deception or by false claims, but by engendering a partnering relationship built on mutual trust.
Those with the right leadership skills build great teams by creating a context of accountability and responsibility in which all members can ‘play’. Every employee wants to ‘play’, that is; feel that they are part of the business game. If team members can’t play, they will make up their own games (gossip etc) at the water cooler. All should be heard, and the team celebrates all wins.
The right business leadership style weaves a path for advancement for their people - recognizing that expansion in energy is necessary for those who display right-leadership qualities themselves. The right leadership creates new teams for those leaders with expanded responsibilities.
Their leadership style inspires their employees to shift their behavior (to one of accountability and excellence). They remove FEAR from the equation.
Their leadership has humility about them, and is self-effacing. Gargantuan egos that mandate, and do not set an example are definitely an ingredient for mediocrity or company collapse if that leader were to move on.
However, the right leadership is also feverishly driven by the need for results.
The right leadership provides an environment for employees to grow and advance.
The right leadership takes full responsibility when things go wrong, and when things are successful, they look to factors in their employees, other than themselves as the reason for their success.
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