Real Leaders Don't Boss (5 page)
Read Real Leaders Don't Boss Online
Authors: Ritch K. Eich
Another real-life leader, this one in the civilian workforce, is Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michiganâthe same Ford Motor Company that earlier in the last decade was devastated by safety recalls of its popular Explorer SUV. Mulally was named in
Time
magazine's “The World's Most Influential People” in 2009, was a former
Aviation Week
“Person of the Year,” and was on the
BusinessWeek
list of “The Best Leaders.” Scott Monty, social-media head at Ford, describes his boss Mulally as “the real deal,” a leader who inspires by “simply being a human being.”
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Lesser executives would have shunned the incredible challenge to turn Ford Motor Company around, but Mulally took the helm of a company that many corporate experts believed was doing an excellent job of running their business into the ground, inspiring others to believe in its revitalization.
Paul Levy, former CEO of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, also inspired his employees with his actions. In the medical field, he's a staunch advocate of shared
governanceâthat is, shared decision-makingâbetween physicians and employees. That is not always a popular stance among those in the medical community, especially in the nonprofit sector. Yet amid the economic meltdown of 2009, Levy took cuts to his salary and benefits package, and boldly encouraged hospital employees to do the same in order to save the jobs of the hospital's lower-wage earners.
Real-life leaders such as Zumwalt, Mulally, and Levy embrace effective leadership, the nature of which inspires others. Many others in positions of power and control do not. The result, as the McKinsey survey reflects, is that workers are disconnected and disenfranchised from their companies.
Leadershipâformal and informalâexists at all levels of every organization. In the 1990s, as California Lutheran University's vice president of marketing and communications, I worked with five exceptional leaders. None had big titles, big offices, big salaries, or big staffs. They didn't seek power, the limelight, or credit. Yet their words and deeds personified the Eight Essentials of Effective Leadership, and they created a culture of leadership around them. They were always there in a pinch, were never too busy to help others, and always went the extra mile to provide superior results:
Dennis Bryant of Conferences and Events. He was the motor who kept the independent educational establishment functioning, the “Ernie Pyle” of the collegiate troops.
Della Greenlee of the Foundations office. A gifted writer and story-teller, she was the master at establishing enduring relationships with the foundation world.
Jose “Joe” Morales of Printing Services. A superb teacher and role model, he could write the book on quality customer service.
Vanessa Webster-Smith of Auxiliary Services. A staunch champion and mentor to those students who work for her, she was delightful and always ready to help.
Katie Binz Sims of University Relations. Highly ethical, moral, and selfless, with a tremendous depth of commitment, she had an inspiring effect on everyone and an uncanny ability to attract others from all across the campus to assist in branding the organization.
All five of these university leaders embodied what Robert Greenleaf meant by the term
servant leadership
. They displayed empathy, mentored student and colleague alike, honored the faith institution's past by respecting those who preceded them, and continuously strived for the common good.
Beyond bottom lines, poor or non-existent leadership can be hazardous to employees' health. A Swedish study involving researchers from Stockholm University and Karolinska Institute, as well as University College London and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, found that a bad boss can create unnecessary and debilitating stress among employees. The group followed the heart health of more than 3,100 male employees, aged 19 to 70, in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1992 and 2003. Workers who rated their bosses least competent had a 25-percent-higher risk of serious heart disease, whereas those who rated their bosses as most effective had the lowest risk.
“This study is the first to provide evidence of a prospective, dose-response relationship between concrete managerial behaviors and objectively assessed heart disease among employees,” Anna Nyberg, coauthor of the study, said when the study was released in 2009. “Enhancing managers' skillsâregarding providing employees with information, support, power in relation to responsibilities, clarity in expectations, and feedbackâcould have important stress-reducing effects on employees and enhance the health at workplaces,” added Nyberg. Study participants were asked to rate the leadership styles of their senior managers in terms of how clearly they set out goals for employees and to assess how good a manager was in terms of communicating and providing feedback. Study results showed that those who created the most stress had a lack of empathy and an inability to delegate, as well as a refusal to listen to staff.
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Great leaders can be born into a culture of leadersâthe Kennedys, for exampleâbut birthright is no guarantee that someone will become the real deal. Real leaders are made; they learn through trial and error, and are nurtured and developed through time. Too often we hear things such as “he (or she) is a natural-born leader.” A person may, indeed, have the make-up, temperament, patience, and vision to lead, but without the right attitude, experience, approach, and training, that individual's “knack” for leadership doesn't translate into real leadership.
Whether leaders are made or born is “an old question that has dogged academicians and practitioners alike for centuries,” says Michael Bradbury, former Ventura County district attorney and prosecutor, teacher, and leader. Bradbury also said:
The answer is they are born and also made. We have all heard the stories of natural leaders who, after an undistinguished career, emerge a hero in combat environments by leading their men out of danger or to take an
objective. They instill confidence and courage in others who then find the strength to continue to fight and help others. Winston Churchill, I believe, fell into this category. He was pilloried at times for his perceived lack of leadership but as prime minister rallied the people and saved England during World War II. He was then promptly thrown out of office. But, I believe that more leaders are made than born. There are leadership academies everywhere. Most prep schools advertise that they develop future leaders. Our colleges and universities pick up this mantra and it dominates their marketing material. And, of course, the military promises, in its multimillion-dollar recruitment efforts, to build tomorrow's leaders.
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Most real leaders aren't born with some innate ability transforming them into magnets that attract others to follow them. They may have expectations placed on them to rise above their present situation or environment; they may even have an inborn strong desire to serve others and to accomplish something unique. In most cases, however, leadership skills are developed and honed in the battlefield of life, where leaders discover their drive, passion, and wisdom. Through trial and error, winning and losing, a leader's self-confidence grows, aplomb develops, and risk-taking becomes a more accepted path. Observation of other leaders in action and service to others often becomes very important.