The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in (3 page)

I carefully watched Tommy’s reaction. I expected him to become defensive and perhaps angry, like most people would upon being challenged. But Tommy was pure grace. He remained silent and impeccably still. Then he drew in a long breath and grinned.

“Good question, Blake. You’re honest. And I like that. A little rough around the edges, but I can tell you speak up for what you stand for. And that’s a great quality indeed. Well, first of all, you’re right about the retirement part. I’m well past the age most people retire at. Actually, I just turned seventy-seven last week.”

“Happy birthday, Tommy,” I interjected somewhat apologetically, recalling the “heart on two feet” moniker that my grandfather had given me and feeling a little embarrassed at my rudeness. I couldn’t be too hard on Tommy. He was my elder, and my parents taught me to treat elders with the utmost respect.

“Thanks,” he replied. “I actually feel quite young. Age is just a state of mind anyway—a label the tribe uses to pigeonhole people and to place limits on all they can be. I choose not to govern my life according to labels. But, yes, I could have retired, and I am still working for this company. Been with them over fifty years.”

“Wow.”

“Here’s the thing: why would I leave a job I love so much? I’m having the time of my life! And doing work I cherish is one of the ways I stay so young at heart. I get to be creative here and stretch my thinking by solving problems. I have the chance to make new friends by being astonishingly good with our customers every single day. And I have the opportunity to inspire the teammates we work with here by the positive example I’ve chosen to set. And I feel so happy because doing great work is one
of the single best tactics to grow full of deep joy. All of this gives my life a rich sense of purpose,” noted Tommy.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I was a little harsh,” I muttered, still resting on the stool and looking up at the man I began to realize would become my much-needed mentor.

“No worries at all. But please let me also address the point you made about me not being a manager here, because it gets right to the core of the LWT philosophy. I don’t want to be or need to become a manager. Just doesn’t interest me.”

“Exactly what does LWT stand for, Tommy?” I asked, becoming less and less guarded and more and more fascinated.

“Well, first of all, there’s no magic to it. It’s a very real and enormously practical way of doing business and living out a life. You know this world of ours is going through profound change. We’re in a time of extraordinary uncertainty. And exceptional turbulence. What used to work doesn’t work now.”

“I’d agree with that. Every day brings all sorts of new challenges and a serious level of confusion. This organization seems to be going through so much. My customers tell me that life’s become so complex for them.
Everyone
I meet seems to be stressed by all the change. So what’s the solution, Tommy?”

“Leadership,”
was the one-word reply he delivered. He added: “There’s only one way a business will win in the new world we’re in, Blake.
No
other solution will work any longer.”

“And what’s that one way, just so I’m clear?”

“Growing and developing the leadership talent of
every single person
throughout the organization faster than their competition. The only way to avoid getting eaten alive is for companies to strengthen the capacities of employees at
every
level to lead in
everything
they do. I’m talking about from the janitor right up to the CEO showing leadership and taking responsibility for the success of the company. And by the way, this idea applies to
any
organization, not just those that conduct business. Not-for-profits
need to build leaders at all levels. Industry associations need to build leaders at all levels. Governments and NGOs need to build leaders at all levels. Cities and communities need to build leaders at all levels. Even schools and universities need to embrace the idea that every single one of us has the power to show leadership in all that we do—if they’re serious about surviving and thriving in these times of head-spinning change.”

“I’ve never thought about leadership like this, Tommy. I’ve always thought that leaders were only the people who ran an organization, whether we’re talking about the military or some business,” I admitted.

“We
all
need to start demonstrating leadership, Blake, regardless of our titles. It’s no longer an excuse to say you don’t have a high rank so you don’t need to take ownership for the results of the organization. To succeed, everyone now must see themselves as part of the leadership team. You just don’t need formal authority to lead anymore—only a desire to be involved and the commitment to making a positive difference. Mother Teresa said it so well: ‘If everyone would sweep their own doorstep, the whole world will be clean.’ ”

“So for each of us to show leadership, we need to start by being truly excellent in our current role. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Absolutely.” Tommy then walked over to another stool in the aisle and stood on it. He started waving his hands like an orchestra conductor. He closed his eyes. And started humming. This guy was hilarious. Bizarre. But hilarious.

“What are you doing, Tommy?” I exclaimed, hardly believing the way that he was behaving. A few customers looked over with amused expressions. A little boy holding a
Curious George
book pointed. And giggled.

“What would happen to the sound of a symphony if even one of its players was out of tune and less than superb at his art?”

“I get it. The music would be off and the whole thing would
be a mess,” I replied, stating the obvious but appreciating my new mentor’s visual demonstration.

Tommy stayed up on the stool. He then segued into pretending he was an actor, bellowing “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not be false to any man,” while modulating his voice like a great thespian and speaking in what I assumed was Shakespearean English.

“And what’s this all about, now?” I asked as I shook my head from side to side in mock disbelief, arms crossed.

“In the theater they say, ‘No role is a small role.’ Same applies in business, Blake. It’s similar to the symphony metaphor. The only way any organization—and any human being, for that matter—will win in these times of
revolutionary
change will be to start operating under a
revolutionary
new model of leadership. And this model is all about creating an environment and culture where
everyone
needs to show leadership. Everyone needs to drive innovation. Everyone needs to inspire their teammates. Everyone needs to embrace change. Everyone needs to take responsibility for results. Everyone needs to be positive. Everyone needs to become devoted to expressing their absolute best. And once they do, the organization not only will adapt beautifully to the changing conditions, it will actually lead within its field.”

“So are you saying that we don’t need to have titles here at this company anymore? Not sure the CEO would love this revolutionary new leadership philosophy you’re sharing, Tommy,” I said candidly as I took a sip of my cold coffee.

“No. I want to be
incredibly
clear on this point.
I’m not at all saying that an organization shouldn’t have titles. They should, actually.
We need the people on the executive team setting the vision, steering the boat, and holding
ultimate
responsibility for the results. Titles and structures maintain order and keep everything running smoothly. But I am saying that for any organization to thrive amid all the turbulence in the business world today, each
one of us needs to assume personal responsibility by becoming the CEO of our own roles and leaders within our current positions.
We all need to lead where we are planted and shine where we now find ourselves
. Every job is an important job. And the awesome result of revealing leadership within the area of influence you’re now in is that the more you do it, the more your area of influence will expand. That’s a big idea right there, Blake. And regardless of whether you have a formal title or not, you have total control of how you show up in your current role. The highest of all human abilities is the ability each one of us has to choose how we respond to the environment we find ourselves within. And when each of us chooses peak performance and personal leadership, of course, the organization itself gets to world-class speedily.”

“And so what does LWT mean?” I pressed.

“First, it’s a transformational philosophy for work and life that
anyone
, of any age, from any place in any country in the world right now can apply to unleash their ‘inner leader’ and experience awesome results
within minutes
. We all have an ‘inner leader’ inside of us, longing to break free. We all have a natural power to lead that has nothing to do with a big title, or how old we are, or where we live. The twenty-eight-year-old customer service rep working for a multinational company in Los Angeles can access her inner leader using the method you’ll soon learn—and in so doing, step up into a completely new reality in terms of the results she sees and the rewards she receives. The thirty-four-year-old executive in San Francisco has an inner leader begging to see the light of day, as does the forty-year-old entrepreneur in Salt Lake City. The sixteen-year-old student in Boston could embrace his inner leader and, in so doing, unleash a torrent of brilliance within his schoolwork, his extracurricular activities, and the influence he has on his peers.”

“I get it at a deeper level now, Tommy. Anyone anywhere in the world, I guess, can step up to the plate and take responsibility
to drive change, push excellence, and show leadership. A soldier living in Washington, DC, can decide to make a positive difference as can a teacher in Tokyo, a pilot in Peru, and anyone from any walk of life. Each one of us has this internal reservoir of leadership potential. We just need to become aware of it and then really own it.
Man, if people in every organization—from companies to governments to communities to schools embraced this concept—the whole world would transform.
”

“Uh, that’s sort of what I’ve been trying to tell you, my friend,” Tommy said in an encouraging tone. “And once you awaken your inner leader, you should exercise it every day. Because the more you use this power, the better you’ll come to know it. And the stronger it’ll get. And one more thing, Blake.”

“Tell me please.”

“I can’t tell you what LWT stands for,” Tommy said mischievously, increasing the mystery even more and rubbing the letters on his necklace yet again. “Only the four teachers who shared the philosophy with me are permitted to explain what LWT means. And they’ll only do so under the most special of conditions.”

“Please tell me, Tommy,” I begged.

“I can’t. At least not yet. Maybe I’ll get the permission I need to get and tell you in a few days. Oh, and to get back to your question about why I’m not the manager here, please know that I’ve been offered that opportunity many times over the past few years. If you want the whole story, I’ve actually been invited to become a vice president on more occasions than I can remember, Blake: company car, expense account, and a huge office. But that’s not what turns me on now. And that’s not what
real
leadership’s about. Leadership has nothing to do with what you get or where you sit. Leadership’s a lot more about how brilliantly you work and how masterfully you behave. Like I suggested, it’s all about doing great work—
right where you now stand
. And about lifting up every single one of the people you work with and get
to serve. LWT is all about a profoundly fundamental yet long-forgotten secret:
you don’t have to have a title to be a leader
.”

“Such a cool concept,” I affirmed.

“People in today’s business world misunderstand leadership. They are
so
confused about it. They really do think it’s just for executives who run organizations.”

“Or for those who lead countries.”

“Right. And that’s just not true, Blake. I’ll repeat it because it’s so important:
everyone can lead
. Actually, to build a truly outstanding organization, every single person who works there
must
lead.”

Tommy paused and played with his hair a bit more for a moment, reflecting on the words just spoken. He then continued energetically, now standing on the ground again.

“And so for all these years, I’ve left my ego at the front door every morning as I’ve walked into the bookstore, being far more concerned about doing fantastic work, supporting my teammates, and showing real leadership than with having some lofty title on my business card.”

I was impressed. Tommy seemed to be a man of honor. I hadn’t seen many like him since I’d left the military and returned to civilian life. I was so happy to have met him. And then a question got the better of me: “You have a business card?” I asked. “I didn’t get one,” I said with mild disappointment.

“Yeah, here it is,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling one out for my inspection. In gold-embossed letters, it stated:

Bright Mind Books Inc.

5555 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York

TOMMY FLINN

Human Being

“Your job title is ‘Human Being’!” I exclaimed. “Man, that’s completely hip. I love it.”

“Like I said, Blake,
you don’t have to have a title to be a leader
. You just need to be a living human being. That’s enough. That’s all it takes. Because every single one of us alive in the world today has unrecognized powers and disowned potential that are far superior to the power conferred by a title. Once you learn how to awaken and then apply those powers,
every
element of your life will explode into success. Leadership then becomes
automatic
—the default at which you work and play. You’ll know of no other way to be.”