When Leadership Improves, Everyone Wins: A Discussion of the Principles of Highly Effective Leadership

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Introduction:

When Leadership Improves, Everyone Wins

It’s our people who produce our results

AS A LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT and coach, I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of highly accomplished leaders and up-and-coming professionals. I love asking purposeful questions, listening attentively, and sometimes sharing my experiences working in corporate and nonprofit leadership to support my clients in their quest to become the finest, most effective leaders they can be. In turn, they maintain positive, energetic cultures in which people work collaboratively and help one another, perform at their highest level, continuously improve, and produce sustainable results.

I was fortunate to work with exemplary, energetic, enthusiastic colleagues at a large, successful global firm. Client service was always our driving force, though I feel the true foundation of our success was that we valued our people as much as we did our clients. The most exciting time of my 33 years with this company was during our dedication to Total Quality Management, when many U.S. companies were striving to improve client service, productivity, processes, and employee satisfaction. Everyone in our company was involved. Helping our people grow and succeed was a huge part of the mission. I felt as if I literally watched our people develop before my eyes.

It was very exciting. Everyone knew they made a difference and everyone worked openly toward continuous improvement. Colleagues of all levels, from trainees to our most senior leadership, were all in it together. Everyone was fully engaged, enthusiastic, and working smarter and more collaboratively than ever before.

One of our highly respected chairmen, Dick Purnell, had a prominent plaque on his office wall that read:

There is no limit to how far you can advance

if you do not seek personal credit.

This philosophy cascaded throughout the company and endured. We all believed in the power of the team and we enthusiastically helped one another. There were no superstars: we were all focused on client satisfaction and working together to achieve that common goal. Senior leaders trusted our people, and we delivered.

Today, trust has been diminished within companies by mergers and acquisitions, layoffs, reductions in work force, and so many jobs going overseas. Too often, management has become focused on short-term results, expense control, and, I am sorry to say, sometimes even serving themselves.

Too few companies are truly investing in the development of most of their people. Sure, senior people in companies may say their greatest asset is their people. Yet all too often, that is simply rhetoric. Their people do not feel appreciated, nor do they feel they are really being helped to learn, grow, and advance.

I am writing this book because we need leadership improvement. A great many businesses are struggling to remain successful. Leadership that is overly focused on the bottom line will likely not succeed long term. When people don’t feel valued, they disengage or leave. Companies that lack diversity no longer reflect a diverse client base. And leadership that lacks women cannot sustain a healthy culture.

I firmly believe in leadership that honors the men and women doing the work of our companies. True leaders care about the people they work with, and they show them their gratitude and respect. This is leading with our heart. This is how we build trust and the sense of community that is so important to our people.

In my experience as a business leader and a coach, I have seen that leaders who make time to walk the halls, to have one-on-one conversations with team members, and to show they care about them are able to create highly energetic, productive corporate cultures. This makes an enormous difference in the long-term health of a company.

Leaders who act with their heart and with grace inspire people to a higher standard, which generates positive momentum in our teams and has a cascading effect. Our simple kindness, attentive listening, and care for our people improve morale immensely.

When we lead with our heart and with grace, we can clearly see teams collaborate better and produce a higher quality of work and service to our clients, which consistently increases our financial results.

In companies that struggle, a large gap has often developed between senior management and their team members. In my mind, this gap is usually due to an intense and nearly exclusive focus on results. The people doing the work of the company feel they are being taken for granted. Frequently, there are significant variations in compensation levels, heavily weighted towards the C-suite executives. Senior executives spend little time in two-way conversations with their people. There is constant pressure to do more and more each year, often with fewer resources and fewer people.

Expense management has become paramount—at the expense of the development of our people.

Let’s face facts. Morale in business across the country is low. The American Psychological Association reports that more than 50 percent of people do not feel valued at work. A Harvard Business Review study reveals more than half of the people do not feel their boss respects them, which of course leads to unproductive working relationships. Gallup studies disclose about 70 percent of workers do not feel engaged in their work and a great many are bored, even apathetic. These statistics are sad and costly.

This can change. We can help improve morale. It requires intentionality. We need more women in leadership, more diversity, and more leaders who are willing to walk among their people.

Women, in general, tend to bring clear communication, empathy, a collaborative spirit, risk awareness, and make decisions with more thought and input.

Let’s hope more and more businesses will rise to the challenge to inspire people and to improve morale and client service, which are closely related!

This is what companies like Southwest, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Costco, Zappos, Marriott, McKinsey—actually, most of the large consulting firms—and a great many others are doing. The senior leaders focus attention on their people as they truly value them. Their people are a priority.

These are model companies based on morale and results, where senior leaders are connecting with their people. These leaders inspire others by communicating a lot more than a shared vision for their company. They stand with their people, asking for their ideas and giving them opportunities to develop and stretch their skills, and they create a culture of positivity and growth as they accomplish these goals together. This is servant leadership—a focus on our people; and throughout this book we discuss how these and other companies embody this value.

In mentioning these specific companies, I want to point out that I do so based on their current senior leadership. Their culture can change based on their future senior leadership. Hopefully, they will continue to be outstanding model companies, but that may or not be the case.

Here is a sad example. Throughout this book, I proudly refer to Johnson & Higgins, which continued enviable success and growth in the U.S. and around the world for many years, 154 to be exact. Our clients and the development, success and wellbeing of our people were our priorities.

J&H had been led by outstanding, selfless leaders in its partnership, leaders without personal agendas. That changed. Some new partners seemed to have different qualities. And the unimaginable happened. We were sold to Marsh & McLennan, our main competitor in virtually every major city around the world.

In my current company, Common Sense Leadership, I facilitate 360 leadership assessments for senior executives as well as organizational culture assessments, and I speak with many hundreds of people in business each year. I hear recurring themes such as: We seldom see our top people; My boss doesn’t seem to care what I think, seldom asks for our ideas; I don’t feel empowered; and My boss doesn’t listen attentively, is not fully present.

In a survey I sent to my clients, I asked people what they appreciate and value about their bosses, and what they wish their bosses would do differently. The number one priority was attentive listening. People want to feel heard and valued. This cannot be overstated. Listening is the most important skill for a manager. Of course, listening is a skill, as well as an art, which we can all improve.

CONVERSATIONS, EVEN SHORT ONES, IN PERSON OR ON THE PHONE, MATTER GREATLY.

Let’s remember that people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses—bosses who don’t appreciate them! According to research, higher levels of engagement come when our people respect their manager, view her or him as a leader who embodies integrity and compassion, is empathetic, treats people with dignity, establishes accountability, and is timely in addressing problems.

Our people are our internal clients! Relationships with our people are every bit as important a priority as the satisfaction of our clients and our financial results. People need a sense of purpose, meaning, and satisfaction in their work – ideally along with fair pay. Take our people for granted and the quality of their work and our service to our clients will begin to erode.

We must realize that while our people are valuable team members, we ourselves are team members too. What does being a good team member look like? We need to think about this daily.

I very much appreciate the honesty and dedication of my clients. Their learning and growth is inspirational to me. They genuinely, sincerely care about their people and their culture, always strive to improve, which is reflected in their performance/results.

We are all pressed for time. We are all too busy with endless meetings, and with the constant flow of information coming at us on our computers and smartphones.

My observation is that no one wants to be in most of these meetings, meetings which usually are inefficient. If we ask the people assembled how to make meetings more effective and efficient going forward, they will know.

You will find this to be a theme throughout this book: ask our people purposeful questions. They have excellent ideas!

Our smartphones have become our masters. The constant flow of information and directives comes at us like water overflowing Niagara Falls, and it forces our attention away from meaningful encounters with the people of our companies. We have little time for conversations and being fully present.

We must solve this challenge. Learning to manage time, rather than letting time manage us, is a secret to our success as an effective leader.

In writing this book, my aim is to help leaders be the very best they can be. My goal is to share lessons I’ve learned about how to maintain perspective in our crazy-busy work world, and how to rise to challenges that present themselves daily.

Leadership does not come from our position. It comes from our ability to care about others; this is how we influence others. And influence comes from our attitude—from a visible desire to help others do good work and be successful.

OUR LEADERSHIP IS A GIFT, AND IT MUST COME FROM OUR HEART.

Our character is essential. We must have humility, integrity, and a genuine concern for others and their success, which helps us become someone our team members and other colleagues respect. People are happy to work to their highest ability when they believe in the sincerity of the character of their leader.

The way we speak, act, and carry ourselves is always noticed. Do we lead with grace—grace that inspires trust in our leadership and transforms culture, one interaction at a time? Are we respectful? Do we help people feel good about themselves? Do we help them succeed? Do they feel dignified by the way we relate to them?

This means so very much to our people. And when we engage meaningfully with the people we work with, we also sustain our own comfort, peace of mind, and joy. It is deeply gratifying to help others, and to work in a place where people care about one another.

Leading with our heart has a contagious effect on others, our team, and our company. A well-known leader in the healthcare industry who recently retired was thanked for his leadership with a plaque that read, You have led us with grace, given us confidence and dignity with your leadership and example.

Can the same be said of our own leadership?

A practice of daily reflection helps us lead with our heart, refocus our attention on the decisions that need to be made, and adjust how we speak and act with our team members and other colleagues. In this way, we live in a manner that is congruent with our values. Spirituality fosters a desire to serve others and to work together for our common good.

So much of our happiness is based on the quality of our relationships. Do we demonstrate trust in others? Have we earned their trust? If we have, we have a solid base for highly effective leadership and contentment in our own lives.

Whatever our business, we are in a people business. Our relationships with our team members matter greatly. As leaders, our satisfaction and success should come from the satisfaction and success of our team members.

Leadership is not difficult, nor complex. My own leadership coach, Mary Mavis, observed that my focus is on common sense principles. I credit Mary with the name of my company, Common Sense Leadership.

Yes, leadership is common sense. It is doing the basics, and practicing the simple principles of relationships. It’s being a good person— being kind, thoughtful, encouraging, and helping others do well.

Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People was published in 1937, and it is even more relevant today. He advised us to show genuine respect for and interest in others, remember names, smile, put people at ease, not seek credit, and encourage others in conversation. These are essential daily practices for leaders.

CONVERSATIONS ARE THE MODERN ANTIDOTE TO THE IMPERSONAL, DISTANCING EFFECTS OF THE INTERNET.

The first section of the book is about character, the core of who we are as people and as leaders. Each chapter in this section discusses an essential quality that leaders must have and continue to develop in order to inspire others and to positively influence their corporate culture. The qualities of an effective leader include integrity, humility, inner confidence, empathy, trust, presence, kindness, and grace.

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