Coach John G. Agno is your own cultural attache; keeping you abreast of what's effective in leadership. People learn better and are positively motivated when supported by regular coaching.
Dr. Ritch Eich, author of "Real Leaders Don't Boss" tells us that inside a company, corporate culture and community are often intertwined. It is not a coincidence that many of the perennial "best places to work" today are in Silicon Valley, where companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple and others have impressive corporate cultures, strong community ties and unparalleled creativity. Their leadership fosters those strengths.
Back in Southeastern Michigan, David Brandon is one of today's real leaders and has been CEO of a company recognized to be one of the top 100 best place to work. He now heads up the "commercial division" of the University of Michigan where he is director of athletes and previously served as a regent. He was the former chairman and CEO of Domino's Pizza. Brandon stands out as someone who surrounds himself with the best people--people with high ideals, people constantly striving for excellence, people with morals and integrity, people who won't break the rules, people win the right way. He fosters that behavior in others by modeling it without pretension. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty (or clean when making pizzas) and never asks more of anyone that he does of himself, and he is a people person who's always there when you need him.
Howard Sumner Holmes was a real leader, both in his community within Southeastern Michigan and for his family-owned company, Chelsea Milling Company, which produces the grocery staples known as the Jiffy Mix brand. In her book, "Jiffy, A Family Tradition," Cynthia Furlong Reynolds writes, "Howard and Dudley [his twin brother] steered the company through family tragedy, the Great Depression, World War II, major ups and downs in the economy and the boom-days of the package-mix industry."
Howard Holmes had none of the bluster, egocentric characteristics, or false bravado of some chief executives. Instead, he had an innate comfort in his abilities and shortcomings that enabled employees and colleagues alike to relate to him. His humanity was one of the qualities that distinguished him from being a boss. He never made his employees feel they were inferior or less important.
Great leaders can be born into a culture of leaders--the Kennedys, for example--but birthright is no guarantee that someone will become the real deal. Real leaders are made; they learn through trial and error on the job and are nurtured and developed through time.
Honing those leadership skills can happen outside the workplace, too. One of the many leadership "laboratories" helpful to Dr. Eich and myself was our college fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. Serving our fraternity brothers and university community in different roles afforded numerous types of leadership training. We learned quickly how to deal with adversity and constructive criticism, as well as how to improve, grow and handle increased responsibility.
After I graduated from the University of Florida as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Conflict Era, the country and Sigma Phi Epsilon was experiencing a segregation versus integration conflict. While on active duty, in a 70 officer leadership class, the first African-American member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and I became good friends as we brothers competed for the "top gun" [Honor Graduate] of our leadership class. He later became Bill Clinton's presidential campaign manager and after they won the election was the Secretary of the Commerce Dept. in the Clinton Administration. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown died in an airplane crash in Europe while serving his country. The Ron Brown Scholar Program today awards undergraduate college scholarships to academically talented, highly motivated, African-American high school seniors.
True leaders put service above self; empower, don't control; and serve rather than demand to be served. To develop your own servant leadership potential, practice the art of sacrifice for others rather than thinking of having subordinates or followers. Champion your team, troops or staff by always helping and promoting them. Set the most enviable example and let your actions demonstrate what serving others truly means.
Real leadership is not about amassing personal power; it's about the ability to unleash the strengths of others and in turn create a culture of success.
Sources:
Ritch Eich: Real Leaders Don't Boss: Inspire, Motivate, and Earn Respect from Employees and Watch Your Organization Soar
Cynthia Furlong Reynolds: "Jiffy": A Family Tradition, Mixing Business and Old-Fashioned Values
John Agno: Can't Get Enough Leadership: Book Notes & Coaching Tips
