CHAPTER FIVE

The Direction I Set

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

—Warren Bennis

Establishing compelling vision and ethical strategies are keys to supporting others’ dignity, as shown in figure 7. You might be wondering, “How on earth is setting direction related to humility? Isn’t it up to the leader to determine the best vision and strategy to achieve what’s desired?” The answer becomes evident when we remember that leaders need people—let’s call them followers—to embrace and implement the proposed direction. And leaders have to convert many types of stakeholders into followers, whether peers, customers, employees, suppliers, legislators, or community citizens. Because so many others typically need to buy into a planned direction, the days of the lone-wolf leader are over. Setting direction without engaging stakeholders and addressing their concerns is a recipe for failed implementation.

People want to feel proud of both the work they do and the cause(s) they serve, so vision needs to support the larger common good. People also want to know that the way their organizations operate is ethical. These wants reflect deep values—how people see themselves and what makes them feel worthy. In other words, what they want is keenly tied to their dignity. So, leaders need humility to consider others’ dignity, establish a vision serving all stakeholders, and then create strategies (and measures of progress) to implement that vision. Consider just a few examples of how others’ dignity is relevant to vision and strategies:

•   Many employees, particularly younger ones, seek employers whose visions contribute public benefit. They are often sensitive to the impact of business operations on climate change and social good. Their sense of dignity influences how they choose to spend their talents and energies. Leaders with humility show regard for this trend by setting positive visions.

•   Since the publication of the UN Environment Programme’s (Knoepfel 2004) landmark report “Who Cares Wins,” investor attention has extended to organizations’ focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors because these factors influence risk and future financial returns. Many people’s values align with favorable ESG activities, and their dignity is offended by visions that harm others or the environment. Investopedia (2019) reported that $11.6 trillion was invested in ESG incorporation assets. CEOs also recognize the importance of visions that support ESG. A statement by the Business Roundtable (2019) was signed by 181 CEOs affirming that shareholder wealth is no longer the sole purpose of businesses; broader stakeholder interests must be considered.

•   In the technology sector, the Observer (Bonzanno 2018) reported that employees at Google pressed it to withdraw from competing for Pentagon contracts because employees protested against making profits from defense contracts. The Los Angeles Times (Peltz 2019) described how Amazon employees have pressured the company to address environmental issues. And Reuters (Hunnicutt 2019) reported how Twitter and Facebook responded to pressure from stakeholders to take responsibility for allowing their platforms to be used to spread false information in political ads. Stakeholders’ dignity was negatively affected by their leaders’ approach to generating revenue when the directions were seen as harmful to others. Leaders with humility have begun to respond to these challenges and consider alternative strategies.

The work of some companies is widely viewed as harmful (for example, tobacco companies), as are the strategies of others (such as Purdue Pharma, accused of practices that excessively pushed prescriptions and contributed to the epidemic of opioid addiction). It is difficult, if not impossible, to turn a blind eye to these types of harmful visions and strategies—or to frame them in truly positive ways. But for many leaders (if not most), the challenge is thinking more broadly—and humbly—about human dignity. What is it we do—or what can we do—that has a positive impact on the larger common good? Setting a compelling vision is one of the most important keys to leader humility. When coupled with ethical strategies, it has a positive effect on others’ dignity and generates favorable results. Let’s look at both of these keys to humility more closely.

Compelling Vision

The CEOs I interviewed stressed that vision is compelling when it serves a greater good. The vision must be much broader than the leader’s proximate responsibility or personal interests. Although business leaders are rightfully concerned with competitive advantage and profitability, employees and customers typically have other concerns or priorities. Here is an excellent example of how an operating vision is framed in terms of the greater good:

To get an organization to a certain scale, people have to work for the organization and not just the leader. . . . [M]ost of us don’t want to come to work to fulfill someone else’s vision . . . we want to feel like we’re accomplishing a higher purpose. I think our employees know that what we’re doing isn’t about Brad’s vision. It’s about Alaska being the best company that we can possibly be—connecting families and communities, and helping businesses grow, while providing excellent jobs for our folks. —BRAD TILDEN

Tilden’s humility is evident in expressing his vision in a compelling way and noting that it is not about him personally. By framing the vision in terms of “connecting families and communities,” and so on, he elevates the work being done so that employees and customers see the larger impact. “Helping businesses grow” shows the positive impact on suppliers, and “providing excellent jobs” not only appeals to employee dignity but supports favorable brand reputation (compared with companies that are viewed as treating employees poorly). Importantly, each of these elements supports the dignity of others in a compelling way.

Vision also needs to be relevant to many stakeholders, not merely shareholders. Some aspects of compelling vision may be embedded in an organization’s core operation (as in the example above). Another way of enhancing the core vision is through decisions that affect the greater good directly—while indirectly affecting the organization in a positive way. JPMorgan Chase provides a good illustration:

There’s a whole ecosystem of stakeholders. This includes the communities in which we operate. So, it takes enlightened self-interest and humility to see that and act on it. Because we derive our business from the community, it’s important for the community to be strong. We want the underserved parts of the community to be strong too. That’s why we invested $200 million plus in Detroit. A community is not a healthy community unless all parts are strong. Some of the risks of community weakness include theft, violence, and small business bankruptcies. So, risk mitigation is part of the motivation for us, but it’s also our ethos because it’s the right thing to do. We are about building long-term relationships. We look at the whole causal loop. And we take that all the way through our culture and incentives. —PHYLLIS CAMPBELL

In addition to a positive core operation or supplemental efforts that enhance a vision, service to others (that is, servant leadership) can make visions inspirational and compelling. An emphasis on understanding clients, empathizing with their needs, and placing their interests first can motivate teams because many people’s dignity is enhanced by providing service to others. Consider this perspective from a financial organization whose CEO explained to me that he doesn’t “get a second chance to take good care of people’s life savings” (that is, manage their retirement accounts successfully):

I think of myself as the steward of TIAA while I lead it. We are not publicly traded, yet we are a 100-year-old company with a trillion dollars in assets. Empathy for others is consistent with our mission. We are driven to identify with the people we serve. So being humble in how we think of our clients and in how we serve them is just part of who we are. —ROGER FERGUSON

Stewardship, of course, can extend beyond the immediate organization and its clients, and even beyond the present. We lead in ways that can affect the larger commons—the environment, communities around us, and even future generations. Leader humility can extend deep regard not only for other people but also for the natural world when we consider potential impact broadly:

Seeing ourselves in context is an important attribute. . . . Overseeing the Department of the Interior was the most challenging job I’ve ever held, with the potential to impact many people and the environment. It was also a position where there were powerful influences working to shape decisions that served particular interests. The most difficult decisions I had to make were shaped by thinking about the impact on future generations, guided by my favorite proverb, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” . . . Humility in leadership is needed whenever the human stands in relation to the environment. —SALLY JEWELL

It can be hard for one person, the leader alone, to determine the best and most compelling vision. Leaders may need to reach deep and wide into the organization or broader stakeholder groups to form an appropriate and compelling vision. And, as leaders solicit broader views, it is equally important for them to really listen. Some leaders pay lip service to wanting input but quickly ignore ideas or concerns that are difficult to address or might pull them off their original path. Deep listening is evident when leaders incorporate the information gained into the overall vision, as described in the following examples:

In 2005, when I became CEO, a top priority was to make REI a much more sustainable company. One of my colleagues sought expertise from the outside to facilitate a gathering with about two dozen employees in positions from across REI to help map out our impact on the biosphere. These employees provided a variety of insights into our practices that were revealing, and in some cases disturbing, yet helped us create a road map for the future. They helped us understand where to find “the low-hanging fruit” and how we could have the biggest positive impact. We hired an expert in sustainability and continued to reach out deep into the organization to improve our practices and use our influence to shape the practices of our vendors. These stories get out, and they create an environment where people are more willing to speak up.

At Interior . . . I had many handlers trying to control my time. Early on, they’d schedule a visit to a park, facility, or tribe for me to have a fast meeting, then race to another site, grabbing a sandwich on the way. I said, “Whoa! I’m not leaving without spending time to meet the people who carry out our work to better understand their jobs and how we can support their mission.” For example, on public lands, I wanted to meet with rangers, firefighters, scientists, people on the frontlines and behind the scenes, to better understand our responsibilities. With tribes, I learned the importance of showing respect, which included allowing time to get to know them personally and see firsthand their cultures and better understand my role in carrying out our government-to-government responsibilities. —SALLY JEWELL

Because this approach can generate more effective visions, it is especially important for situations in which there are conflicting goals or when different stakeholder groups have competing interests. But it’s also true when dealing with innovation and complex problems like sustainability.

Creating compelling vision is a key behavior in leader humility because it regards the dignity of others. Many stakeholders will be affected by the direction you set, so a tepid vision will not generate much enthusiasm. A vision that’s all about you will generate even less. And a harmful vision will invite strong resistance. Instead, a vision that preserves, protects, or improves a greater good inspires people to participate—because the work has more meaning to them. Their sense of dignity is enhanced by the association.

Ethical Strategies

Strategies are designed as the best paths to desired outcomes, but some leaders engage in unethical practices. There are news reports of leadership misdeeds almost daily; these negatively affect the dignity of stakeholders who feel tainted by association. The sheer frequency of misdeeds has contributed to a broadly jaded and negative view of leadership in both public and private sectors. Leaders who pursue unethical approaches display a significant lack of regard for the dignity of others.

Ethical strategies can be developed by carefully understanding business opportunities and aligning others to pursue those approaches. Leaders who do this respect others’ dignity. Some of the best strategies used by humble leaders involve competitive pricing, fair employee compensation, collaboration and integration of operations to minimize waste, and alignment of direction across the organization in ethical pursuit of business opportunity. The following two cases illustrate how this can work quite well.

Costco is a stellar example. It achieved the exceptional size it is today (approximately 254,000 employees across forty-four states, thirteen countries, and nearly eight hundred warehouse retail locations) largely without paid advertising, although it has received much favorable media attention. Instead of media advertising, Costco relied on membership renewals and a fair profit from sales. Its code of conduct, merchandising, and treatment of employees all reflect an ethical strategy of providing excellent value to customers and employees, thus respecting their dignity:

We always set a fair markup and never simply raise it just because we can. We don’t believe in hype—just put the product out there with a basic description and let people decide for themselves. We’ve always sought to offer the best wages and best benefits in the industry. —JIM SINEGAL

Note that paying good wages and benefits is strategic: it helps with employee retention and engagement. It also demonstrates leader humility by supporting the dignity of others. Another company known for this in the retail industry is Starbucks, which became a trailblazer years ago by providing employment benefits (such as health insurance) to part-time workers. Beyond its progressive compensation, it also developed an ethical approach that centered on the customer experience:

Starbucks is a people-centric business. Our baristas interface directly with a lot of people. So, our business is about relationships—meaning trust and caring. That’s how we grew the business. I used to have a sign in my office that said, “We are in the people business serving coffee, not the coffee business serving people.” —HOWARD BEHAR

This focus was powerful strategically because it generated a qualitatively different customer experience. As evidence of its effectiveness, Starbucks had just twenty-eight stores when Behar joined the firm in 1989; his leadership helped it become a global giant before his retirement in 2007.

As with technology and manufacturing, customer-focused models can involve significant complexity. When they do, collaboration and integration of operations need to be an integral part of the strategy. The Mayo Clinic, widely known and respected in the health care sector, is a good example of how collaboration and integration can be baked into strategic direction. Mayo requires humility from all team members to support patients’ health and dignity:

Patients come to the Mayo Clinic for one of two reasons: One, they may have a very serious illness with a known diagnosis, but nothing so far has resolved it. We may be the best and last hope they have of healing. Or two, they come to us because they have a serious, complex, and puzzling set of symptoms, but “no one knows what’s wrong with me.” In both cases, it takes a team of care providers collaborating to help the patient.

So, our approach is interdisciplinary. A given case may involve a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a pulmonologist, a hematologist, a nutritionist, a physical therapist, and so on. Each of them will be highly accomplished as individuals, and they need to have the humility to work together to help the patient. Figuratively, they will have to sit around the dining room table and put their heads together to figure out how to help the patient within two to three hours. Also, nearly 20 percent of our surgeries are done by teams of surgeons (for example, thoracic, vascular, and cardiology surgeons).

We measure a wide range of outcomes. Patient outcomes are essential: We care about outcomes such as safety and quality, adverse events. We also care about the academic performance of our associates. In addition, we measure business outcomes, such as fundraising, brand management, financial performance, business development, endowment (funding research efforts, start-up companies, etc.). We are in the top decile of performance on each measure, and our staff retention is excellent. Our turnover is only 2 percent of staff and scientists. Success in each of these comes from our culture of teams and individuals working together. —JOHN NOSEWORTHY, MD

A final aspect of strategy needs to be mentioned: organizational alignment. Leaders often think they need to preserve confidentiality of plans and financial information. This may be the case if intellectual property is at stake. But some leaders hold information closely because it reinforces their sense of status. By contrast, humble leaders find strategic advantage in disseminating information to all stakeholders so that everyone engaged in the work understands the goals and status. This not only improves focus but supports ethical behavior when goals and processes are publicly disclosed:

If our entire organization is not aligned behind the same purpose, we have no chance to get there. It takes humility to realize you can’t do it by yourself. That’s why we are open and transparent. Our website is very clear about our strategies and financials, so everyone in the company has the information. People know they are included. We all have a constancy of purpose. —DICK JOHNSON

Organizational Impact

Compelling vision and ethical strategies have significant impact on leader effectiveness. They not only set direction but affect the extent to which leaders get stakeholders to follow planned directions. Some areas that are commonly affected by vision and strategies are talent management; brand reputation; diversity and inclusion; and performance management, teamwork, and consensus building.

Attracting and Retaining Talent

Finding and keeping great talent is important regardless of whether the economy is strong or weak. Having a compelling vision and ethical strategies matters to many workers, especially those who are educated and affluent because they often have multiple opportunities, and they scrutinize leader behavior and impact. Organizations with compelling visions are more attractive to them than those whose visions are uninspiring—or worse, known to be harmful to people or the environment. When strategies and practices are seen as being ethical, an organization’s desirability as a place to work or do business increases. Consider how, in the consumer world, online ratings have come into use for products, services, and professional providers like doctors, lawyers, and professors. Just as user ratings of their experiences now guide others’ purchase decisions, reputation for ethics and compelling vision guide employment choices.

In a similar way, many younger employees tend to seek association with inspiring causes. They have a high sense of self-worth (dignity) and want to see their energies being used positively. Leaders who set compelling visions and gain reputations for ethical strategies have an advantage in attracting and keeping younger talent.

Brand Reputation

Vision and strategy affect external reputation, sometimes positively and sometimes less so. Consider the 2018 incident in which two African American men were arrested for merely sitting in a Starbucks in Philadelphia (Tornoe 2018). The immediate outcry from the public and the African American community forced the company’s leadership to respond. Recognizing both the unfairness of the incident and the diversity of its customer base, the company’s leadership opted for a strategy that emphasized its ethical behavior. The CEO, Kevin Johnson, called the incident a “reprehensible outcome.” He publicly released a letter (Johnson 2018) apologizing to the two men, asserting that the company stood against discrimination and racial profiling, and stating that the company would investigate what happened and make changes to its practices to help ensure that it didn’t happen again. The company, in fact, closed its stores for a day to provide training on implicit bias. Johnson’s note told employees and customers that they had the right to expect more from Starbucks and promised to learn from the incident and improve. NPR (2018) reported that the company closed roughly eight thousand stores on May 29, 2018, to provide racial-bias training to approximately 175,000 employees. This involved significant expense, as well as lost revenue.

Was this mainly spin or public relations? I think it was more than that. It goes to the heart of leader humility as sound strategy. Understanding the dignity of both the employees who work for the company and the customers who provide its revenue, Starbucks embraces diversity and inclusion strategically. A tepid response would have led to broad and ongoing criticism, so certainly one goal was damage control. However, the company’s moves to meet with the gentlemen who had been arrested, issue a public apology in which the leaders owned their mistakes, close stores (losing significant revenue), and provide corrective training to 175,000 employees were very strong statements that the company was serious about this. Because the strategic response so clearly displayed regard for the dignity of others (the men arrested, the African American community, employees who were embarrassed by the incident, etc.), it showed humility. In turn, sales were not hurt significantly by the demonstrations, and the negative press was reduced significantly and quickly. Although this helped with PR, it clearly showed both the vision and strategy the company’s leaders wanted to pursue.

Diversity and Inclusion

Because everyone’s dignity is important, leaders with humility also consider multiple groups when setting vision and strategy. The following questions highlight relevant considerations:

1. Are we including the views of diverse groups in discussions and decisions about our vision and strategies? The best way to learn about and be able to anticipate their needs is to engage with them. The process of engaging them often will increase their buy-in to an eventual decision.

2. Do we consider the impact on their communities as we learn about that? And do we adjust our vision/strategy to try seriously to balance their needs with those of others?

3. Does our employment reasonably reflect, our customer or user base so that we have people who can advise us of their needs? Do we listen?

4. Is there diversity on our board of directors so that our vision and strategies are vetted through a powerful lens that reflects broader views?

5. Do we view diversity and inclusion as an asset in the ways we do business? Consider Nike’s strategy of featuring football’s renowned Colin Kaepernick in an ad for its products despite the ongoing controversy surrounding his taking a knee during the US national anthem. Fast Company (Beer 2019) reported that, despite doomsday predictions by some, Nike gained significantly by taking a supportive stance on Kaepernick, thus against biased policing. Nike understood that their consumer base is diverse.

Performance Management, Teamwork, and Consensus

When leaders with humility use the keys of vision and strategy appropriately, others identify with the vision because it supports their sense of dignity, or self-worth. This tends to draw out their best efforts, which means better performance.

Because of the complexity of work, collaboration is often required. This might be across departments in an organization or across the aisle at every level of government. It may also be with community partnerships or regulatory enforcement. When leaders have humility to consider the dignity of all parties to the collaboration—and when leaders support others’ dignity—they secure support more readily. This usually requires identifying overarching goals, shared values for a win-win, and elements that may need compromise. However, progress is more likely (and more likely to be sustained) in this way than with a winner-take-all approach. Compelling visions and ethical strategies reasonably honor all affected parties, thereby providing easier buy-in.

Having examined areas in which compelling vision and ethical strategies typically affect leader outcomes, let’s again look at specific behaviors that are positive or negative. Table 3 illustrates dos and don’ts that leaders should consider. This is followed by suggested ideas for action.

TABLE 3. “The Direction I Set”: Recommended Behaviors.