19
Determining Your Leadership Point of View
Margie Blanchard, Pat Zigarmi, and Ken Blanchard
All right, you’ve heard from us. Throughout this book, we have essentially shared with you our leadership point of view—our beliefs and values about leading people. A core belief of the authors of this book is that as leaders we need to focus on serving others, not being served. In every chapter we have challenged you to lead at a higher level—where the people you lead are inspired to give their best.
Now it’s your turn. The goal of this chapter is to help you develop your own leadership point of view. Not only will this help you clarify your thoughts on leadership, it will also prepare you to share your leadership point of view with others. A leadership point of view essentially describes a picture of today and the future where there is consistency between your values, your words, and your actions as a leader. You could call it “a course on you!”
Why is developing a clear leadership point of view important? Ken Blanchard was sold on this idea after reading Noel Tichy’s book The Leadership Engine. Noel’s extensive research has shown that effective leaders have a clear, teachable leadership point of view and are willing to share it with the people they work with.1 A leadership point of view teaches people what you expect from yourself and them so that together you and the organization can succeed.
Blanchard’s work on creating your leadership point of view became a course in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL) program jointly offered by The Ken Blanchard Companies® and the College of Business at the University of San Diego. When you reflect on, write about, and share your leadership point of view, Ken and Margie Blanchard—who teach the course—have found that you get a clearer picture about your intentions as a leader. Writing your leadership point of view invites you to think deeply about your leadership legacy and how you want to be seen and remembered as a leader. The reflection itself may not change your day-to-day interactions with those you lead, but it will shift your intentions. It will help you find what Bill George calls your “True North,”1 and it can serve as a compass that leaders can use to align their actions with their values.
Elements of a Leadership Point of View
In reflecting and writing your leadership point of view, you are asked to
Identify key people and events that have shaped and influenced your leadership point of view.
Describe your leadership values.
Share your expectations for yourself and others.
Key People
In identifying key people, you are asked to think about the influencers in your life who have had a positive (or in some cases negative) impact on you. Ask these questions:
Who mentored you? Taught you? Inspired you? Helped you believe in yourself?
What did you admire or not admire about each of these key people?
What did you learn from each of these people that shaped your leader behavior?
When we ask people who most impacted their lives, they often mention first the leaders they have worked with. But then, with time, they start to talk about their parents, grandparents, friends, coaches, and teachers. When Ken Blanchard is asked about the key people in his life, he is quick to mention his mother and father:
“My mom was the ultimate positive thinker. She told everyone that I laughed before I cried, I smiled before I frowned, and I danced before I walked. With those kinds of messages, how could I have ended up anything but a positive thinker? Mom also helped me keep things in perspective. She said, ‘Ken, don’t act like you’re better than anybody else. But don’t let anyone act like they’re better than you either. Remember, there’s a pearl of goodness in everyone.’
“My dad was a career naval officer who retired as an admiral. He was a powerful leadership role model for me. He didn’t think leadership was choosing between people or results. I learned from him that leadership was a ‘both/and’ relationship—both people and results were important to him. He taught me that position power and ‘my way or the highway’ are not the way to lead. I’ll never forget when I was elected president of the seventh grade and came home all excited. Dad said, ‘It’s great, Ken, that you are president of your class. But now that you have a position, don’t use it. Great leaders are followed not because they have position power, but because they’re respected and trusted as individuals.’ He always supported and involved his people, yet he demanded high performance.
“The one-two punch I received from my mom and dad gave me a positive outlook on life and people.”
By now you should have a sense why, in crafting your leadership point of view, thinking about who influenced your life and your beliefs about leadership is a good starting point.
Key Events
In identifying key events in your life—whether from your childhood, school years, or earlier career—think about the situations that impacted you most. Ask these questions.
What events do you remember as if they occurred yesterday?
What have been the turning points in your life?
What experiences in your past prepared you for a leadership role?
What did you learn from each experience?
When we ask people about the key events in their life that impacted them most, they usually focus on the big milestones.
What were the major transitions? Where were the sliding doors—those moments in time where you made a choice to go one way versus another and that, as Robert Frost said, “made all the difference”? In choosing a key event that impacted her life, Pat Zigarmi relates this story in sharing her leadership point of view:
“My value of justice was shaped by the movements for civil rights, women’s rights, and equal opportunity that marked my lifetime. I have always wanted underdogs to win. I have wanted people to believe in their potential to be magnificent, and I have challenged bias whenever I had the opportunity to do so. In college, as an officer of my southern-roots sorority I went to a national convention to protest the exclusion of blacks from my sorority and the next fall we defiantly pledged a black woman. In 1986, I persuaded my company, The Ken Blanchard Companies® to let me come back to work with an infant—in a program we called Infant at Work (or, more affectionately, Infinite Work!). I didn’t want to have to choose between my passion for my child and my passion for work, and I didn’t want someone to choose for me. I believed I knew what was right and just for me. I have always admired pioneers for equality and justice. And, I have always admired generosity of spirit which my dad exemplified and which I see as a component of justice.”
Some people will combine a key event and a key person who influenced their leadership point of view. For example, one of our colleagues writes
“The best story I can give you about a key event in my life and a key person is this. When I was in the 8th grade, I applied for the yearbook committee. I had a tough year personally and was getting a lot of sympathetic love from the faculty. However, when the faculty did not place me on the yearbook committee, I was shocked. I went to my dad for comfort. As he held me in his arms while I cried, I uttered, ‘It’s because I’m black.’ My father answered softly, but matter-of-factly, ‘No, it’s because you were not good enough. You failed to put the effort in to achieve your goal. Simply put, it’s your fault. You failed to prioritize this goal, and now you won’t be on the yearbook committee.’ As I sat on my father’s lap, I learned an important lesson: Success comes from the effort you put into achieving your goal’s tasks. Excellence is about never finding an excuse for your failure to exert effort.”
Reflecting about the key people and events in your life sets the stage for thinking about the next step in writing your leadership point of view: identifying and defining your values.
Values
The values you hold will determine how you behave as a leader. That’s why values are an important element of your leadership point of view.
Values are core beliefs that you feel strongly about. It has been said that
The most important thing in life is to decide what’s most important.
The key people and key events in your life shape your values, which is why people don’t have the same values.
Here is a list of personal values. As you look at it, you’ll probably find that you value most or all of them, which is why we have to spend some time in really thinking about what’s most important. If a value that is not listed here is important to you, feel free to include it.
truth |
wisdom |
power |
commitment |
courage |
recognition |
excitement |
learning |
creativity |
honesty |
happiness |
originality |
service |
respect |
freedom |
order |
integrity |
spirituality |
peace |
cooperation |
loyalty |
humor |
security |
resources |
love |
excellence |
fun |
responsiveness |
relationships |
success |
In identifying your values, you might start with a long list. Start by choosing ten to twelve. Then begin to narrow the list. Hold each value up against the others and see if you can pick out your three to five most important values. You might want to look back at your stories about key people and key events in your life and think about the values reflected in those stories. If you’re having trouble narrowing down your top values, you might combine a couple. For example, Ken combined two words to create “spiritual peace” as his number-one value, followed by “integrity,” “love,” and “success.”
Remember to choose values that mean the most to you personally—not just the ones that you think make you look good.
The next step in clarifying your values is to define them. To be able to live consistently with a value, you have to be able to explain what that value means to you. For example, let’s take the value “justice.” Pat can remember a conversation in which three people defined that value differently. For Pat, it meant equal access to opportunity. For another person, it meant fair process. For the third, it meant “getting my due share.”
Unless the people in your life understand exactly what you mean by each of your values, they won’t have much meaning. This is especially true of words, like “justice,” that can have several definitions.
For example, let’s take a value that has many meanings, like “love.” Ken defines this value by describing how it feels as well as how he expresses it to others. According to Ken:
“I value love. I know I am living by this value anytime I feel loving toward myself and others, anytime I express compassion, anytime I show love to others, and anytime I receive the love of others.”
Here is a colleague’s description of her value of “involvement.” Put yourself into one of her team member’s shoes as you read it, and you’ll see the power of sharing the roots of the value—why it’s important—and the power of knowing how the leader defines it and hopes it plays out in day-to-day interactions. Notice how the definition of the value begins to spill over into “expectations for self and others,” which is the last component of a leadership point of view presentation.
“My next value is ‘involvement’—I learned how important feeling involved in the decision making meant to me as our family dealt with my mom’s illness. My dad ensured that my voice was heard and my opinion was valued. Because I have always wanted to ‘be at the table’ and influence decisions that were being made that impacted me, I have always assumed others want to be involved and influence as well. When I lead I expect people to speak up. For me, involvement means creating a sense of partnership—we are in this together. In every meaningful decision I have to make, I want to involve the people it impacts the most, ensuring alignment. I commit to making the tough calls when necessary, but not without listening first. And I expect those I work with to speak their mind, make sure their voice is heard.”
Here are three of Pat’s five values so you can get a feel for what it means to expand on the definition of the value:
“I value ‘competence and creativity,’ which means I am very appreciative of someone who is masterful at what they do, no matter what it is. I admire fine craftsmanship and artisanship and virtuosity—whether in an athlete, musician, chef, artists, coach, or business leader. I respect people who are talented at what they do. That usually means that they are constantly reinventing the space they work in.
“I value ‘flexibility,’ which I define as adaptability, versatility, and resilience—the ability to pivot in the face of change, to take a new course in the face of new information. Flexibility also involves having the courage to try. I have always been focused on trying to expand people’s perspectives and helping them find the courage to try something new. Another image that comes to mind with the word ‘flexibility’ is ’willow-like.’ There is incredible strength in a willow, but it bends and then rebalances. Flexibility implies inquisitiveness and openness to change. It is the opposite of rigidity. I am at my best when I am open to change, when I consider alternatives, when I remember that there are multiple paths to the same end.
“Another value I have is ‘joyfulness.’ Those who know me best have always appreciated my playfulness, glimpsing it even through my intensity. Joyfulness for me means expressiveness. My face has always been an open book. You know what I am thinking by watching my face. Joy connotes warmth for me. It is why I love Christmas so much. Because you can gift joy…cook an old family recipe, decorate the tree with a treasured ornament, honor an old tradition or make a new one, find the right gift, be generous in sharing food and creating memories. I have always had a knack for making memories that involve wonder or appreciation or laughter or tenderness. At the root of joy, for me, is optimism. I never believe things won’t turn out for the best.”
Again, with all of these examples, the table is set for writing the third part of a leadership point of view: expectations for yourself and others.
Expectations for Yourself and Others
Clarifying your expectations for yourself and others is the last step in crafting your leadership point of view. These expectations should flow naturally from the people and key events that have influenced you and your values. Your expectations really are the essence of your leadership point of view. When you share your leadership point of view with others, they may be engaged in your storytelling, but what they really want to know is how they can work with you more easily.
What You Expect from Yourself
Let’s look at some of the expectations Ken has for himself that he shares with others.
“I believe my role as your manager is to help you win—to help accomplish your goals. I want you to get an A. If I am behaving according to my expectations of myself, I will be cheering you on. If progress is not being made, I will be redirecting your efforts and helping get you back on course by either providing direction or support or both. In other words, you should know when you are getting ‘wrong answers’ so that we can discuss what would make a ‘good answer.’ If I am living up to my expectations of myself as a leader, everything I do with you will be geared toward helping you produce good results and, in the process, feel good about yourself.”
What People Can Expect from You
Letting people know what they can expect from you underscores the idea that good leadership is a partnership. It gives people a picture of how things will look as you work together.
For example, one of the students in the MSEL program at the University of San Diego described what his people could expect from him:
“Knowing that I like building things will help you understand what you can expect from me. In fact, I look at many different things in the context of building. I like building houses. I like building my family. I like building businesses and I like building and developing people. I’m happy to roll up my sleeves to help build most anything. It’s what I enjoy most. So, you can expect that I will give you plenty of my time, I will listen to you when you see the need for a sounding board, and I will help you access what you already know by asking thoughtful questions.
“Just the other day, I noticed that Jack, one of my team members, had stayed late at work and was looking a little frustrated. When I asked him how things were going, he shared that our building permits for the new office were held up, putting the whole project behind. Through our conversation, he figured out another person to call and approach to take. He had the answer all along; I just helped him ask different questions.”
Your leadership point of view should also let others know how you will set an example for the values and behaviors you are encouraging. As most parents know, people learn from your behavior, not from your words. Leaders must walk their talk.
For example, another MSEL student made clear how he would set an example for his people:
“All of you know that I released our company’s top salesperson about nine months ago for questionable activities. He thought that he was untouchable due to his status as a top-producing account executive. However, no one, including me, is above the ethical standards that are expected of someone working at our company.”
What You Expect from Your People
Because we believe that effective leadership is a partnership and that effective leaders work side by side with their team members, it is imperative that you let people know what you expect from them. This gives people a picture of how they can be successful under your leadership.
In sharing your expectations, it’s helpful to think of an example of someone behaving consistently with what you expect. Real examples are better than platitudes. Think about an example or two illustrating someone doing what you expect.
Here is an example from one of the students in the MSEL program at the University of San Diego. Notice how he shines a spotlight on a manager who is living according to his expectation of ethical behavior:
“My expectations of you can be combined into a saying known as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. What do I mean by that? I expect you all to act ethically in everything you do. You’ll have many opportunities to take shortcuts and do things that will result in short-term gains. Plenty of business examples in recent years have shown how disastrous this can be. I expect you to stand tall on this issue and to not allow anyone to think that you tolerate fraud or anything unethical. You manage hundreds of employees. While each of them may not know you that well, they need to know how important integrity is to you. For example, Ruth, I love how in your department you are continually asking the question, ‘Is this the right thing to do?’”
Developing Your Own Leadership Point of View
Now you can create your own leadership point of view.
First, don’t try to craft your leadership point of view overnight. Spend some significant time thinking about key people, key events, and your values. Let your reflections marinate.
Then write or record what you’ve been thinking about. Think in terms of stories. People remember and respond more to stories than to a list of general principles about effective leadership. The stories personalize you and allow people to find common ground with you. Lists of attributes or qualities of effective leadership don’t explain you the way stories do. Stories help the people you lead figure out why you show up the way you do. When people know your stories, they can more easily understand your intentions. Stories have beginnings, middles, and endings. Be sure to include the details that will make your stories about key people and events come alive. It is also important to point out your leadership learnings from each story. These learnings can be a line of sight to your values.
When you write or record your values, be sure to fully define them, as we discussed earlier, so that people know exactly what you mean by those values.
Once you’ve developed a draft, consider test-driving it with a coach or others you trust. Ask them to share feedback with you. What resonated? What was insightful? What was confusing? Where is more work needed to make the narrative more compelling? Did the coach or your colleagues think you clearly explained your values and how you expect those values to play out in interactions with your team members and colleagues?
Listen to and evaluate the feedback you’re getting. Rewrite what you’ve written. Sit with it and rewrite it again. Consider which approach works best for you. There is really no single right way to organize a leadership point of view presentation.
Some people start with a brief bio—highlighting key people and events—and then distill their leadership values and expectations for themselves and others from the stories they have shared.
Others begin with sharing their values and then showing how key people and key events formed those values.
Some people start with expectations for themselves and others and then share their values, which are rooted in stories about key people and events.
When you present your leadership point of view, you can convert your long version to an outline that will make your presentation less formal and more conversational. That would be our strong recommendation, because that way your story will come from your heart. But you can also read it. Since a leadership point of view presentation is not a speech about effective leadership, but a deeply personal narrative, having it written out can provide a sense of security and help you regroup if your emotions are triggered during your presentation, which can happen.
Throughout this chapter we’ve provided you with examples of what the description of a key person, key event, or value might look like. Now we want to share a couple of completed leadership point of view examples.
The first is a leadership point of view presentation. The reason we say presentation is that she shared it with the people who work with her. We highly recommend you do the same because while your leadership point of view is about you, it’s not for you. It’s for your people, to help them work more effectively with you.
Notice that in this example, the leader sets the context, explaining why she is sharing her leadership point of view.
“You all know I am in a Master’s Program in leadership—it has caused me to do a lot of thinking about my background and values and what experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. I’d like to share some of the most influential experiences of my life with you, in hopes that it will enable us to work even better together as a team and clarify to you my expectations as a coach, colleague, and coworker.
“Some of you may know my background more than others. I was an only child. My parents were high school sweethearts who married. A few years later I was born, and shortly thereafter my dad was transferred and we moved away from the comfort and security of family and close friendships. After the move, their marriage started to suffer, and my mother became depressed. While my parents didn’t fight, there was a sadness that was palpable even to a small child. I learned that the best way for me to survive was to be a ‘good’ girl.
“The way I did that was I tried very hard to not cause problems or create more pain for them and learned at an early age to avoid conflict and to subvert my own emotional needs. I’m sure you all remember the fairytale of Snow White and the poison apple—in the story the Evil Queen gives Snow White an apple to put her to sleep. In my version, there was no Evil Queen, just me feeding myself an apple and slowly numbing and putting myself to sleep.
“I knew even as a young girl to ensure my own survival, it was my job to become the adult, to calm my mother and make everything be ‘OK.’ So I took another bite of the apple. After the divorce I lived with my mom and her boyfriend, who didn’t like children or females. (So I had two strikes against me.) When I was 9 my mom remarried and left the country. When that happened, I went to live with my father, who was also in the process of remarrying. For the nine months before they were married, I was shuttled between my dad’s house, his girlfriend’s house, and my grandparents’ house. When he remarried, I joined a new family with three stepsiblings. By this point, I was very good at playing the role of the good girl. What this meant was that I didn’t express my anger toward my mom about leaving me, my fear of joining a new family, or my sadness that I didn’t seem to be anyone’s priority. I took another bite of the apple.
“This pattern of avoiding emotional conflict and trying to please others by being whoever I thought they wanted me to be continued into my adult life. I married a man with many great qualities, but communication and dealing with conflict were not among them. He took conflict personally, ignored and blamed me for what wasn’t working in our life. So I took more bites of the apple, until the point that I found myself numb and sleepwalking through my own life, but now with two teenage daughters in tow. I’m not sure exactly what caused me to wake up…my Prince Charming comes later in the story; maybe it was life’s kiss that awoke me.
“While I knew I had made my girls a priority, what I hadn’t done is role model for them what a healthy, happy life and loving marriage looked like. I ended up getting a divorce (after 25 years). I’m still not sure how I had the courage to go through it, but I believe my desire to live a full life helped me to overcome my stagnation and fear. What I’m learning is that I need to connect my heart with my mind and to pay attention to my own needs, dreams, and desires and that you always have choices. From my reflections on my developmental history, the values that have become clear to me are:
“Value #1—Authenticity—What authenticity means to me is that my mind, heart, body, and soul are all working together and going in the same direction. I’m still learning to say what I am feeling, especially when I’m scared and fear I may lose a relationship by being honest. My expectation is that you should challenge me when you don’t agree or when you don’t feel I’m making the right decision.
“Rachelle, I’m in awe of your ability to face conflict head-on and ask questions when you don’t agree with a job evaluation I’ve completed. When you do that, you guide us to better outcomes for both the employee and company.
“Value #2—Accountability—What accountability means to me is that we are responsible for ourselves, whether we like it or not. What you do with your life, and what you have done already, is up to you. We are not victims. We have choices to make and have to continually choose to take ownership and responsibility for our lives. For me, this also means taking the actions you need to achieve the results you want—taking time for self-care, like therapy (when needed), exercise, rest, and developing yourself.
“Sarah, I so appreciated when you came to me and shared how much the work travel was having a negative effect on your life and that you needed a change. I’m sure that was hard for you, but you gave me an opportunity to find a solution that works for both you and the company.
“Value #3—Humor—Laughing and having fun with others matters to me. I love to laugh, and humor helps me get through (or diffuse) tense situations. Humor also helps me feel connected with all of you and provides a way to deal with stress. I’m enjoying the opportunity to make up for the playtime I missed out on as a child.
“Joanne and Roxanne, I’ve had so much fun on our skits as the ‘Fixie Chicks.’ For me, it’s not just ‘okay’ to be playful and have fun—it’s expected.
“These are the values that I’m choosing for the last half of my story…authenticity, accountability and humor…and while it’s the last half, it’s also a new beginning. I’ve met an awesome man (maybe my Prince Charming?) that I can be myself with and don’t have to pretend. I’m learning to speak my mind without fear of reprisal, and I’m having fun. I’m on a journey, and I want you to speak your truth so we can learn and grow on this journey together.
“I want to close with a quote by Brené Brown: ‘If you own this story you get to write the ending.’ We each own our story, and I’m looking forward to sharing that brave, new ending with you.”
Our final example of a complete leadership point of view comes from Colleen Barrett. Colleen is President Emerita of Southwest Airlines and the recipient of dozens of business awards and honors, including the Tony Jannus Award; honorary doctorates from St. Mary’s College and Grand Canyon University; and listings in The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women award from Forbes and The Top 50 Leaders from Fast Company. Her leadership point of view comes across loud and clear in the book she wrote with Ken Blanchard, Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success.
My Background
“I grew up poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother who raised the kids. My mother was the most influential person in my life. She was uneducated and didn’t have money, but she had a huge heart. Her hard work and determination set a great example for me, and she was a great people person as well. Although she didn’t actually use the expression, she modeled the Golden Rule. Her guiding belief in life was that as long as you were respectful of others and treated people the way you would like to be treated, you would get that back in kind. My alcoholic dad was not a good role model. I learned a lot from that, as well. Good teachers or bad teachers—you can learn from both.
What I’ve Learned
“A series of setbacks across my life also have shaped my leadership point of view. When I was a freshman in high school, my home burned down. I have survived breast cancer and a number of personal attacks. These challenges taught me to think about my priorities and not to judge others, because you never know what’s going on in their lives.
“An incident in high school taught me why it’s not a good idea to judge others. I was working as the receptionist at a paper company. My supervisor told me to minimize my interaction with the big, burly truck drivers who delivered the paper because she thought they were ‘too scruffy, too dangerous, too tough.’ But after my house burned down, the truck drivers got together and bought me a winter coat. They knew more about what was going on with me than my manager did. That experience also taught me to reach out when people are going through horrendous times. Every time an employee has a fire or is battling cancer, I reach out by sending a care package or note.
My Values
“My life purpose is to make a positive difference by fighting for a good cause. For example, Southwest Airlines is a cause. We did something no airline has ever done. In 1971, when flying was for the elite, we wanted to open up the skies to everyone. We believed flying could be fun. Only 13 percent of Americans were flying regularly when we started; today, 97 percent are. We got people flying with low fares at night and on weekends. My values actually mirror Southwest’s values. Every day I want to show a servant heart, demonstrate a warrior spirit, and project a fun, loving attitude. The warrior spirit value plays out in my passion for causes and people.
“As I said, my mom had a tremendous impact on my values, particularly her hard work and do-unto-others philosophy. Mom encouraged me to believe I could do anything I wanted to do and that in the process I would make a positive difference. She believed that I could be whatever I wanted to be if I worked hard. I share her values of hard work and determination, patience and tolerance.
“I believe that in leading and motivating people, you treat them with respect, practice the Golden Rule, suspend judgment, and love people for who they are. I also believe in teaming, which translates into my desire to be inclusive and egalitarian.
What You Can Expect from Me
“I will set an example for you by following our philosophy of leadership at Southwest Airlines: Treat your people right, and good things will happen. I will do my best to be a servant leader who ensures that you have a good, strong work environment and the tools to do your jobs. I will do my best to ensure that you feel loved, appreciated, and supported so that you can in turn share that same warmth, caring, and fun spirit with our passengers.
“I think if you were to talk to any of my people they would tell you, ‘She’s a bottom-line-oriented person, and she’s always going to tell you what she thinks. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to hear it.’ That doesn’t bother me because I want people to expect that from me. I do have a few nicknames; one of them is ‘Mom.’ I think people know I will be there for them; I’m their biggest supporter; I believe in them and trust them; I won’t judge them. But it goes both ways.
What I Expect from You
“I won’t expect you to do anything I won’t do myself. I expect a give-and-take relationship. We both need to give back when it’s needed.
“I learned about the beauty of give-and-take relationships from my mentor, Herb Kelleher. When I was a young secretary, we had a mailer that had to get out. Everything that could go wrong with it went wrong. It had to be in the mail the next day, but the print machine broke down and the postage was somehow wrong. All the envelopes had to be stuffed and retyped—and this was back when you couldn’t just push a button and it would happen. It was 8:00 at night, and we had to start all over. Herb sat right there with me until 4:00 in the morning, on the floor, licking envelopes and putting stamps on them, because we didn’t have a postage machine. I’ll never forget it. He could have thought it was my fault that the mailing had gone wrong, but he didn’t. He just jumped right in there with me. That was a valuable lesson for me about leading and motivating people and how important it was to work side by side with the people you lead.
“I also expect open communication. I don’t like surprises. I like to hear bad news first so we can fix the situation. If I don’t hear about it, we can’t fix it. I want you to see problems, use good judgment, and bring me solutions. I believe in absolute truthfulness. And I want passion; I want you to believe in what you do and to care.
“I want all decisions to be made from a servant’s heart. After all, Southwest is in the customer service business. We just happen to provide airline transportation. So if people don’t want to serve others, they’re not bad people—but they don’t belong at Southwest Airlines. For example, we have pilots who have paid for hotel rooms for passengers without money who had to get off at different cities than they’d intended for the night. The pilots don’t call and ask, ‘Is it okay? Will I get reimbursed?’ They do these things because that’s the kind of people they are. They are generous and open-hearted. They are there to serve others.”
Become a Higher Level Leader
A leadership point of view is intended to capture your voice. It is a signature. It is designed to help you claim and share your unique perspective on leadership. How you tell your story may look like the above examples or be totally different. The goal is to reflect and share how you want people to experience you as a leader so that you are more connected and effective.
In writing Leading at a Higher Level, we’ve done our best to give you the leadership point of view that we have been developing over the last forty years. So, as you develop your own leadership point of view, don’t be hard on yourself. This might be your first time thinking about your beliefs about leading and motivating people. Feel free to incorporate any of the ideas you have learned in these pages.
The world needs more leaders who are leading at a higher level. As we said in the introduction, our dream is that someday everyone will work with leaders who are leading at a higher level. We dream of the day when self-serving leaders are history, and leaders serving others are the rule, not the exception.
You can be a leader who makes a positive difference on our planet, so go out and do it! We’re counting on you.