11. Shared Leadership

The next day the warehouse buzzed with excitement and anticipation. People talked in animated clusters over breakfast. Alex limped around on his crutches, listening to their conversations. He sensed people’s excitement—now he would ask for their commitment. All of this enthusiasm was about to go to work!

CEO Dan Meyers stepped up to the microphone. “Today we will set shared goals for the company. This means we all share in the leadership of the company. Speaking for myself, this will be the first time I have been part of an opportunity exactly like this. I know that you may have some reservations about what we will accomplish and what can truly change. I personally believe we have a great future together, one where everyone can give his or her best, and we can create benefits for ourselves, our customers, and really, everyone we touch. I invite you to suspend your judgments and join me. Focus on your strengths, our new possibilities, and how we can make a difference together.”

Dan turned the attentive audience over to Kevin Jordan, who announced the agenda and process for the day. Beckley’s senior leadership team acted as facilitators, helping guide people together into predesigned small teams within designated areas of the open warehouse space. Each team space included a circle of chairs and large, movable whiteboards that functioned doubly as writing space and as walls between the teams. While on the previous day people had been situated in cross-functional teams made up of those who didn’t always get a chance to work together, today they were organized by function, with their usual teammates. Day one of the off-site had been a refreshing change, and now, rejoining with their normal work groups, they felt renewed energy gained from a sense of new purpose, possibility, and perspective.

But to keep the cross-fertilization going, teams were placed strategically next to other teams to allow for occasional cross-functional collaboration. In particular, Alex made sure that Marketing’s circle of chairs was right beside Research and Development’s.

Above the marketing team, fluorescent lights hummed. A dozen people sat on black folding chairs arranged in a circle. The task was to consider the Greater Goal, develop supporting strategies, and design shared goals that included partnership with other functions to achieve them. Angel Cabre called the rowdy team to order.

“We must be in marketing heaven,” she began. “We have the whole company joining us in focusing on a great big, really cool, marketable Greater Goal.” Her arms waved in circles as she spoke, gradually spreading wider until she nearly hit the teammate sitting next to her. Laughter rose to the rafters.

“This is our chance to shine.” She paused as the lights above them flickered momentarily. “Alex challenged us to create shared goals with other departments. Frankly, we have a bad track record with them.” Angel gestured to the circle of people on the other side of the whiteboard—Research and Development.

“But we are joined at the hip with them in a lot of ways,” she admitted. “We are both tuned into the ‘voice of the consumer,’ at least we should be. We listen for how to market while R&D listens to know what to develop. We both need to listen and then work together. So maybe we start by setting our own goals and then craft some shared goals to discuss with Research and Development. Can we do that?”

“I am skeptical that we can get to a better place with R&D,” Sean Mallory interposed. “Someone in R&D will have a great idea, the team will research it on their own and develop a product, and a ton of support and energy will grow around it. The problem is that there may not be a real market for it. But the company produces it anyway, and then—ta-da!—we have another struggling product.”

“So what do we need to do differently, Sean?”

“We need a real partnership,” Sean said. “And I guess I’m willing to try.”

And so they did.

Meanwhile, the research and development team was having a similar discussion as they worked on their goals, occasionally shooting glances at the marketing team.

By the midmorning break, both teams had finished their work. When they returned from the break, they combined all the chairs into one circle. Quinn joined them for the combined session, asking them to sit so that each team had people in every other chair around the circle. Alex sat nearby on wheels.

Each team was ready with a goal list on a PowerPoint slide. The research and development team projected their list first, and R&D’s leader, Dr. Stan Ralston, read each bullet aloud. Angel did the same for the marketing team’s list. As each point materialized on the screen, Alex heard some mutterings of “oh” and “huh” and “cool” from around the circle. A number of items from both lists were practically identical, even if the words were a little different. The statements were phrased as critical success factors or guiding principles. Each represented an important goal requiring shared commitment. Examples included

• New products must be driven by the genuine verified needs of our customers.

• Our customers are also looking to us for exciting new technology solutions that they may not even know they need yet. We must lead.

• We want to involve opinion-leader customers who have a sense of where the marketplace is going, not where it has been.

• As we step outside our core competencies, we must look for partners who can join us.

• We must build on our familiar, existing product platforms that customers love but also introduce innovative, new technologies on top of those platforms.

• We need to reinforce our brand but also introduce new products.

• We want to work with our Beckley counterparts in a better way.

• We must care for our customers’ customers—the clinical caregivers’ patients and their families—by providing products and services that delight them.

Angel typed up a slide combining the goals of both departments while the teams watched her work projected on the wall.

“Observations?” Quinn asked, looking around the circle. Several mouths were open and eyebrows rose in mild astonishment.

“It seems like…” Sean began, “like we agree on what success really looks like. I can’t believe that they developed that list,” he said half in jest.

“Well, I can’t believe you developed that list,” someone said from Research and Development in a mock aggressive reply. “Ha! Were you spying on us?” Now laughter broke out.

“It does look like each team could have made up the other’s list,” Angel said. “How about that?”

“So let’s start drafting shared goals,” Quinn encouraged.

Quinn doodled in front of the team. “Here’s to supporting our customers together.”

The teams brainstormed about what customers valued and what actions they could take together. They drafted a list of shared goals and what requests and offers needed to be made between the departments. Each team member made individual commitments to the shared goals in writing.

Next, Alex rolled to the finance team at Nate’s request. To his surprise, Nate opened the conversation by saying, “I hope our president will lead us through this morning’s exercise.”

Alex stared back at him quizzically. In the circle of chairs, no one moved.

Nate then said, “Just kidding,” and started the meeting. The team relaxed, but Alex did not. Alex sat through the session with increasing concern. At lunch, Alex talked with Nate and Dan Myers together.

“Nate,” Alex said, “I am getting the feeling that you don’t want to be here today.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

Dan leaned in close. “Nate.” He said the name softly. “This can be the beginning of a real change at Beckley. It’s a chance for us to lead in a new direction. If you can’t support the direction, you and Alex must have a harder conversation.”

“Fair enough, Dan,” Nate said curtly. “I hear you.” With that he got up and walked away.

Alex turned to Dan, shaken.

“This could be good, Alex,” Dan assured. “Have that talk with Nate—sooner rather than later.”

After lunch, in amazingly short order, each and every department had created shared goals and even aligned key strategic initiatives with other departments and teams. Team members wrote individual action plans, which were, in turn, aligned to the Greater Goal. This was what Quinn called “shared leadership” in action!

The interlocking teams posted their proposed shared goals and initiatives on their movable whiteboards and briefed the entire assembly, answering questions and receiving advice. It was apparent from the presentations that relationships had been improved over the past two days. Further deliberations to solidify agreements regarding shared goals were conducted on the spot and decisions made with key stakeholders in the room. Shared goal “owners” voted to rank the importance, urgency, and impact of the proposed initiatives relative to achieving the Greater Goal. Initiatives that missed the mark in terms of reaching the Greater Goal, or that were in direct conflict with each other, were revised. The agreed-upon initiatives were ranked in order of impact for further action planning and resourcing.

Alex could hardly believe it. Within two days, they had gone from affirming a Greater Goal for Beckley Medical to creating genuine shared goals in pursuit of the Greater Goal. Quinn was right: this was a better way. Why did he not see this before? Maybe he had to see it to believe it—or believe it to see it.

At the end of the day, the original breakout teams reformed at each of the many workstations to formally “check out.” Each member got a chance to share her or his personal insights from the day and any words of appreciation.

Following the checkout, Alex gave his closing remarks and thank-yous, intending to close the session. But oddly, very few people left the building. They all knew that something remarkable had just occurred. They wanted to preserve and enjoy the moment. They continued milling around, looking at the initiative wall charts, and talking to each other, filling the room with cheerful noise.

In the back, one man, a production supervisor who had been with the company for years, grabbed a microphone. “I just wanted to say that I was thinking about retiring this year. But you know what? Ten thousand horses couldn’t drag me out of here.”

Others followed his lead and grabbed microphones. Comments and unscripted testimonies went on and on. At one point Alex anxiously looked over at Quinn for direction. Quinn simply mouthed the words “Just let it go.”

A full hour later, Alex succeeded in closing the session with a second round of thanks. He sought out Quinn in the thinning crowd.

“Oh my God” was all he could say to Quinn.

“You got that right,” Quinn responded.

On the other side of the room, Dan and Kevin were watching. Kevin leaned over to Dan with a sincere smile on his face and said, “Dan, this could be the beginning of a brand-new day for the company and for Alex.”

Dan thought about that for a minute and responded in a way that caught Kevin off guard. “Alex still has a long way to go. He recognizes what is needed. He has set the stage. The people in this company know what is important to achieve as a group. Now they need leaders who can show them how. Alex’s past habits may yet come back to derail him. These new goals—shared goals—they must be nurtured with a coach’s hand, not a controller’s. Alex has to take the initiative to serve this company in a new way.”

Alarmed, Kevin stepped back from Dan’s side and turned toward a window. Staring out into the distant Pittsburgh cityscape, he wondered aloud to Dan, “Do I understand you correctly that you don’t think he can do it?”

Dan replied, “That’s not it.” He pointed to the city skyline, which was partially obscured by the foggy day’s clouds. “None of us can see the path ahead with perfect vision. Alex must be resolute in helping us find clarity each day to guide us by our new North Star. He must show me that he can become a coach for his team. Otherwise, our goals will have been more clearly defined, but we will never reach them.”

With that, Dan turned from the window, leaving a troubled Kevin looking out toward the Steel Tower as the late afternoon sun burned the fog away. Perhaps this was a good sign.