Leaders- all of us have been one, been led by one or
wanted to be one. Massive amounts of literature have been written about this
very topic. Yet, why is finding great leaders so difficult? Why is being a
great leader challenging at times as well? I am the typical type A personality
which makes me a natural born leader or well at least gives me the desire to
lead in almost any situation- needless to say I like to be “large and in charge”.
But having the desire to lead and even a few of the conventional characteristics
leaders typically display doesn’t necessarily make one a great leader. Paul
Johnson, a British historian and author, described a few essential traits of
leadership in his 2005 Forbes article
“Five Marks of a Great Leader”. In his article he discussed five key elements
that I believe are essential in becoming a great leader. Moral courage,
judgement, a sense of priority, the disposal and concentration of effort and a
sense of humor are all traits Johnson describes as indispensable when in
leadership.
Moral courage and judgement seem to be two of those
attributes that are becoming a rarity these days. Decisions are made based on
profit margins and the attempt to placate everyone you are in bed with in business.
And while working to please stockholders and customers are certainly important,
when you have to compromise your ethics and morality, it comes with a high price.
There are boundless examples of a lapse in moral judgement costing
organizations and the leaders who made those lapses in judgement enormous
losses. A couple of examples in healthcare are the 2015 Turing Pharmaceuticals
scandal in which CEO Martin Shkreli jacked up the price of HIV/AIDS medication
Daraprim® over 4,000 percent. Mylan Pharmaceuticals followed suit in 2016 with
a 400 percent increase in its product EpiPen®. These leaders chose to put
profit over moral courage and sound judgement. Their organizations paid the
price through massive public relations scandals. Shkreli eventually resigned amidst
legal troubles. Heather Bresch, Mylan CEO, who is no stranger to questionable
ethics, is still employed with Mylan and continues to defend her decision. As
this scenario continues to play out, I think Mylan will find it will cost them
in profit margins as consumers figure out alternative solutions to the EpiPen®.
In healthcare, it never looks good to put profit over patient care. While there
may be a great deal more involved in why those decisions are made than the
public will understand, it’s hard to explain a 671 percent increase in your
salary (NBC News, August 2016) while you massively increase drug prices to patients.
Bottom line- moral courage and judgement matters. As a leader you want your
employees to know you are leading with a sound moral compass. When they know
you are willing to do the right thing, even when it’s difficult, it will
instill a sense of loyalty that money cannot buy.
Great leaders also have a sense of priority. They
know how to categorize their workload and business ventures in order to
maximize their efforts. They also learn
not to sweat the small stuff. You have to be able to remain focused on the vision.
You can’t get bogged down in every minor issue that comes up. You have to trust
your people to do their jobs and go about the business of pushing the
organization forward in order to achieve its vision.
The disposal and concentation of effort is a vital
leadership skill. I love the example Johnson uses of him asking Winston Churchill
what he attributed his success in life to. Churchill answered “Conservation of
energy. Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can
lie down”. It’s a great example of the “work smarter, not harder” mantra. As a
busy working mother of four children, even with two of them being grown, I have
to stay organized and prioritize all that is required of me. I have a large
personalized paper calendar where I track my boys’ activities, work schedule,
graduate school requirements, social calendar and church activities for all. I
use my iPhone calendar as an alert to when each of these are coming up in my
day. But for planning purposes and time allocation, the paper calendar is my
lifeline. I have a running To-Do list for work where I prioritize the tasks I
need to accomplish. Each week this list is refreshed. These are just a few of
the ways I try to maximize my disposal and concentration of efforts.
The last characteristic is one I think we could all
use a lot more of- humor. The ability to laugh at oneself is immensely valuable
as a leader. Too many leaders take themselves far too seriously. In Forbes 2013 article “10 Reasons Why Humor
is the Key to Success at Work”, the author mentions Michael Kerr’s book “The
Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses are Laughing All the Way to the Bank”
(December, 2013) and how “In
workplaces that encourage people to be themselves–that are less hierarchical
and more innovative–people tend to be more open with their humor,” he says.
“Even people who aren’t always comfortable sharing their humor tend to do so in
more relaxed environments where the use of humor becomes second nature with
everyone’s style.” This open and relaxed atmosphere can foster an
environment where employees feel more comfortable sharing ideas and less fear
about making mistakes. As a leader, if I can admit my mess-ups, laugh at them,
learn from them then move forward, I am creating an atmosphere ripe for growth.
Leaders who take themselves far too seriously seem less approachable. Johnson references
the great humor of Presidents Lincoln and Reagan as great leaders who used
humor as a part of their leadership style.
In conclusion, the real
lesson found in each of these leadership characteristics is employees want
their leaders to be strong and competent but they also want them to appear and
feel human. It’s hard to muster up motivation to follow someone who seems cold
and distant or whose moral compass is called into question. People are looking
for leaders to follow. The question is
can you be that leader? Can I be that leader?
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