Real Leaders Don't Boss (16 page)

 Chapter 3 
Real Leaders Communicate

Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.

—Charles Dickens

The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important ingredients for a real leader. Yet true and honest communication has fast become a lost art in today's digital age. Instead, it has been replaced by high-tech devices and third-party mouthpieces that actually derail real interaction, and fuel the demise of communication. How many CEOs—or anyone else, for that matter—write for themselves, or make time for face-to-face contact with subordinates or even an old-fashioned telephone call? Even if CEOs do meet with employees and managers, how many actually listen? The answer today is not many.

In our global, plugged-in, tuned-in, digital age, face time may seem a bit unwieldy. However, face-to-face meetings as well as communiqués and speeches written firsthand are proven techniques for effective communication by real leaders.

This is the “e-age” for communication: we have software templates, texting and instant messaging technologies, ghostwriters, PR experts, and downsizing experts all acting in the name of time-saving efficiencies. Even multi-million-dollar deals come down to back-and-forth texting between executives, with the lawyers and accountants left to work out the details later.

These days, a top-level executive may have occasional meetings or even regularly scheduled get-togethers with high-level staff to discuss company matters. But in how many of those meetings does he or she give undivided attention or demonstrate a genuine interest about what's being said? Not many. And, when it comes to a CEO actually writing his or her own communications, you would be hard-pressed trying to find one. Again, bosses are many; leaders are few.

Using all stand-in communication is wrong, as is using all digital—whether it is talk, Tweets, blogs, video-conferencing, or statements written by third parties. Although plenty of top executives have the requisite blogs, and still more Tweet, few write their own content, whether it's blogs, Webpage greetings, presentations, letters to the editor, or messages to shareholders. Today's executives rely too often on their in-house or outsourced public relations team, legal department, administrative assistants, or external consultants to draft their formal documents as well as their brief notes. According to London's
Financial Times
international poll of 750 executive bloggers, only two of 10 senior business executives actually write their own blog posts.
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Noel M. Tichy, noted author, professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and former director of the GE Leadership Development Center in Crotonville, paints an even more dismal picture of today's communication disconnect: “Ninety percent of CEOs have someone else write for them.”
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Relying on
the excuse “I'm too busy,” or perhaps “I'm too important,” the corporate world has lost the art of communication.

Not every chief executive subscribes to the philosophy of diminished discussion. Some strive for more, even though this often involves herculean, time-consuming efforts on their part. Blaise Simqu of Sage Publications is a chief executive who regularly connects with the people in his organization—no matter where they are. A firm believer in personally modeling the behavior he expects from his employees, Simqu also recognizes the importance of being home on weekends with his family. That is a real leader. Who would not want to work for a leader who preaches and practices balance for himself and his associates?

In the public sector, where real talk is rare, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held his first press conference on April 27, 2011. Actually it was the
first ever
press conference by a Federal Reserve chairman. Bernanke may not have said anything new in his landmark appearance, but it was an unprecedented step toward more communication, not less.

Whether or not an executive believes in real communication, it can and does net important results. If you communicate and connect with employees, no matter how volatile an issue or situation, any confrontation is manageable, and outcomes will be more successful.

Make the effort to know your audience, the competition, and your adversaries, and outcomes likely will be more consistent and predictable. Robert Laverty, former president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital System based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was never arrogant or cruel, but always modest. He was self-confident without being cocky, and he not only knew
how to connect, but he also understood the value of communication. I worked with him, and one late afternoon at the hospital, I met with him just prior to a meeting he had scheduled with the medical staff. The meeting was to discuss an important strategic opportunity for the hospital, and Laverty wanted medical staff support for the plan. Up until that point, doctors had indicated their concern about the pace of change—too much new building and too many plans to build new facilities and establish new programs. I asked Laverty if he was worried about his ability to persuade the medical staff to embrace his plan. He responded, “If I can't convince them, I don't deserve to be in this job.”

Laverty knew that the impending discussions would likely be heated, but he also understood how to communicate and connect with physicians. He knew he could deliver. A master communicator, he prevailed in that meeting. The hospital's medical staff embraced the changes, and Laverty, the medical staff, the hospital, and the community ended up winning with the resulting expansion plans.

Bob Laverty exhibited leadership traits that are the lore of management books. He had an incomparable ability to conceive and articulate a vision. He could “see” into the future of the organization and plan effectively to succeed in that future. And, he knew how to charm others into pursuing his visions. He understood that no vision will reach fruition if it is not shared and owned by the team charged with executing it.

Laverty also understood what management gurus such as W. Edwards Deming and Sakichi Toyoda knew: the importance of management by literally walking around. I recall clearly the first time he suggested I accompany him to one of the patient floors in the hospital. He was the first CEO who taught me the importance of visiting the patient units at different times of the day and night to get to know the staff, to better understand
their challenges and the special calling inherent in working in a healthcare setting. In many ways, he understood both patient and staff needs and how best to meet them. The esteemed Northwestern University professor Phillip Kotler would surely have called him one of the best marketers in the entire healthcare field as Laverty understood both the art and science of the profession.

Another superb communicator and leader I encountered during my first years in Ann Arbor was the vice president of academic affairs at the University of Michigan, Allan Smith. I probably learned more from him than anyone else I have ever worked for. He was genuine, humble, and unpretentious, and he always had time for others. My first encounter with him is a testament to that.

Shortly after arriving at the University of Michigan to pursue my doctoral degree, my wife, Joan, and I were walking across Regents Plaza in front of the administration building as Smith and university president Robben Fleming walked out. At the time, we had no idea who they were. We must have appeared lost because both men smiled at us, stopped to introduce themselves, and asked us if they could help us. After I introduced myself as a doctoral student who had just arrived from Pomona College in Claremont, California, Smith offered to meet with me in his office to see if he could be of any help. It didn't matter that we were strangers; this real leader openly and without hesitancy took the time and offered to make more time for someone else. From that chance encounter, I spent the next year as a staff assistant to Smith.

I received a priceless education observing how a great leader has extreme patience. Despite a blistering schedule, Smith always made time for those who sought his counsel. He literally gave 100 percent of his attention to the person or persons he was with at the time. No matter what, he never became angry
or vindictive; he never appeared ruffled and was always genuinely pleasant, polite, and kind. He could and did charm everyone with this incredible warmth, intelligence, and undivided attention.

As Smith, Fleming, Laverty, and other real leaders understand, real leadership requires real, live communication, not the texted, Tweeted, or e-mailed thoughts, words, or interpretations by someone else in your name. An e-communication is often necessary, but expressing your own thoughts and ideas in face-to-face, honest, two-way talk—body language and all—overshadows its poor unemotional cousin.

Former Dow employee Jerry Benson related the following anecdote from his tenure at Dow Chemical: “Leland Doan, as president of Dow Chemical, when he would walk by a management employee in the hallway, would often ask, ‘How's business today?'” That simple question, posed in a casual way, forced the employee to measure his or her current situation in terms of both past and future goals. More important, coming from the company's leader, the question reinforced a personal connection and commitment on the part of the leader as well as the employee. It's a great question to ask yourself daily—and those around you if you are in a leadership role.

Real leaders author their own thoughts. Sure, they may have a bit of help from an assistant or a PR expert to refine their work, but the thoughts, direction, approach, and attitude of real leaders belong to them. They write their messages, period. Admiral Zumwalt may not have written the final copy for his “Z-grams,” but you can bet that he had plenty of input on the ideas, approach, and attitude expressed in each of them.

Consider a few advantages for someone in a leadership role writing his or her own communications:

CEOs formulate and chart strategic direction for an organization. Translating those thoughts into writing or organizing them for personal interaction sharpens their focus, lessens confusion and rework, increases the trust of others, inspires followership, and improves outcomes.

Putting thoughts in writing forces leaders to be clear, concise, and cogent. Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Colin Powell said: “Successful leaders know how to define their mission, convey it to their subordinates....”
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