Real Leaders Don't Boss (19 page)

Another leader who tackles his responsibilities with purposeful zeal and incredible passion that transfers to others is U.S. Senator Dan Coats, who has served in both the House of Representatives and Senate on and off for more than three decades. He's been honored for his impassioned leadership by various organizations. I ran head-on into that passion-inaction while working as head of marketing and public relations for Indiana University Medical Center and also serving on Sen. Coats's Naval Academy Selection Committee. Some Congressmen turn the military academies' selection process into something political or just another task that must be done—but not Sen. Coats. This was a responsibility handed to him by his position and entrusted to him by the voters in Indiana, and he was passionate that it be done right. He absolutely wanted to identify the most qualified and deserving candidates to attend the academies. That was the charge, and that's what we did under Coats's leadership.

Standout athletes personify the “belief” factor, and some become great leaders in the community and in business. Former
Boston Globe
assistant sports editor, and more recently retired
Ventura County Star
sports editor, Larry Ames singles out quarterback Doug Flutie as “the biggest leader on the field of play” that he has ever observed. Flutie was relatively small in stature, 5-feet, 9-inches tall, yet he was a mountain among others, on and off the field. He believed in himself, his athletic abilities, and his leadership capabilities. He took calculated gambles essential to his team's success, and he didn't waver. Ames recounts a bit about Flutie's resolve and skill:

Flutie...wasn't highly recruited (out of high school) and went to Boston College as a defensive back. Flutie went up to Boston College football coach Jack Bicknell and asked if he could be put on the quarterback depth chart if he had a strong showing in the annual Shriners' Football Classic being played at Boston College. Flutie performed well and Bicknell kept his promise, placing Flutie fourth on the quarterback depth chart.

In Flutie's freshman year, Boston College was struggling, as it usually did against Penn State. Already, two of the four BC quarterbacks had been injured and the third-string quarterback was performing poorly. Bicknell decided to give Flutie a chance. Flutie rallied BC for a touchdown before halftime and nearly pulled off the victory in the fourth period.

Flutie started every game for the rest of his career, winning the Heisman Trophy in his senior year.... Flutie became a Hall of Fame quarterback in the Canadian Football League and played for a few NFL teams before retiring at age 43 with the New England Patriots.

In the 2005 season finale against the Miami Dolphins, Flutie made a drop kick, the first in the NFL since 1941. It was a fitting ending to a storied career.
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Off the football field, Flutie is a real leader, too. He and his wife, Laurie, founded the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism after their son was diagnosed with the disease at age 3. The foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that provide services for children with autism and to organizations that conduct research on the causes and effects of autism. Since 1998, the Fluties have helped raise more than $11 million for autism.
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For some, passion is rooted in life's experiences. History is filled with stories about the kindling of a fervent flame—from the politician exposed to the plight of those less fortunate, to the college student encountering a professor who taps into something buried deep inside. Passion can be instilled at a young age, the result of parental modeling, and the discussions and decisions that shape a childhood environment. It is the same with other important lessons, such as the value of hard work and of not giving up in the face of adversity.

Leadership can be in the genes, too, waiting to be developed. For me, it started with the “family business.” My grandfather, father, and uncles were strong community leaders and instilled in me that sense of purpose. My mother was a schoolteacher and hospital volunteer who introduced me to the importance of looking deeper within the individual and treating everyone with respect. With those foundations, I was able to watch, listen, and learn from those around me; build on experiences from supervisors, leaders, fellow workers, and beyond; and develop the concept of a real leader. I had great teachers, too—role models who made a big difference in my life and in the lives of others. Even without parents or grandparents, uncles, or siblings as role models, it is possible to harness your passions, learn how to lead others, and then excel as a real leader.

Positive passion and commitment surround us every day in the form of teachers who care, nurses who go the extra mile, pastors who reach out, neighbors who want to make their community a better place to live, and other individuals who deeply care and willingly volunteer. Too little of this passion, though, translates into real leadership committed to helping companies, employees, and communities come out winners.

One leader who does fit the dynamic and whose corporate and civic accomplishments demonstrate his commitment is Limoneira's Edwards. His vision helped him lead his company back to its roots of stewardship of the land and the community. Working with Limoneira's rich assets and community buy-in, Limoneira is achieving an enviable sustainability—long-term success for all parties. “Part of sustainability is that you have to take care of your workforce. Our people are our great asset,” says Edwards. To that end, the company worked in partnership with its nearby community, Santa Paula, California, and developed a community master plan for growth and long-term success.
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Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004, and current president of the Rockefeller Foundation, is another great leader whose passion helps the world around her in lasting ways. “I believe for a university to be truly world class it needs to do great, visible things in its own backyard,” she said while still at Penn. Under her leadership and fueled by her passion, the university has become a beacon in its own backyard. Among her accomplishments was revitalization of the West Philadelphia neighborhood around the university. Rodin also oversaw a meteoric rise in student applications, research grants, new faculty, and fundraising as well as leaps in reputation—all major markers by which universities are measured.
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Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, had this to say about Rodin and her accomplishments at Pennsylvania:

At a time when many urban academic institutions raised fences and erected buildings with forbidding walls to protect their staff and students from encroaching crime, the University of Pennsylvania and President Judith Rodin questioned how this approach would benefit the institution in the long run. Rodin's account of the university's ground-breaking initiatives to embrace and reinvigorate the surrounding neighborhood shows how anchor institutions must operate in the 21st century if they are to remain competitive.
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When Steven Sample took over as president of the University of Southern California in 1991, the school was a sports giant, but its academic reputation didn't measure up to its athletic prowess. With legendary zeal and passion, he set about transforming the school into an equally strong academic institution. His efforts and success at doing so are renowned, as is the fact that he was a forerunner in forming alliances and partnerships with communities to revitalize neighborhoods around college campuses. Along the way, he teamed with leadership guru Warren Bennis to teach a course on leadership at the university, and together they coauthored
A Contrarian's Guide to Leadership
(Jossey-Bass, 2001). When announcing his plans to retire in August 2010, Sample said:

For Kathryn and me, the presidency of USC has been far more than just a job. It has been a calling, an all-consuming passion to move this university ahead farther and faster than any other university in the United States. We have been blessed to have pursued this mission in the company of many colleagues and friends who share our commitment to USC's advancement. Our years here have simply been exhilarating.
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Passion and commitment lead to transformation and excellence—one of the leadership lessons from Kenneth Beachler.
He is a former executive director of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University, and former vice chairman of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Beachler's leadership and inspiration—passion and commitment—were to bring serious, high-quality performing arts to central Michigan. He succeeded handsomely, under the leadership of President Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., by helping to highlight the need to construct a state-of-the-art performing arts facility on the campus of Michigan State University. Beachler, an actor, writer, and director of substantial stature in his own right, was unwavering in his goal, yet sensitive to the needs of the community. He realized the importance of building lasting relationships with the external community, for without them the popularity of the arts would wane over time. Instead, they grew in number year after year because of his ability to build important bridges with many diverse constituencies far beyond the boundaries of the campus. Beachler's influence was instrumental in keeping ticket prices reasonable so people of all income levels could experience top-quality performances.

As the actions of these individuals reflect, real leaders learn to express their passions in positive ways and to tap into the wants, hopes, and dreams of those around them. These are leaders who make indelible impressions on others, in their words and in their actions.

Real leadership takes guts—not the kind of guts that it takes to charge into gunfire, but the kind that makes someone stand up for his or her ideals and confront the challenges on the figurative battlefields of corporate and personal life. In the world of sports, the commonly used motivational admonition “no pain, no gain,” challenges athletes to reach a goal. In the military, soldiers say “no guts, no glory.” In both arenas, as in
business, maintaining a safe level of achievement is seldom the best option. This ability to make tough decisions despite the threat of alienating support can be learned and taught in business and in life.

In a recession or when a company is struggling, real leadership is not necessarily having the guts to lay off half your staff, either. It's more likely to be the intestinal fortitude for instituting painful, across-the-board pay cuts in order to retain an entire workforce through rocky economic times.

That's what Paul F. Levy did at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Though he ran into issues later in his tenure and resigned his post as CEO amid controversy in early 2011, many of the things he did as that organization's leader were admirable. At the height of the recession, Levy had the uncanny skill and the rare compassion to bring his medical and hospital staff together in a mutual sacrifice in order that fewer jobs should be cut. He had a bold vision for the medical center and dramatically enhanced its culture, reputation, and quality. Convincing doctors, nurses, and other staff to agree to pay cuts or smaller wage increases so the lowest wage earners in the hospital could keep their jobs is a remarkable feat of compassion and persuasion.

There are other gutsy leaders who understand the need for simple courage, and the willingness to stand up and make the tough decisions. These are our generations' profiles in workplace courage. A couple role models include:

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger. He made the courageous and controversial decision to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the school's New York City campus. A First Amendment scholar, Bollinger was severely criticized for the invitation and for his own remarks that day. But in listening to the Iranian
leader speak—whether one agreed with what he said or not—the world learned much more about him.

Jack Welch, former head of General Electric. He is a legendary leader for many reasons. One of his gutsiest moves was to jettison several of GE's businesses, though they were highly profitable. His decision was based, in part, on the fact that these divisions had little chance of ever being the best in their respective industries. This is a courageous example of streamlining a company into greatness.