Real Leaders Don't Boss (3 page)

Consider some of the facts and figures that, in part, reflect the shortcomings of leadership today:

Employee job satisfaction is at an all-time low. It's not a cyclical phenomenon or simply the result of downside economics. The numbers reflect a longtime downward spiral. Only 45 percent of American workers were satisfied in their jobs in 2009, according to a survey released last year by the Conference Board, a group of New York–based global researchers.
¹
That's down from 61 percent of
workers who were satisfied with their jobs in 1987, the year the survey began.

Talent—more specifically, leadership development—is among the major challenges cited by corporate chiefs today. That's according to “CEO Challenge 2011,” a survey of more than 700 CEOs, presidents, and chairmen of companies around the nation by the Conference Board. “CEOs selected the internally focused actions
of improving leadership development/grow talent internally, enhancing the effectiveness of the senior team, providing employee training and development
and
improving leadership succession
as the key strategies to address talent challenges,” the Conference Board said in April 2011, when it released its report.
²

Middle managers aren't happy with their bosses, either, according to an August 2009 report from McKinsey & Company and reported in its
McKinsey Quarterly
. Twenty percent of C-suite and senior executives and 30 percent of middle managers are not at all satisfied with their superiors' performance. That's indicative of “middle managers' overall lack of connection to their current companies,” the report said.
³

Discontent and disconnect brew elsewhere among middle managers. That same McKinsey survey shows:

Twenty-seven percent of middle managers say it's risky to their careers to speak up about difficult decisions when their point of view differs from that of more senior managers.

Only 36 percent of middle managers say they are very likely or extremely likely to remain with their current employer two years from now.

Huge numbers of top-level executives aren't satisfied with their own performance, especially when it comes to people skills. Only 26 percent of C-suite and senior executives and 17 percent of middle managers are very satisfied with their own overall performance.

No matter who is taking the surveys or keeping track, leadership is lacking. The resulting divide among workers and senior corporate officials has taken on crisis proportions, especially in light of poor economic conditions and the needed presence of leadership vision, guidance, and direction for any recovery.

General Motors, prior to its U.S. government bailout in 2009, was a prime example of leadership failure. The giant automaker was spiraling downward. For decades, its leadership had failed to heed warnings that its labor costs, vehicle quality, and gas-guzzling automobiles would have to change to remain competitive. The company's leadership was unwilling or unable to do something about the high costs of pensions and wages, nor did it improve vehicle quality and fuel efficiency. The buck stopped at the leadership level, and ultimately GM's leadership came up short. They did not react to the demands of the vicissitudes of fortune, and the company ended up on the brink of bankruptcy in 2009 until the U.S. government's controversial $50 billion bailout that stipulated a temporary majority ownership in the company. Whether or not anyone agrees with the bailout, and whatever GM's future, the company is much stronger today because of new leadership that is, at least, trying to connect with reality.

A leader is anyone in a decision-making capacity, formal or informal, who advances the strategic goals of the organization, who contributes mightily to institutional performance, and who treats people fairly, honestly, and compassionately. Real leadership goes well beyond that textbook definition, however. Real leaders create the right conditions for others to lead. They do that in part by personifying the Eight Essentials of Effective Leadership:

1. Real leaders don't boss. They are calm in their style, yet have zero tolerance for bullies, who, in any capacity, undermine performance and morale.

2. Real leaders have a central compass. They aspire to do what's right and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

3. Real leaders communicate with clarity, honesty, and directness, and know how to listen.

4. Real leaders have a unique make-up. Their passion translates into a strong corporate culture.

5. Real leaders value and support everyone they lead, out front as well as behind the scenes.

6. Real leaders know when to get out of the way.

7. Real leaders are accessible. They are humble and easily approached.

8. Real leaders know the difference between character and integrity, and why it takes both to succeed.

There are many “leaders” today who manifest some of these traits; a few demonstrate all of them. The great differentiator, though, is that real leaders embrace
all
of these principles
all
of the time. That's a truism whether it involves leaders in business, government, the military, or private life. In the following pages,
I'll talk in-depth about each of these attributes, what they mean, and how you, too, can learn to embrace them. Almost all of us have the potential to lead in some capacity; we simply need to learn how to allow that potential to surface.