Three basics of leading
by Miki SaxonI thought I’d share my two favorite quotes from an interview with Anthony Smith, author of The Taboos of Leadership, because they so neatly demonstrate what I see as the three keys to recognizing a leader.
“Have you encountered CEOs who claim they would be doing what they’re doing for no pay because they love it so much?
Absolutely. John Mackey, who founded Whole Foods (WFMI), for example, is so passionate that he told shareholders to pay him one dollar a year and that he’d use his stock options to benefit causes the company was committed to. He’d already made his money; It was no longer an issue. At the peak of his earnings, he requested that he receive no more than 14 times his average worker’s pay. Patagonia’s former CEO Michael Crooke has done somewhat the same thing.
A number of CEOs I’ve worked with might even pay to be able to do what they’re doing because they love it so much. The difference between them and “cause-driven” CEOs is that some of them aren’t willing to go public with this philosophy. Regardless, they continue to draw a paycheck primarily to support their worthwhile causes.”
“Can leadership be taught?
Leadership can only be practiced—it’s the process by which an individual pursues a vision and intentionally seeks to influence others to perform various jobs to their full potential, for as long as possible, to realize that vision. The way people tend to become leaders is that they have successfully practiced leadership over time and done it effectively.
If managers are getting people to do their jobs to their full potential, day in and day out, they are vastly increasing their firm’s probability of creating a successful enterprise. Individuals who can do that, even from the early stages of their careers, are successfully practicing leadership.”
That’s it. Your food for thought on a Friday afternoon, the three basics of leading
- passion—you don’t have to forgo your salary to prove passion, but don’t think that you can fake it for the troops, they aren’t stupid and they’ll always see through you;
- influence—don’t order or force, as my all-time favorite leadership quote says, “To lead the people, walk behind them.” —Lao Tzu; and
- DO—as Eliza Doolittle so eloquently says, “Sing me no song! Read me no rhyme! Don’t waste my time, Show me!…”Show me now!”
October 20th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Leadership is definitely action. You have to practice leadership and you have to “show” those who follow your leadership. Passion is a critical element. If you lack passion, you lack the emphasis and drive to excel; your lack of passion will harm your influence.
v/r
Jon
Leadership Jot
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:01 am
[…] Miki Saxon of Leadership Turn talks about three things that are simple, but are key to practicing leadership. Three Basics of Leading […]
October 25th, 2007 at 7:10 am
While I understand the gist of what Anthony is saying about “leadership can only be practiced.” There is still elements that can be taught.
It brings to mind the saying, “Practice makes perfect, but practicing the wrong thing will make you perfectly wrong.” Without knowing the steps you need to take to improve, how is a person to know what to practice? Your Eliza Doolittle quote ends with “Show me now.” That implies teaching. Then we can know what to practice.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Whoops, I just realized that I didn’t respond to Jim (my system crashed and I’m still cleaning up the aftermath), my apologies.
Regarding “Show me now” referring to teaching, it doesn’t. If you follow the link you’ll see that Eliza is complaining that all Freddie does is talk about his love, but does nothingto show her how he feels. She says, “Don’t talk of stars Burning above; If you’re in love, Show me!” She wants action, not words.
I agree that one doesn’t want to practice the wrong thing, but right and wrong aren’t absolutes, so even something right that’s been taught can be wrong in certain situations.