July/August 1998
It´s Simple: People First
A new model of leadership is emerging -- one that is based on teamwork, community, and ethics. In 1970, Robert Greenleaf first published his now-classic essay, "The Servant as Leader." In it, Greenleaf distinguishes between "people-using" institutions and "people-building" institutions. People-building institutions, he says, are those with cultures that firmly place people first. Greenleaf understood that the hierarchical face of business had to change. People crave a culture where individuals truly care for each other, where people are treated respectfully and encouraged in their personal growth, where customers and workers are treated fairly, and where leaders are trusted to serve the needs of the majority, rather than a select few. Greenleaf was a visionary and a true hero in this Duck´s® eyes. This issue of Duck Tales is dedicated to the wisdom of servant-leadership and putting people first. Qualities of a Servant-Leader
Servant-leadership "begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first," wrote Greenleaf. Next, the person consciously aspires to lead. The servant-leader ensures that other people´s needs are served. A test is whether those being served grow as persons -- whether they become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely to become servants themselves. Servant-leadership, a long-term approach to work and life, has great potential for creating positive, lasting change. Larry C. Spears, Executive Director of The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership, identifies several characteristics of servant-leaders: Listening. Servant-leaders aspire to listen carefully to what is being said and what is not being said. They seek to identify the will of the group through active, nonjudgmental listening.
Awareness. Servant-leaders are committed to awareness of others and of themselves. Awareness brings greater understanding, particularly to issues involving ethics and values.
Persuasion. Rather than coercing others into compliance, servant-leaders use their persuasive skills to convince others and build consensus within groups.
Commitment to personal growth. Servant-leaders understand that people have a value beyond their role at work. They are committed to helping employees grow personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Community building. Servant-leaders strive to build community with their associates. Underneath it all, people want to live and work in a community where they feel appreciated and valued and where the golden rule -- treating others as you want to be treated -- is a way of life. Lessons From a Horse Trainer
What can corporate America learn from a kind-hearted horse trainer? Plenty, provided he´s Monty Roberts, author of The Man Who Listens to Horses and inspiration for the movie The Horse Whisperer. Roberts has his own style of getting horses to accept a saddle and rider. Traditional trainers break the horse´s spirit, whipping and tying the animal. Roberts, however, builds an environment of trust and respect. Years ago, the 13-year-old Roberts went to study herds of wild mustangs in the Nevada high country. He decoded the body language that mares use to discipline their young colts. When displeased with an unruly colt´s behavior, the mare will lock her eyes onto him like a predator, and angle her body away to indicate forgiveness. When training horses, Roberts uses the same body language. He can get an unbroken horse to accept a rider in as few as 33 minutes, whereas traditional training methods can take months or even years. Roberts describes his philosophy: "No one can push information into an unwilling brain. There´s no such thing as teaching. Only learning." And what works for the horse works for the person. Managers get more out of people by winning them over than by ordering them around or using fear as a motivator. Workers are motivated by rewards and praise, not criticism. Roberts, who hosts demonstrations of his horse training for business executives, urges leaders to give employees more autonomy. If someone misses a goal, for example, don´t reprimand the person. Instead, ask what he or she could do differently. The goal is to get people thinking and learning, not just blindly following directives. Be a Leader -- Be Yourself
Talented leaders come in many personality types," say Stuart Levine and Michael Crom, authors of The Leader in You. "They are loud or quiet, funny or severe, tough or gentle, boisterous or shy. They come from all ages, any race, both sexes, and every kind of group there is." Anyone can be a leader. The trick is not to identify a leader and then model yourself after him or her, but to make the best use of your own personality and nurture those qualities inside you that can make you a leader. Here´s how: Determine your personal strengths. Ask yourself what traits of your personality can be turned into leadership qualities. Do you have an ability to anticipate change? A talent for organization? Do you have a great imagination? An eye for detail? A positive attitude? Are you enthusiastic? Persistent? Whatever strengths you find within yourself, let them blossom.
Develop your own standards, and stick to them. When you have reached the goals you have set for yourself, take a moment to recognize your achievement and take pride in it. Your ability to stick to your standards is what integrity -- and good leadership -- is all about.
Have confidence in yourself. Your strengths may be different than someone else´s, but that doesn´t suggest either one of you has a weakness. What it does mean is that your abilities can complement those of others and thus are invaluable. Traditions You Can Manage Without
There are some traditions today´s managers can do without, according to Dr. Wolf Rinke, author of Winning Management. To maximize performance, you must break free from an old-fashioned management mind-set and adopt a new, winning approach, says Rinke. Here´s how:
(1) Traditional managers view themselves as bosses or even watchdogs. Winning managers see themselves as coaches or team leaders.
(2) Traditional managers see employees as subordinates. Winning managers see them as team members.
(3) Traditional managers adhere to the chain of command. Winning managers ask the most qualified person -- regardless of title -- to get the job done.
(4) Traditional managers usually make decisions on their own. Winning managers seek advice and input from a number of people and then rely on the group to make a decision.
(5) Traditional managers are experts in one field, such as finance. Winning managers are experts in many fields.
(6) Traditional managers demand long hours. Winning managers demand results.
(7) Traditional managers resist change and the associated chaos. Winning managers thrive on change and accept chaos. Learning From the Best
What´s the biggest predictor for corporate excellence? It´s not productivity or strategic planning or even sales. It´s people. General Electric CEO Jack Welch says his "whole job is picking the right people." In fact, Welch interviews all candidates for the top 500 jobs at GE. Although few executives go that far, the world´s most admired companies do include the following rules when hiring new employees: Leaders take their mission statements seriously. Mission statements aren´t there to impress; they´re there to keep everybody striving for the same goals. A lot of companies say they want global thinkers but Procter & Gamble backs up its words; half of all senior managers at its U.S. company are non-Americans.
Quality attracts quality. If you want to hire the best and brightest, be the best at what you do. Your company´s success will attract the best people.
Career development is considered an investment. To retain the top people, you´ve got to keep them interested and learning. In 1996, Intel spent 6 percent of its payroll on its in-house university, where all senior managers must teach a course.
They promote from within whenever possible. Successful companies hire people for a career, not for a single job. Citibank has an inventory program that tracks the skills of its 10,000 employees-how the employees are doing, what skills they need to enhance, and where else in the company they might work well. Blind Faith
In 1914, an English explorer loaded a sturdy boat with men, supplies, dogs, sleds, and food. Ernest Shackleton wanted to be the first person to cross Antarctica by foot. But Shackleton never made it to the coastline. His boat became trapped in ice about 100 miles from Antarctica. The men unloaded their equipment and watched as the ice slowly crushed their vessel. Dragging their life boats and supplies along shifting ice, the men headed for land. They slept on the ice, battling frost bite, depression, and hunger. In a year, they reached an uninhabited island, where Shackleton and five of his strongest men got into a life boat. They sailed 1,000 miles in the world´s stormiest seas, and, against all odds, came upon the same small sealing station that they had left nearly two years before. But as luck had it, they shipwrecked on the wrong side of the island; a 4,000 foot mountain of ice lay between them and the station. Shackleton and two men began climbing the icy ridge. When they finally reached the top, Shackleton felt himself getting sleepy and knew hypothermia was setting in. He sat down on the ice and had the others sit behind him, each holding on to the man directly in front. Without a word, the human toboggan went sliding down the mountain into the blackness. After 1,000 feet, the snow leveled off and the men walked 12 hours before reaching the encampment. Their ordeal was over. The men on the island were rescued a month later; not a single man had perished. When you find yourself exhausted on top of what feels like an icy precipice, when you see only blackness before you, reach out to those close to you, plunge forward, and trust that all will be well. Sincerely, your Friend
Manco T. Duck
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