What makes a leader?

John O. Burdett

High on any agenda - using a term coined by Warren Bennis - is that, "Leaders are dreamers with a deadline." One thinks immediately of John F. Kennedy. Authenticity and fairness loom large...Gandhi. Energy and passion are clearly essential...Teddy Roosevelt. Mental toughness is important... Margaret Thatcher. An ability to keep things simple has become an imperative...Michael Dell. And in a boundaryless world, the capacity to operate in different cultures cannot be ignored...Jorma Ollila. What makes a leader? It has been said that there is no such thing as a great leader, only those who rise to great challenges...Rudy Giuliani. One thing can be stated with certainty: leaders who sustain, those who make a lasting difference, those who take the team to the next level are leaders who, above all else, CARE!

Earn the right to lead

Leadership is about followship. Leadership is a sacred trust that has to be won every single day. People want to follow someone who is more than a figurehead, more than an instrument of shareholder value, more than the manifestation of a set of competencies. People want to follow a leader who cares. Not someone who cares one day and not the next. Not someone who cares for some people and not others. And not someone who thinks that they care. If you wear the mantle of leadership, people need to KNOW you care. To care is a deep-rooted, authentic, consistent way to be. Simply put: to lead is to care! Moreover, the greater the pool of knowledge that rests with those who do not control the budget, the greater the need for caring leadership.

Join the rhythm

To care is to act in tune with the rhythm of the market place. To care is to build comfort with a world that unfolds in unpredictable ways. It is to realize that there is no such thing as sustainable competitive advantage and that comfort in a "plan" is to be wedded to yesterday's solution. To care is to realize that the only thing that is unchanging is change itself and that victory is reserved for those who embrace and relish change. It is to work to become ever-more adaptable, flexible, and fleet of foot. It is to know that in a world where change is an ever-present reality, in-depth and/or extensive analysis is a luxury time rarely affords. To care is to discover new ways to learn. To care is to consistently learn faster than the competition. To care is to anticipate the worst thing the competition can do...and to do it first.

Build integrity

To care is to recognize that flair leads to the discovery of "the what," values underscore "the why," pragmatism orchestrates "the where," opportunity dictates "the when," but it is integrity that dictates "the how." Integrity is manifest in high ethical standards, and emphasis on individual responsibility and a respectful working environment. Honesty, transparency, moral courage, independence of judgment, impartiality and fairness are words that capture the spirit of integrity. Leadership without integrity is a broken promise.

Share "the dream"

To care is to dream. To care is to know that to lead is to compete for other people's dreams. To care is to make the future live in people's hearts. To care is to create tomorrow today. It is to know that only those who can see what isn't there can deliver what cannot be done. It is to realise that only when passion comes to the fore can the extraordinary become the norm. To care is to share that passion with others.

Embrace dignity

Caring is a quest that seeks to rid the workplace of work that strips people of dignity. Caring leads to the assumption that given the chance "people will get it right." Caring embraces freedom to act not simply as a means to improve productivity, but because it nurtures the human condition. Caring draws on the belief that people want to produce quality work. Caring builds on the knowledge that, given the opportunity, people will always strive to improve the processes that they influence. To care is to know that the greatest barriers to organizational success lie in the unnecessary rules and outdated procedures. To care is to confront those who seek to maintain their status and misplaced feelings of self-worth through the inappropriate use of power. To care is to let go!

Be a role model - let others grow

To care is to have a continuous drive for better results. It is to set and meet goals that others merely aspire to. This means that a commitment is absolute and that growth, in its many forms, is the wellspring of sustained success. To care is to have top of mind that what a leader does is far more important than anything he/she may say. To care is therefore to be always conscious of how even small acts will be interpreted. To care is to be a role model. To care is to challenge the status quo and  in doing so give others permission to explore new ways to act.

Dare to be the best

To care is to listen to the customer. To care is to gain insights into the customer's world. To care is to anticipate the customer's emerging needs. To care is to respond with not just a solution, but with the best possible solution. To care is to always deliver a little more than that agreed. To care is to question conventional wisdom, to embrace new ideas and to provide space and freedom in order that the imagination of those who serve the customer can take flight. To care is to nurture those who have the courage and daring to go where others have not walked. To care is to talk the customer's language. To care is to act on the belief that serving is more important than service. To care is to be optimistic. To care is to admit failure and move on.

Make the brand live

To care is to constantly challenge the organization's value proposition. To care is to believe in the brand. To care is to stand behind the brand. To care is to deliver on the promise implied by the brand. To care is to make the brand live not just in the customer's eyes, but also inside the organization. To care is to strip out the barriers between supplier and customer. To care is to know that to be a partner is to share information. To care is to keep the customer informed. To care is to know that to be a partner is to share information. To care is to provide real-time access to information that is critical to the customer's needs.

Build pride in the product (service)

To care is to have pride in the product and share the pride with others. To care is to know that issues such as product reliability are sacrosanct. To care is to bring integrity to the sales process and to honour the spirit...not just the letter of any consumer promises. To care is to continuously explore ways to enhance the utility of the company's product and/or service. To care is to ship on time...every time. To care is to make quality more important than price or profitability. To care is to act with the knowledge that reputation is hard won but easily lost.

Work collaboratively

To care is to be wedded to the belief that the collaborative efforts of people working together far outweigh the value of any individual. To care is thus to work collaboratively, to enrich global networks and actively share experiences to better satisfy the customer. To care is to act on the belief that the best "structure" reflects the way people would choose to work together were they given the opportunity to self-organize. In that the creativity of the human mind can always find ways to circumvent the unnecessary and the unwanted, to care is to know that even well meaning attempts to control others are always self-defeating. To care is to make processes as user friendly and non-bureaucratic as possible.

Be available and present

To care is to know that it takes courage to wear the mantle of leadership and humility to wear it wisely. To care is to have a teachable point of view. To care is to work on the assumption that how people learn is more important than what they learn. To care is to understand that language isn't important...language is everything. To care is to introduce new metaphors and create new maps. To care is to ask questions that allow others to see the world through a new lens. To care is to change the patterns of play. To care is to celebrate success. To care is to coach. To care is to find the time to be available and the state of mind to be present. To care is to be willing to have tough conversations. To care is to create the context such that people coach themselves. To care is to be a mentor. To care is to ask, "What do I need to do differently?" To care is to admit when you are wrong. To care is to share the prize. To care is to have a successor.

Build community

To care is to act on the belief that leadership is about building community. Community, in turn, speaks to how people share ideas. How they build on each other's success. How the spirit of competition urges people to the next plateau of performance. Caring is to emphasize that community is not about everyone being the same, but is a container for diversity. To care is to embrace diversity as a means to enrich the spirit of innovation. To care is know that the customer is part of a wider community. To care is to embrace that community when developing new products and services.

Strive for simplicity

To care is to constantly seek ways to simplify. For those who care, simplicity is found in easy to understand goals; policies and procedures that describe only that which are absolutely necessary; and feedback that focuses on issues that the receiver can influence. Simplicity is found in a passion to tear down hierarchy and strip out boundaries that limit what is possible. Simplicity is realized when the customer finds the product/service easy to access and easy to use. To care is to understand that simplicity is, in the first instance, a state of mind. To care is to know that there is a world of difference between simplicity and simplistic. One is to strive for elegant solutions. The other is to create a simple product/service but in doing so forgo fitness for purpose.

Hire and promote the best

Caring is manifest in the passion to hire and promote the best. To care is to know that every hire decision is central to the legacy that a leader leaves behind. To care is to strive to identify world-class executive search partners and to work with them as if they were indeed "partners." To care is to identify role specific competencies in line with the emerging culture. To care is to hone one's interview skills. To care is to support newcomers as they seek to integrate themselves into the culture.

Believe in the team

To care is to communicate not what people need to know, but what they have a right to know. To care is to ask people how they feel. To care is to share your own feelings. To care is to find the time to listen. To care is to listen for and not to listen to. To care is to see the world through the eyes of others. To care is to be vulnerable. To care is to ask for help. To care is to offer help. To care is to be compassionate when others stumble. To care is to offer advice only when it's asked for. To care is to see the misfortunes of others and realize...there but for the grace of God go I. To care is to be humble. To care is to be approachable. To care is to be human. To care is to know when to say no! To care is to put the needs of others first. To care is to take pride in the success of one's colleagues. To care is to want to pass the winning post first but to also recognize that no one makes it on his/her own. To care is to live up to the expectations of the team. To care is to deliver on a promise.

Respect nature and yourself

To care is to realize that we live in a fragile ecosystem where every act has long-term consequences. To care is to fulfill the responsibility that goes with being a citizen of planet earth. To care is to leave the planet cleaner than we found it. To care is to build a world for our children that we can be proud of. To care is to know that as a leader we can and must make a difference. To care is to realize that leadership demands stamina. To care is therefore to take health, fitness and wellness seriously. To care is to exercise and eat right. To care is to provide the opportunity for others to do likewise. To care is to be fully aware that without investors there would be no organization. To care is to honour that responsibility at all times. To care is to make the decisions of the organization transparent. To care is to work diligently to create value for those whose own hard work allows the organization to sustain. To care is to respect the truth. To care is to be open and honest even when political expediency means that silence is the option others would choose. To care is to live in truth. To care is to realize that timing is everything. To care is to act on the belief that confronting a problem is the first step in overcoming it.

Honour the past, create the future

To care is about balance. Caring is to respect the future that we are part of creating. Caring is honouring the past. To care is to share positive stories. To care is to strive to become a masterful storyteller. To care is to measure the right things. It is to live the organization's values. To care is to know when to let go. To care is to ask for feedback from others. To care is to act on that feedback. To care is to strive continuously to be the best you can be. To lead is to care. To lead is to have others know that you care. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." When we stop caring we stop living. When we stop caring about others we stop caring about ourselves. To be a leader is to care. To be an outstanding leader is to care deeply.

© Orxestra Inc. 2003