Leadership Brief
Shared by Larry Bonfante
(SEAT Member & Strategic Partner)
Memory Lane
Leading Persons
A number of years ago I was interviewed by a major trade journal and was asked about my leadership style. One question the interviewer specifically asked me was “how do you lead people?” I answered him in a grammatically incorrect way (I'm having flashbacks to the nuns smacking my knuckles with a ruler!). I stated that I don’t lead people I lead persons!
While this may be grammatically incorrect, I feel strongly that it is a critically important point. You see each and every one of is us wired differently. We are all a unique combination of talents, competencies, attitudes, preferences, etc. What matters deeply to me may not mean a hill of beans to you. What motivates you may be of no consequence to me. Leading people is about understanding what makes them tick as individuals and then tailoring a personalized value proposition that resonates with them.
In my role as CIO I was been able to retain a very talented and outstanding team for fifteen years. All of these people could most likely make more money working for one of the Fortune 500 companies close enough to my office for me to hit if I threw a rock from my window. While I wasn't able to compete on dollars alone, we were able to make our organization a place where people got their needs met. I’ve had people who worked for me who had children playing on soccer teams. I’ve made sure that they could leave early at times to attend their kid’s soccer games. I’ve had people who had children with special educational needs. I’ve made sure that they were able to participate in their kid’s therapy sessions. You see what motivates each of us is very personal and unique.
I always laugh when I hear leaders state they you shouldn’t get too close to your people. While I’m not suggesting going out with your team and signing Sweet Caroline at Thursday night Karaoke, I am suggesting that you need to know what makes each individual tick and find a way to tap into supporting their goals, needs and requirements. There’s an old expression that I truly believe is true. It states that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Do your people feel that you truly care about them not as cogs in your machine but as individual human beings with hopes, dreams and challenges? Are you authentically human and available to them or are you aloof and seen as “The Boss” (a title I reserve for Bruce Springsteen!)
Taking shortcuts never works with people. Neither does treating people like interchangeable parts. Each of us has had the experience of working for someone who made us feel like droids and it probably wasn’t very inspiring. Perhaps some of you have had the good fortune to work for someone who made you feel like a valued member of their extended family. How did that feel?
Perhaps the greatest professional compliment I have ever received was a number of years ago when the company I worked for administered a 360 degree evaluation for all their senior leaders. Part of the feedback I received stated “Larry's people would kick down the gates of hell for him!” To this day those words mean the world to me and inspire me to be an even better leader.