It’s unreasonable to expect people in any organization to rise above the standard set by their leaders.
Leaders must model behavior, walk the walk, talk the talk, and be the living example of what is required of team members. Excellent leaders remain in touch with their team – sometimes by serving beside subordinates – so that they know exactly how to train, equip and motivate their people to succeed.
It’s the premise of the CEO, with rolled-up sleeves, working with front-line laborers, that makes the TV show “Undercover Boss” so appealing to me.
Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch, authors of Leading from the Front: No Excuse Leadership Tactics for Women, served together as captains in the United States Marine Corps. Their book codifies ten principles women and men can employ to make a difference at work, at home, and in the community.
Morgan tells of an experience she had after the Marine Corps as a newly-promoted manager in pharmaceutical sales.
Her employer mandated one day each month for call marathons – all sales representatives in a boiler room setting, making phone calls to their accounts. The sales managers would stand watch, like casino pit bosses, and hold their team members accountable for participating.
Morgan found the detached management style dissatisfying, and when the second month rolled around, she left the other managers to join her team in making calls. After six months of laboring alongside her sales reps, Morgan’s was the top sales team in the company.
“A boss says, ‘Go.’ A leader says, ‘Let’s go!’” ~ E.M. Kelly
My friend Vernon Dutton (@VernonDutton) flew with the USMC HMM-364 Squadron (aka: Purple Foxes) for two years in Viet Nam. Dutton is a retired insurance company executive, author, speaker and avid living history reenactor.
Here is his story of a leader who inspired him:
“The best example of a true leader that I had the privilege to experience was a Lt. Colonel who was our Squadron Commander in Viet Nam,” says Dutton.
“All of us 1st Lieutenants would have followed him to hell if he asked us to.
“I hope you got that last statement: ‘If he asked us to.’
“He didn’t have to order us to do anything. We just naturally wanted to do what he wanted, whenever he wanted.
“Why did we react to this man in such a favorable way? It is hard to explain, but the word RESPECT keeps cropping up in my mind.
“Why did we respect him? Because he LED us.
“He went on the same dangerous missions that we did. He believed in us to the extent that we believed in ourselves. He treated us like men, and yet, he was also a father figure. We had access to him no matter what the reason, and he always backed us up.
“I can still see him at the podium in our ready room exuding that cocky confidence that we all loved. Oh yes! Another of his well-remembered characteristics was that he could out-party any of us.
“Needless to say, he has provided the signpost for me to emulate since making his acquaintance in Viet Nam.”
Leaders, do not shirk your responsibility to be actively involved with your team’s mission. It is the best way to know, in real time, what adjustments are required in resources, training, or policy to have your people poised to succeed. Your active involvement also creates esprit de corps and a can-do culture in the ranks.
In the end, you make your duties as manager easier, because your people are more willing to perform for you.
