Only Leadership Book to Read [George Zimmer's Opinion]
In a recent webinar for the Enlightened Business Summit, George Zimmer founder and CEO of the Men’s Wearhouse, was asked to recommend just one leadership book. He only skipped a beat and offered, Leadership is an Art by Max DePree. He added, “It’s short. Readable in two hours. And contains what a leader needs to know.” That sounds like a solid recommendation!
It was first published in 1987 but still stands as one of the classics of leadership lore. This is a book of ideas dealing with the “why” of organizational life.
DePree reminisces, “At the time of the writing I did not realize how crucial a mentoring relationship could be to one’s development as a leader. Today I’m convinced of it.” What a great admonition to everyone who seeks the path to authentic leadership: be a mentor!
While several themes are presented in the book, DePree highlights three that have garnered the most feedback in the last twenty years:
- Integrity. “Lack of integrity is nourished by the inability of some leaders to understand the function of self-restraint in a civilized society.”
- Building and Nurturing Relationships. “The only way we stand a chance of reaching our potential is first to gain competence in our relationships.”
- Community. “Authentic leaders see it as part of their calling to guide a group or organization in designing the kind of community they intend to become.”
The key leaders who have influenced me deeply believe in the role of community. It’s not a means to an end when they speak of it. They are passionate; believing that it is crucial to personal health and collective success. Robert Quinn speaks of “productive communities” and when people become a part of one they tend to become more “inner directed and other focused.” (Change the World)
Being part of a community – much less a productive one – is not for the faint of heart. It takes hard work, determination, and a commitment to weather the seas of being in relationship with people. There are seasons when the seas are relatively calm and seasons of turbulent storms. But if we dig deep and choose to navigate them together, the payoff is huge, both personally and professionally.
Imagine what happens in authentic community!
- We are given the opportunity to become part of something that has potential far beyond our single contribution.
- We can grow as a person; stretched and challenged to achieve.
- We get the blessing of human interaction where we can respect, honor, and be grateful for people who contribute positively to our independent lives.
- We can experience the challenges of conflict and practice the art of forgiveness.
- We can set meaningful goals; grieving the losses and celebrating the successes.
Another leader put it this way. In community we can:
- Serve and be served.
- Know and be known.
- Understand and be understood.
- Love and be loved.
At first blush you might not think George Zimmer would have much time for a this type of conscious leadership. Yet he readily admitted, “I am a servant leader. It was ingrained in me by my parents.”
What if…we continued to grow in our competence to build relationships and foster a healthy community?
Action…Not Terminology
One of the elderly couples in the condominium complex in which we live recently faced the inevitable challenges of their age. When we moved here three years ago we could see that the gentleman was failing as his steps were halting; moving from a cane to walker, eventually to a wheelchair. Months passed. The walks became more infrequent. Once in a while the wife would step out to manicure her flowers, even her daily flag hanging was irregular. Then, the ambulance came, not once, but five times over a couple of months. Today, there is no activity and a for sale sign is in the front window. A graphic reminder of the circle of life.
What my wife and I bore witness to was the response of their friends and family. People, neighbors and those who traveled a distance would check in, stay overnight, or sit at the kitchen table and simply “be with” them. Near the end, people of all ages were there 24/7 providing care and compassion. You could see that whatever was needed, if humanly possible, it would be provided.
What spurs this type of compassion?
What motivates people to serve?
Why the altruism?
Without making today’s topic a study of human behavior we can at least make the point that selfless behavior – giving myself on behalf of others – can be called forth. Some of us respond more than others. Others of us are stirred differently. But if we allow whatever walls we have erected to be pierced by compassion, we will respond.
Altruism, in whatever form, is a selfless concern for the welfare of others. A virtue in many cultures and core traditions of most religions. More than just a feeling of loyalty or a call to duty (which is more about obligation), altruism focuses on the motivation to help others or to do good without reward. Transformational people will be in the process of learning how to intentionally be driven more by altruism.
Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and supported by many leadership and management writers which define leadership more in terms of influence through serving. Servant leaders are often seen as humble stewards of their organization’s resources (human, financial and physical). They propose that servant leaders achieve results for their organizations by giving priority attention to the needs of their colleagues and those they serve.
Are there qualities or competencies of a servant leader? Most servant leaders who have influenced me practiced all of these skills at some level, depending on their personality: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth and building community. These skills may take a lifetime to master. Acquiring them takes intentional effort.
A servant leader doesn’t just possess a skill set. They are more attuned to their character; what goes on behind the scenes. A servant leader knows that people will sense whether these competencies are genuine. People are well-versed at being lied to or manipulated. Therefore, they are looking for real, credible leaders who they believe and even feel, are people who can be trusted. That’s why Greenleaf wrote, ”It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”
The people who responded to my neighbors were altruistic as they served. It wasn’t demeaning. They weren’t caught up in how they were perceived. They saw a need and responded. What I learned was another lesson in serving.
What if…we chose to respond selflessly to others – no matter what it’s called?
A Secret Worth Sharing
“Can you keep a secret?”
That’s a loaded question. I find myself physically shrinking when it’s asked of me; knowing most of the time the one who asks wants to reveal some bit of juicy gossip meant to harm rather than do good.
Is there ever a secret worth sharing?
Years ago, a simple yet compelling book was written by Ken Blanchard entitled, The Secret. Like many of his books it’s written as a parable with the hope that principles will not only be understood but implemented, especially by leaders. The secret is clearly stated but profoundly challenging to live out. Here’s the interchange from the book:
“What’s the secret of great leaders? she asked.
“The secret is, great leaders SERVE.” Jeff paused to let the words sink in.
“Serve? What do you mean by that?” Debbie’s tone clearly reflected her disbelief. “Leaders don’t serve, they lead!”
Unfortunately, this is a challenge anyone faces who leads – whether you are leading a team, work group, project, or an entire organization. Whenever power is granted there is something that seems counterintuitive about serving. Yet serving is the key.
Leaders need to continually ask themselves the question, “Why am I leading?”
Blanchard states, “motivation and intention is a character issue.” If we lead with the intention of serving others we will lead a fundamentally different way. Our motivation will not be self-serving but centered on giving ourselves away so that others will benefit and the common good is realized: progress is made, the organization and the people achieve results.
While serving is an intuitive concept, serving isn’t about being “touchy-feely” as some of my friends say. In fact, Josh Spiro writes in his 09.31.10 Inc. article that servant leadership “clashes with many of the values instilled by modern American culture.” We a culture fascinated with a more power-wealth-fame-model of leadership.
Serving is a mindset by which you seek to pour into others. There is no perfect style or method of serving. The beauty of humanity is that each one of us can serve and that makes our style unique and equally effective. We also have the privilege of reading stories of people who have chosen to serve and, because they did, made significant impact in the lives of others:
- Martin Luther King, Jr. – long before his “I have a dream” speech he spent his time with conversing about the plight of injustices and why it was important to take a stand in order that justice could be realized. He preached, he listened, and he locked arms on a bridge…all to set the stage for the day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
- Mother Teresa – a man who met her told me that she exuded a powerful energy. She may have been slight in stature but she lived fully out of a desire to serve others. She once said, “If you can’t fed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
- Nelson Mandela – few people would have imagined that this anti-apartheid activist could have made a contribution from a prison cell; his home for twenty-seven years. He embraced a form of leadership unknown to most in our culture. He referred to himself as a shepherd, “A shepherd stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”
Three highly influential leaders: different personalities, styles, and locations. Yet, they are very similar. They transcended short-term goals and focused on higher order intrinsic needs. What was their secret? They knew that great leaders serve.
Robert Greenleaf, the father of servant leadership wrote, “It begins with a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”
What if...we stayed more attuned to our desire to serve, to serve first?
Life Below the Waterline
Growing up in southwest Michigan I remember the sights, smells, and events of the fall. From Harvest Days to apple picking, from walks on the piers to bonfires, it’s just a great time of year. Another scene I remember is when the marinas take in the boats for winter storage. During the boating season we see top-side: the shine, amenities, and uniqueness of each water craft. But this act exposes another essential function of the boat; unseen in the water but critical to its success. Laymen call it the “underside,” most know it as the hull. Each form has a unique shape that give it certain handling and performance characteristics. But one thing is certain, it is of utmost importance.
As I continue to research for my presentation on transformational leadership I repeatedly read from authors the importance of inner transformation – life below the waterline:
- Robert Quinn, “When people alter their interior world, they also alter their exterior world.” Building the Bridge as You Walk on It
- Kevin Kushman, “Our ability to grow as a leader is based on our ability to grow as a person.” LEADERSHIP From The Inside Out
- Ken Blanchard in his book The Secret: What Great Leaders Know – and D0, paints the picture of an iceberg and its makeup below the surface.
The implications are clear: be aware of your inner life – life below the waterline. I was introduced to this analogy years ago. At times I’ve been uniquely aware of it and other times I’ve sadly ignored the principles. However, my alignment doesn’t change the time-tested truth. I’m just asked to make the choice to live according to what is right, and ultimately works.
A decade ago Dee Hock, founder and former CEO VISA credit card association rocked the leadership world when he proposed if leaders truly understood the system they were asked to lead they would make the unconventional choice to manage the right people with the right energy. He suggested that leaders spend fifty percent of their time managing themselves. How could this be with deadlines and profits hanging in the balance? He wrote in an article entitled, The Art of Chaordic Leadership, “The first and paramount responsibility of anyone who purports to manage (or lead) is to manage self: one’s own integrity, character, ethics, knowledge, wisdom, temperament, words, and acts. It is a complex unending incredibly difficult, oft-shunned task. We spend little time and rarely excel at self-management precisely because it is much more difficult than prescribing and controlling the behavior of others. However, without management of self, no one is fit for authority no matter how much they acquire, for the more authority they acquire the more dangerous they become.” Those are poignant words for anyone in any type of leadership position.
Self-management is making the choice to spend time below the waterline.
It tends to be a bit easier and certainly quicker to spit and polish the surface materials – our persona. The difficult work of our inner world doesn’t respond to a quick fix and is certainly not easy.
What does focusing on life below the waterline require?
We need to step away from the routine and examine whether:
- Our behaviors are aligning our values
- We are making decisions based on our purpose or mindlessly reacting to people and events
- We are treating people with value and dignity or like objects to manipulate
- We are genuinely serving people or seeking to be served first
- We are “leaking” goodness or rudeness
The list could continue and should. That’s the gift and challenge of inner transformation. It is a life-long process of becoming instead of achieving.
What if…we spent more time giving attention to our life below the waterline?
The Sacred Piece of Transformation
“The process of transformation is always bigger than we are!”
Robert Quinn, Change the World
Early this summer I received a message on my Facebook page from a from a former student in the youth ministry in Florida we were part of in the early 90′s. It was entitled “Wow! It’s do good to connect.” Now married with multiple children she connected me with other “kids-now-adults” and the scores of their own children. It wasn’t long before she let me know the role I played in her life and how she is a different person because of the time we spent together.
It is one of the joys of life to know that somehow you had the privilege to be involved in the transformation of another person. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring at the same time. Let’s be honest, without the human interaction – which spurs the change – there is no transformation. At the same time, without something larger happening, there is no transformation. Here’s the tension: we are necessary, but insufficient.
Something sacred is happening.
Quinn puts it this way, “We become aware of our own simultaneous potential and dependence. We awaken to the sacred potential that is in living systems. What I want to suggest is that all human systems, no matter how secular, are also sacred in that all seeds of potential transformation exist.”
Each one of us can contribute to the transformational process. It isn’t about a title or position. It doesn’t matter if your in senior management or the head of your family. Each of us has can be a transformational person; making a “significant contribution to positive change in ourselves, our relationships, and in any organization or culture in which we take part.” That makes us change agents.
Being a transformational person has little or nothing to do with ability or location on an org chart. It has everything to do with our inner world: clarity of purpose, living by a set of values, bringing that congruence in our thoughts and behaviors as we move from self-serving to actually serving others as we expect nothing in return, and being open to the possibilties around us.
I am grateful for the role I played in the lives of those kids in the youth group. The volunteers who served with me thoroughly planned and executed events with crushing regularity and built relationships with heart-gushing intentionality. And…it wasn’t about us then and it isn’t about us now. As significant as we were, we were insufficient to make the changes happen. That’s the sacred piece of transformation.
What if we approached our interactions with the reality we are needed…
….and the release to know it’s not about us?
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mark@whatifenterprises.com
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