Getting the Leadership Basics Right
I recently had the opportunity to interview
two CEOs on a single day. While the interviews were conducted for two different
projects and initially seemed dissimilar, my review of the notes revealed great
commonalities in how the two run their businesses. Their insights make a great
playbook for the leadership basics from which every executive can learn.
The
first was with Sophi Tranchell, CEO of Divine Chocolate.
Divine is a privately held social enterprise based in the U.K. that sources
fair-trade cocoa beans from farmers in Ghana who are also part owners of the
company. The second interview was with Bill Sandbrook, CEO of U.S. Concrete, a publicly held company based in the U.S. that produces
ready-mixed concrete and aggregates. Tranchell is a former antiapartheid
activist; Sandbrook’s early career was in the military.
In addition to the everyday challenges of
being a CEO, each leader wrestles with making a product composed of multiple
commodity ingredients subject to fluctuations in price and availability. Each
faces tough competition that requires striking a balance between cost and
quality. Each has intricate distribution channels where things can go awry. And
both are succeeding by getting these five often-overlooked fundamentals of
leadership right.
Hire
people who can find meaning through your business.
You
may think that because everyone loves chocolate, everyone wants to work for a
chocolate company. But it is Divine Chocolate’s social mission, not its
product, that makes it distinct and draws talent. Tranchell said she seeks to
work with people who are “passionate and curious” and want to change the world
for the better. She looks for an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to see
“the mission impact along with the business impact.”
Conversely, you may think that it is tough to
find top talent longing for a career in concrete. But in an increasingly
digital world, working with a tangible, durable product has appeal, said
Sandbrook. He tries to find people who “like to build things and spend time
outside.” Sandbrook said that he wants people to grow to love the industry and
the company. And that’s how you make concrete as sexy as chocolate.
Provide
clear, compelling goals.
Sandbrook
explained that concrete is “a business of small, incremental improvements. You
don't run it with 100 metrics — focus on the key ones.…If you can get your team
excited about achieving a goal, what the business is isn't actually that
important.” Tranchell noted that as the CEO of a relatively small business, it
is incumbent upon her to ensure that everyone knows what they're doing. “You
have to get good at telling stories so that people know why we are doing what
we're doing. I learned that from my work as an activist,” she said. “Then, be
open and transparent with information so everyone knows where we are and where
we are going.” She sends employees to Ghana regularly to see how their work
affects the farmers with whom they work.
Give
people a path for growth and impact.
Tranchell
said that for many young people, “student debt makes it difficult for them to
put their money where their mouths are” with regard to bringing their values to
their work. Social enterprises can help fill that gap by paying a wage that
allows young people to recognize their impact while still being able to make
ends meet and pay off student loans. Furthermore, she hires people in all
stages of their careers in each of the geographic areas from which the company
distributes, and gives those employees freedom to build that local business.
Sandbrook said that U.S. Concrete lays out a
clear map for maturing into management. “Expect to make decisions early and be
rewarded for performance,” he said. He wants people at all levels to be
strategic “chess players,” willing to make decisions and be innovative and
creative in the “basic blocking-and-tackling” in the business. Strategic
thinkers at a concrete company may have a different kind of impact than they
would at a social enterprise, but it can be just as motivating to make a
difference in how a company does business as it is to affect society at large.
Foster
a positive, supportive culture.
Sandbrook
said that he encourages an environment of collaboration and respect where “egos
are checked at the door” and expressed a high tolerance for low-consequence
mistakes as learning experiences. “If you cut people off at the legs for making
a mistake, they will work to be the one not to decide,” he
said. “That hurts the business.” He also noted that the company’s performance
focus means that no one has to watch a clock. “You can succeed here and still
have a life.”
Similarly, Tranchell spoke of a culture that
is “fair and inclusive that emphasizes sharing,” one in which “we try to stay
nimble and have fun.” As a small business, “we can still get everyone in the
same room once a month to celebrate success and solve problems.”
Lead
with a higher purpose.
Tranchell
told me that she has trouble with the notion of leadership as an end in itself.
“You don't [run an organization] to ‘do’ leadership,” she said. “You do it
because you see change that needs to happen and you can make a difference. I
believe we need accountable and transparent companies that are willing to
address social injustice.” Tranchell clearly draws heavily on her experience as
an activist, a time she describes as one in which people wanted to change the
world and, in the case of apartheid, actually did. She aims to pass on not
simply the passion but also the belief that collective action can have impact.
“Lots of people thought Divine Chocolate wouldn’t work,” she said. “We believed
it would and it has.”
Sandbrook came into the private sector after
cultivating an ethos of service in the military. His higher purpose — “having
that team accomplish things they might not have even known were possible” —
reflects that heritage. He described his greatest satisfaction and
self-actualization as team building. “It's the intangible rewards, not the
tangible,” he said. “I thrive when I can motivate them to a higher level.”
The hard (and sweet) truth: Amid the
never-ending blizzard of leadership books and talks with the latest advice, it
is good to remember that getting the basics right is the first, essential step
to building a great organization.
Eric J. McNulty
http://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Getting-the-Leadership-Basics-Right?gko=8b82a&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=20170131&utm_campaign=resp
No comments:
Post a Comment