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It’s Only Common Sense: New Leadership

The world and business have changed, and so has the way we lead. It is no longer enough to assume the role of leadership as just being in charge and telling people what to do. Along with that, it is no longer considered acceptable leadership to bang your fist on the table and yell at people to “straighten them out.” Those days are mercifully over, and the people who managed that way are either retired, were fired, or died of an apoplectic fit.

Years ago, I had a boss who liked to scream and holler. He wanted to make sure that we all knew how worthless we were and how we could be replaced in a second. He even had a framed poem in his office that read the following:

There Is No Indispensable Man
by Saxon N. White Kessinger (Copyright 1959)

Sometime when you’re feeling important;
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room,

Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you will be missed.

You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.

Every time he did not like something we were doing, he would yell at us and point to that framed poem so that we would be sure to get the full understanding of how worthless he thought we were. And yes, at that time—since there was almost double-digit unemployment—we had to put up with him. Fortunately, he was not at that job for very long. I have to admit that the day after he left, I took his sign and tossed it in the trash.

Now, let’s talk about what leadership today requires. Here are some of the key attributes that you have to have if you are going to be a great leader. To be a great leader, you have to:

1. Be a believer: Believe in what you do. You and your team are doing important work. If you do not believe in your work, how can you get others to follow you to success? You must believe in your mission and do it with conviction so that even when you are not talking, you are demonstrating your belief in your mission.
2. Be respectful: Have respect for everyone on your team. If you want to be respected, you have to give respect; it’s that simple. This applies to everyone and everything in life.
3. Be brave and courageous: Face tough issues head-on and never shirk responsibility. Instead, demonstrate to your team how to handle adversity with clear-eyed bravery and courage.
4. Be a great communicator: Communicate your mission accurately and concisely. All communication is important, so you must be able to handle communications with ease—no matter how big or small.
5. Be consistent: There is nothing that defuses leadership more than inconsistency. The last thing you want as a leader is for your team to wonder what you will be like day-to-day.
6. Be fair: Treat everyone the same. Make sure that the rules apply to everyone equally.
7. Be inspirational: Inspire your team and get everyone to exert themselves and accomplish tasks that they never thought they would be able to do. A great leader inspires their employees to perform beyond their expectations.
8. Be a good person: I would venture to say that a great leader has to be a paragon of virtue. I know that we do not see much of this in our elected officials today, but most of them are not leaders—just elected officials. If you are not a good person, you will not be a good leader.

A truly great leader has to see the value in their people. Make sure you have the right people, and if you do, they are worth their weight in gold and are never as easily replaceable as that hand in that bucket of water.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.