San Francisco ChronicleWhat business can learn from Bruce BochySan Francisco ChronicleIn a Harvard Business Review article, Collins says a level-five leader demonstrates compelling modesty, shuns public adulation and is never boastful.
A Similar Experience
Years ago I was monitoring the progress of a very special and intense change process in Oxford Industries. I was then the manager of the Oxford Education Center, our corporate development unit. The change was a major move to redesigning our factories into "modules" - later they would be called "cellular manufacturing" and "self managed work teams". At the time, we were the pioneers so everything was a grand experiment. An interesting observation I made parallels this story about Bruce Bochy - our most successful factories were led by Bruce Bochy... well not by him - but by people very much like him. Humility was how we described the trait. It was not the flamboyant managers or as others called them...charismatic. The successful leader was often described by others as "gentle", "soft spoken", " supportive", "open", and "open to learn". They were also called "clear", "firm", "honest",and "present". They made their facilities successful by moving people forward - together. They engaged people in conversations and were excellent listeners. In fact, they were more about listening to others than telling others. They didn't stand out in the crowd...at first.
I have tried to take lessons from these leaders. It has not been easy. Pride, ego, competitiveness, passion. These often get in the way for me. At the end of the day I try to remember that great leaders are certainly noticed by results and the impact when helping and serving others... more than words.
- When aligning people, take a lesson from Bruce Bochy and the people like him...
- Listen with the purpose of learning and lifting others.
- In a true team workplace, team is very important - don't destroy the others with a high flier who puts self before team.
- Provide space (time, place and activity) for people to build energy having fun.
- Make your "talk" clear, and aimed at making connections to purpose and progress.
- Act like other managers and you will rememberd for being like other managers. Make sure your role models are the right ones.