- I think a lot fewer people in the world should become a leader.
- Everybody has influence…and they probably shouldn’t.
- Don’t be a leader unless you’re doing it for the right reason.
- New book is called: Motive. Most of my books are about how to be a better leader. This book is about why to be a leader. If your why is wrong, all the hows in the world won’t matter.
- There is only two reasons to be a leader: (1) to serve the people you lead (responsibility based leadership) – some call this servant leadership; (2) rewards centered leadership, I do this because I get something for it.
- Alan Mulally believed that leadership was a privilege. I told him about leaders that led because of what they were going to get.
- You have to understand your leadership motive if you’re going to be a leader.
- What is it specifically that is about being a rewards-centered leader that is bad?
- Sin of omission – not doing the good things.
- 1. Rewards-centered leaders don’t like to have uncomfortable conversations.
- They push them off on others and so others suffer.
- CEO wanted to hire a new CIO and so he did. Sent out an email announcing new CIO without talking to old CIO first. The CEO wrote a book about how to be a leader.
- Friend worked at a startup. Leader of startup sent a message that he needed to change behavior. Friend asked if he wanted to talk about it. Leader said, “No.”
- CFO said “I’d fire you and put savings on bottom line.” CEO refused to address it.
- CEO was looking for a new president. Fred started telling people that he was the next president. CEO refused to tell Fred to stop.
- Alan Mulally – guy who was related to Ford family skipped a meeting. Alan said, “we can still be friends. You don’t have to work here.” If people were on phones, he would give them the stink eye.
- 2. Rewards-centered leaders avoid managing direct reports.
- They find it tedious and boring. “I don’t want to be a micromanager.”
- If people aren’t managed, they lose motivation. There is politics. When you abdicate that as a leader, real people suffer.
- 3. Rewards-centered leaders don’t run good meetings.
- How do you know if a surgeon is good at job? Watch surgery. Teacher? Watch them teach. Leader in an organization? Watch them run the meeting.
- We cannot abdicate or delegate meetings.
- What’s the cost of bad meetings? Bad decisions. The wrong people will get attention and funding.
- 4. Rewards-centered leaders do not like to do team building.
- Don’t have a meeting if you’re going to get naked, hold hands and catch people falling out of trees.
- If you as a leader don’t want to build the team, you can’t think you are helping our team.
- 5. Rewards centered don’t like repeating themselves.
- They don’t want to reinforce their messaging.
- Gary Kelly at Southwest Airlines gives the same message over and over. Alan Mulally repeated his message to WSJ.
- World Wide Technology, Jim Kavanaugh is the CEO. He constantly repeats himself. CEO is CRO (Chief Reminding Officers).
- Are we leading for the right reason?
- If we don’t lead we’ll, our people suffer and they take it home with them.
- If you can relate to this, lean in. If you don’t want to do these things, step away from leadership. That would be a heroic act.
- There is an evil one out there that wants us to slide.
- My hope is that rewards-centered people will go away. My hope is that one day people will not say servant leadership because there is only one kind.
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