Question

Articulates own recommendations back to the leader. Provides examples from any interview. ( 500 - 1000 words)

Answer 1

Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people, based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion, and a shared vision of the good. Every move is watched and every word is measured for deeper meaning of a leader which means it is easy to screw up an organization’s culture, even when they have the best of intentions. In reference to an interview with the head of a large organization who remarked that he hadn’t realized how “loud” his voice became when he stepped into the top job. He told me that when he mentioned in passing that X sounded interesting, suddenly people were forming X teams and sending him reports on the future of X. He didn’t intend for all of that to happen, but when someone is in his position, people put a lot of weight on every word. He had to learn to be careful with everything he said and did.

This is an example of how executives often overestimate their control of culture yet underestimate their influence in it. Culture is an emergent property of the system that is your organization. It is composed of every person, process, and protocol in the organization. Every decision adds to or detracts from the desired outcome. Your culture is the sum of a thousand little actions. No executive can dictate culture through a memo, speech, or decree. Nor can they “set it and forget it” because it is constantly evolving.

An executive can use what he or she controls to greatly influence the tone and tenor of the organization. Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, noted the importance of each person’s contribution by marking accomplishments with handwritten notes. As many as 30,000 of them over his tenure according to one estimate. Taking the time to recognize significant contributions fosters a culture of mutual respect. I found a similar practice at a hospital outside of Boston that had committed to differentiating itself in a highly competitive marketplace through a culture of service. The handwritten notes were sent by supervisors to workers at their home addresses. Experiencing the feeling of receiving a personal gesture did more to build the culture of service than any point system ever could.

Therefore, the important areas required for a leader to focus on are vision, message, expectations, and performance, dedicate time for reflection and weekly check-ins with the team.