Yesterday I attended a leadership seminar with my boss. The speakers included Rudy Guiliani, Jack Welch and F. Covey (live via satellite, not in person). I thought it was extremely well organized. I'm cynically weary of many self-help seminars and books; but secretly take guilty pleasures reading "Chicken Soup for the Soul" from time to time on a dreary depressing afternoon.
However, the seminar provided insightful variations of theories and points that resonated with me.
Guiliani began his discussion with 8 qualities of leadership:
1. develop and communicate strong beliefs/goals
2. be optimistic
3. be accountable
4. relentless preparation
5. be courageous
6. be ethical
7. have teamwork
8. communicate effectively
most of these points are intuitive, but the ones that stand out to me are: being accountable, relentless preparation and having strong beliefs/goals. Many people want to lead but aren't accountable and don't prepare.
Jack Welch is a fantastic and charismatic leader and speaker. He has a raspy Boston accent that's direct with a no-nonsense attitude. It's not only humerous but refreshing. He worked his way up from GE and he doesn't have too much love for the "shiny MBA's". He gave his speal about stratesphying the group - top 20%, middle 70% and lower 10%. Wtih the top 20% he says to reward and motivate these people to their highest potential. These people have the values and provide results. The middle 70% can be broken up into two categories: (a) having the values but not providing the results or (b) providing the results but not the value. He cautions that group b are employees that take the company/group down b/c results oriented alone does not build a strong team, and that these people are not team workers. And the last 10% - has neither the values nor the results and should be fired. I liked his arguments that good leaders/managers should care about the people that work for them. That employees should always know where they stand in the stratesphere. If they don't , their managers/leaders are providing a disservice to the company and their subordinates. Finally, he discusses the issue of firing someone and how traumatic it is for both parties. More importantly, the manager should be there AFTER letting someone go. That's where the manager can provide his worker the most benefit. Welch provides an analogy that if you had a choice to go to a wedding vs. a funeral, always choose the funeral, b/c that's where you are needed most. I like his philosophy. I like his directness, and I like his down to earth, blue-collar Boston accent.
Surprisingly, I walked out of the seminar feeling inspired; and I'll admit, a lot less cynical about these seminars and self-help books.
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