|
|
All Leadership Is Relationships
By Ed Yager
Howard Headlee is the Chairman of the Utah Bankers Association. I chose
to interview Howard for this column not only because he has gained such
a strong reputation as a leader, but also because he and I share a common
respect for - his father Dick Headlee. As Chairman of UBA, Howard waged
a very visible and often bitter battle on behalf of Utah's Bankers in
opposition to Utah Credit Unions. Prior to working for the UBA he was
the Chairman of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a role similar to one
his father undertook in Michigan, subsequently leading to his candidacy
for the Michigan Governorship.
Leading may be a universal skill, but it's practice
is always contextual. In the not-for-profit sector, the leader has no
subordinates, there is no production, service nor output goal to achieve.
It is effectiveness, not efficiency or profit that these organizations
try to achieve. Effectiveness is determined by results and performance,
by doing the right thing.
Howard says the key to leadership in this environment
is "understanding individuals, their challenges, their goals, dreams,
and aspiration. It is not just understanding them but adopting them as
your own and then trying to build that into your work product so you have
accomplished what you need to accomplish, but at the same time everyone
has moved a little closer to resolving their own personal challenges."
A bit esoteric you say? Not at all so far as Howard
is concerned. He describes his role in the association as one where he
has 50 or so different bosses, an extremely diverse group. Although the
public may view banking as a monolithic group the fact is that each of
the member banks is very different, in size, in customer base, in emphasis,
and in structure. "I spend most of my time lobbying for and articulating
positions that cut across all members." This is a very different
context for leadership. Howard says. "It can't be that I have a dream,
and I must pursue it. Instead I have a mission but it must reflect the
needs of all the members."
We know from our research that every leader has a
personal model for their own leadership style. They learned from someone.
Leaders teach other leaders. Howard tells me that, "I'm not sure
when I learn it, but I'm sure I learned this from my father. The way he
dealt with people was his greatest strength. But what I saw that so motivated
people was the way he worked with and listened to people until he had
enough information to decide on a direction or a course of action. At
some point he decided he had enough information and then he was able to
communicate that vision and move forward. He had already gained their
loyalty because he understood their challenges. Now they would go to the
end of the earth for him. He was able to influence those around him with
the same confidence."
We note that all leadership is relationships. Howard
describes his own approach to leadership in similar essential terms. Howard
says, "It would be easy to pursue things I believe in - I'm right
and you're wrong , but that does not work in this environment. I think
I have been successful forging relationships. Cooperation can achieve
more than a competitive battle can ever accomplish."
For nearly 40 years organizational experts have focused
on issues related to employee satisfaction and its relation to output
and productivity. The findings have always been the same, proving this
cause and effect. Howard makes this point. He says, "It's not that
a job is a job, it's that a good job is a job that allows them to meet
their financial needs as well as to resolve their personal goals and challenges.
That's the key to leadership because you develop loyalties. That is how
I measure my success as a leader -- have I developed loyalties. It all
comes down to people. People want victories, they don't care how large,
so long as they are consistent with their values. They want to get on
board with a good vision, but they all have their personal struggles and
a good job allows them to meet their personal challenges."
Many research studies have found empathy to be among
the key characteristics of serious and successful leaders. When asked
about this, Howard's conversation took on an almost spiritual tone. "You
know, it's selflessness that matters. I am committed to their challenges.
It seems to me that selfishness, insecurity, and fear are the absolute
greatest threats to leadership.. If you are selfless they will follow.
You help them do what they need to do, and they will help you do whatever
you need done. When you think of the greatest leader who ever lived He
said, 'Bring me your burdens'. Leadership is not just about solving a
banking challenge, it is fundamentally about what we are doing to help
people solve their challenges. You have to have a clear mission. If you
can't communicate that in a hopeful way then it is just another challenge.
They don't need challenges, they need victories. If they know their needs
will be met, they will come along."
Howard says, "In the kind of politics I deal
with you never know when an adversary will become an important ally, perhaps
even a boss or a member of a committee you are on, or someone you need
to count on. I hope I have always been sensitive to their personal needs
and tried to understand them. Some times you have no choice. You have
to burn some fences, but I have always tried to mend those fences and
rebuild those relationships."
Howard is also on the board of a number of other organizations
including Arts Inc., a program he talks about with great passion because
it takes the arts to school children. "It helps them discover what
they are good at it helps them to gain a focus in their lives." I'm
reminded of a comment made by Don Peterson, the CEO credited with turning
around the Ford Motor Company. "It is essential that the goals of
the corporation and the goals of the individual be aligned. Only then
will we be able to earn our employee's loyalty. We can never demand it.
We tried that and it did not work."
|
Seminars