A Story of 2 Leaders

For a very long time most people thought great leaders were heroes. The biggest problem with this idea is that when the hero leaves, you are stuck with a need for a new hero and real heroes are rare and very hard to find. All this time the really great leaders have been among us creating extraordinary organizations and when they have left there were leaders just like them, ready to step in and carry on with the task of moving the organization forward while adhering to the values and principles that define how the organization operates. Consider these two examples of organizations and the leaders who took them on their journey.

Bob was loved by his team. Every team member knew that they could count on Bob to rally the troops and charm their customers and the community like no one else could. While Bob was their CEO, the company grew and prospered like never before. Everyone knew what to do because Bob carefully told them what to do and how to do it. Bob was always there. And for ten years the company grew 10 times larger and was transformed from a very good local business to a regional leader in their industry. After 10 years of this frenetic pace Bob was exhausted and faltering. His health was not good and his doctor told him he needed to change or he could drop dead of a stroke or heart attack. Bob told his Board of Directors that he needed to retire because of his health but that he would stay on until his replacement could be found. This he did but the day he left there was a seismic shift in the company and they never regained whatever it was that Bob brought to the company.

At the same time that Bob started at his company, another company carrying on a very similar mission across the country hired Sue as their CEO. Sue’s approach was different from Bob’s. From the very first day Sue spent most of her time listening, caring, and establishing an operational model for everyone to follow. She expected a great deal from everyone in the organization but set the example of how everyone should behave and how hard they should work. She led them through numerous activities that helped them clarify and codify the essential values and principles by which the organization would operate. These guiding values and principles were infused into everything they did and taught to every member of the organization. If someone was hired for any position, part of the interview process included an assessment to determine how closely aligned to these values and principles that new hire was and interview questions were developed to see if the potential hire was capable of operating within their system.

Sue helped her organization grow by more than 10 times its initial size on the day she was hired as CEO in just 8 years. At the company’s annual meeting to kick off year 9, she announced to the entire leadership team that within the next 5 years she would be retiring but that they should not worry one bit because the lines of succession were already established. For these next five years they would begin the transition from her leadership to that of their next CEO, their current COO Ken. Before she even announced that Ken would be taking over, everyone knew it would be Ken. They had noticed that when Ken was hired to replace Art the COO that was there when Sue was hired, they all witnessed that Ken immediately was far more aligned to the company’s values and principles than was Art. And Ken’s way of doing his job was so much more respectful and nurturing than Art ever was. Furthermore, on days when Sue was on vacation or off for some other reason, Ken stepped in and the company never missed a beat. He didn’t do things exactly the way Sue did but it didn’t matter because everything was driven by the same set of values and principles that drove Sue. Everyone knew this transition would be a great one. For the next 5 years, formal lines of succession were created for every critical leadership role in the company. Nothing was left to chance. And on the day of Sue’s retirement, after 13 years at the helm she knew, as she walked out the door, she had nothing to worry about. The company, now a national leader in their industry would continue to grow and prosper because it was guided by a vision based on core values and principles that would keep it on track for as long as the industry existed.

Which of these two leaders do you want to be? Which would you most want to work with? Do you know how to be a Legacy Leader? Could you do it? These questions are critical and every leader should ask them before they spend one more day in their role as a leader. Do yourself a favor and figure it out before you do anything else as a leader. If you want guidance in this, I’d be happy to help. Just ask!