Leading By Love
John Maeda is the President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD aka rizz-dee) and is one of the better tweeters out there. He almost always has something thought-provoking to say. Impressive given the 140 character constraint.
One of his latest was:
Met CEO of RI mfg firm Tacohvac when asked “How do you lead your people?” Responds, “I don’t *lead*. I *love* my people.”
If this is a little too touchy-feely replace the word love with respect or like or know. All work.
The difference between leading and loving is subtle. Of course, the CEO is leading. But his primary motivation is to do right by his people rather than always be right in front of his people.
photo by jan.gosmann
By truly caring about his people his people don’t have to wonder about his ulterior motives. They aren’t deconstructing his intent and looking for what’s in it for him. They trust him. And when he asks for something to be done, it will likely get done better. People have a sense of reciprocation that will compel them to do better work rather than a sense of duty to check the boxes.
Relationships are two-way streets. And working relationships are no different. If someone cares about you, you’re going to care about what you give in return.
In order to lead, you must have followers. If it’s not genuine it won’t work, but a few thoughts on starting to lead by love:
- Know what motivates your ‘followers.’ Align their interests and goals with the vision. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of time to do for each individual. That’s why we have so few great leaders in our businesses. Take care of your people and they will take care of you. Recognize that people work for themselves, not for you. You are merely renting their time.
- Be fair. CEOs paying themselves big bonuses while simultaneously ‘right-sizing’ is foolhardy. It’s the modern equivalent of finding a freshly killed woolly mammoth and eating all but the hind leg before splitting it up for your starving village-mates. You already have a big title, you don’t need to prove your (ahem) ‘superiority’ with flashy, outward displays of your differences. To note, the CEO above drives a Smart Car.
- Be transparent with your own motivations. Help people understand you, how you think and what you want to do. Trust people with that information. The less people have to read into what’s behind your words and actions the less they have to invent. And what we imagine is always more conniving, more evil and more vindictive than the truth.
Of the people you’ve followed, did they take an interest in you and how you fit into the vision or just themselves? Exactly.
What have I missed? Please let me know in the comments.
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Horary for John Maeda! My many years of management experience, multiple degrees and decades of working in local/state governments, has taught me just how very important it is to establish lasting beneficial relationships that are built on mutual respect and trust.
How do I motivate employees? Very simply… I ask them. I have developed my own two page “Motivation Survey” that allows each staff member to tell me what is important to them, and how I might help them to meet their own goals and objectives. There are also questions about how the employee would like to be rewarded.
Responses are not required and are held in strictest confidentiality. But, it does help me to know exactly how to motivate each person. It facilitates our working together and helps us to more quickly accomplish the goals of the organization, with added benefit of gaining valuable information for employee development. This sort of leadership is more enjoyable for everyone, is contagious and actually works.
I am beginning a new book about the best and worse bosses and would welcome stories from others wishing to contribute. It is an opportunity to vent or brag.
Please send me a brief explanation of your story and contact information to
yourhrpro@msn.com