I hope everyone has a great week, and those celebrating July 4th, here’s wishing you a very special time to reflect on the true meaning of that day, July 4, 1776!
I had the opportunity this weekend to participate in the Coaches 100 annual meeting in Nashville, TN. Coaches 100 was founded by Marshall Goldsmith with the goal of “bringing together the world’s premier leadership thinkers and providing them with the opportunity to learn from his practiced and proven methods, plus share ideas and inspiration with one another.”
There were several amazing speakers and panelists, and as usual, I took a lot of notes. I will highlight some of the talks in future posts, but I wanted to highlight in this post comments from Alan Mulally, the retired CEO of Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airlines. Alan is an excellent example of what I believe is a true values-based leader, and a special friend. During one of my leadership talks to the Coaches 100 members several years ago, he drew a wonderful diagram that covered all four leadership principles on one page! He also wrote an endorsement for my third book, Your 168.
As you know, leading a large, complex global company can be challenging, and often senior executives become completely focused on achieving results at all costs and forgetting that running a successful business is really all about values, purpose, and people that together generate results. Some leaders pay “lip service” to these critical requirements, but not many actually live it. Alan is one of those few who actually live it.
In his talk at this year’s Coaches 100, Alan discussed his “working together” leadership formation, development, and service journey. I asked him if I could share his work with my Kellogg students and all of you. Alan quickly responded, “Harry, of course!!!”….so here you go!
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Alan Mulally’s “working together” leadership formation, development, and service journey:
- The purpose of life is to love and be loved…in that order.
- To serve is to live.
- Seek to understand before seeking to be understood. (one of my favorites!!)
- By working together with others, you can make the most positive contribution to the most people.
- Expect the unexpected and expect to deal with it…positively.
- Lifelong learning and continuous improvement.
- Respect everyone, we are all creatures of God and worthy to be loved.
- Develop one integrated life that is your life’s work of service.
- It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.
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My opinion is any current leader, or future leader, can learn a lot of what it means to be a VALUES-BASED LEADER by following Alan’s 9 steps! (Thanks Alan!) 😉
# 3 is my favorite too. I think it’s one of the strategies Jordan Peterson recommends when arguing with someone who is forceful and may be making points with which you disagree – a lot. Calmly and with no rancor, repeat the key points the other person is making and get confirmation that your interpretation is correct and you both understand what the opponent is saying.