Leadership in Organizations

"Unless someone who cares a lot does something, nothing is going to get better." In The Lorax, Dr. Seuss illuminates qualities and behaviors crucial to leadership, perseverance, and motivating others to take action towards a common goal. Though his stories may belong to our childhoods, the embedded themes continue to resonate and inspire new generations of leaders more than twenty years after his death. This enduring story of a passionate and determined individual demonstrates the eternal characteristics that great leaders rely upon to achieve exceptional results.

Upon reflecting on leadership models, examples, and constructs, each member of our team has worked with inspiring and resolved leaders, who operate in distinct contexts and diverse backgrounds (See Exhibit). By critically questioning the leadership qualities and specific behaviors observed over time, we are able to draw insightful conclusions pertaining to the benefits and drawbacks offered by each style and approach to leadership. Dan's leader, Dr. Porter, is the first analyzed. As a well-respected hospital administrator, Dr. Porter is patient-focused and intent on creating impressions that standout as positive and lasting for patients, family members and visitors. Dan observed her impeccable attention to detail firsthand as she picked up a candy wrapper in the parking garage and then proceeded to address each attendant by name on her way to inspect the signage in a new cancer facility. She also made sure that volunteer patient groups had their say in the design of the new building. This ensured the most comfortable patient experience at each step of the journey. Dr. Porter is able to convey her vision for success to her staff and motivate them to self-initiate and achieve. Over time, one can see that leadership tactics at an organization can vary widely but still produce results effectively. Dr. Porter's talent is bringing her team together to share the same vision of the future for a project. She allows her workers to handle their aspect of the operation in whichever manner they find appropriate. During early stages of a construction project, she held weekly meetings to ensure the vision was developing and facts were shared between teams. Later in the process, meetings were no longer necessary because the shared vision was so firmly established. The staff became so independent that they beat deadlines and came in under budget without the micromanagement of Dr. Porter. The team was genuinely able to lead from within because of the shared vision she imparted.

Next, Jordan introduced us to her leader, Patty, who is the head of Relationship Management. Patty enables others to act by effectively delegating tasks and empowering those around her to add value to the organization. Upon Jordan's first week in the group, Patty transferred both easily manageable and more complex responsibilities to her. Jordan immediately felt like a valued team contributor. Patty continually empowers and inspires her team by asking for their feedback, and she attentively listens to potential process improvements. This closely parallels Ralph Stayer's thoughts as he noted, "If I wanted to improve results, I had to increase their involvement in the business," (Stayer, 1990). Another key quality is Patty's passion for her job and the well-being of her staff. Her refined social skills demonstrate empathy and a genuine sense of caring felt by her employees. She listens, offers advice, and maintains an open door policy. This level of support is evident as she encouraged Jordan to pursue her MBA and likewise urged all of her direct reports to find ways to further their learning. Instead of "rewarding A while hoping for B," she incorporated learning development goals into her team's performance reviews, including her own, thereby motivating her employees to further their personal and professional development (Kerr, 1995).

Moving to our next leadership example, we analyzed Dave' boss, Paul. With more than 25 years of banking experience, Paul has fine-tuned his qualities as a successful leader in his industry. First, Paul respects, empathizes with, and exhibits fierce loyalty to those who work with him. Using these valuable interpersonal skills, he built an impenetrable network and tangible rapport with his team while at the helm of his group at TD Bank. As a result, he was able to rely on his emotional intelligence to foster superior working relationships with his subordinates, who would go above and beyond for their boss. Upon leaving TD Bank for Berkshire Bank, his dedicated team followed him and helped to make Berkshire a leading player in Boston's competitive commercial lending community. In addition, Paul possesses superior communication and organizational skills, which allows for productive meetings that keep his team focused on common goals. In these meetings, he works to build collaboration and trust within the team while reviewing the backlog and each team member's portfolio. As a result, he knows what each team member is working on and can dictate accordingly. He empowers them to contribute to the organization as a whole by keeping them informed of management-level actions and discussing their concerns or ideas for improvement. By consistently displaying high energy and a dedicated work ethic, he models the way in which each team member should work.

Seth also chose to analyze his current manager, Jesse. Jesse has repeatedly shown that he embodies the vital characteristics of a truly effective leader. One example is Jesse's keen ability to tap into his emotional intelligence and utilize social skills to build up political capital across the organization. As Director of Sales, he is the quarterback of all deliverables (marketing, pricing, operations) supporting their ambitious 401(k) sales goal. He has built a vast network of resources that he is able to leverage at will to get projects completed. Recently, his team hit a roadblock while creating a crucial marketing piece for client presentations. Jesse realized his own department would be unable to produce the piece in a timely manner, and so he strategically deployed his political capital to get another marketing director to produce the piece successfully. What might have been a major loss turned into a major win for his group. Jesse also motivates others with his own aggressive drive to succeed. He exudes passion and seems to have endless energy to achieve the team's goals in any way possible. This energy bleeds through to his multi-location team members during weekly meetings that he hosts. During these discussions, he continually finds new ways to motivate his subordinates and counterparts to reach their short and long-term goals. One creative, yet coercive, tactic he used recently was to show a picture of the white board that the General Manager walks by