A few months ago, a colleague sent me a Great presentation by Robert McDonald – CEO of P&G. As I listened to Robert outline his 10 Leadership Beliefs , it occurred to me that Value based leadership principles have a lot in common with the concept of Servant Leadership.
Leadership is nothing more than observing a set of behaviors – behaviors are based on beliefs. Beliefs are based on one’s background, culture, values and the environment in which one grows up. People love to work for a leader who is predictable, they like to understand where their leader is coming from.
The scarcest resource we have is leadership, and it’s also the most important resource in the world. Nothing happens without leadership. So, be deliberate about your personal beliefs, your values, your leadership principles. Below are Robert’s 10 Leadership Beliefs…
- Living a life driven by a purpose, leads to a more meaningful, purposeful life.
- Everybody wants to succeed & success is contagious.
- Putting the right people in the right jobs, is very important. (leaders often lament that it takes too long to get the right people on the right bus.
- Character is the most important trait of a great leader (i.e. putting the needs of your organization above your own needs). In so doing, you demonstrate to your team that their needs are more important than your own.
- Diverse groups of people are more innovative than homogeneous groups of people.
- Don’t apportion blame until you’ve made sure that you’ve provided clear leadership, guidance, expectations, definitions of success, etc.
- Provide continuous feedback so that your direct reports, always know where they stand in terms of their overall performance.
- Organizations have to renew themselves. “the specie that adapt the quickest – will survive” – Charles Darwin. Leaders have to be able to create and lead change – not just react to change. Great leaders have to be able to prepare organizations to anticipate change.
- Recruiting great talent is a top priority – for any great leader.
- As a leader, the true test of character is not just what happens when you lead a team, but what happens after you leave. Did you build capability which can withstand your departure.
Robert’s key message is that we should all lead purposeful lives. How many of us are controlled by our calendar – rather than our key goals? I do agree that it’s important to spend some time – outlining your purpose in life and get in touch with what you want to accomplish with this life.
So, what are your beliefs? What do you believe, as a leader, why do you believe the way you do?
Servant Leader
