Valuing kind leadership in an increasingly cynical world.
Many have hypothesized that the world we live in is getting angrier and meaner. Some say that it’s the pressure of the times to survive in a globally competitive world. Others say it’s how we communicate—no longer face-to-face—allowing for less civilized communication and more nastiness. Simultaneously, the lionizing of the “strongman,” killer boss and the belief that the bottom line is the only measure has pushed our companies into places of profit over people.
In our new book, Organizations for People, published by Stanford University Press, Industrial Psychologist Dr. Michael O’Malley and I make the case that these ideas are not necessarily true. In fact, the research demonstrates that kind leadership is beneficial in creating a contented workplace and even a positive bottom line. We have closely examined 21 companies in various businesses all across the country to prove our point.
As a country we are slowly losing the social, human nourishment we require for our happiness and well-being. When managing large commercial broadcast businesses, I soon realized that when hiring a person, we were also hiring a family.
Our review begins with a Forward by Rachel Moore, CEO of the Music Center of Los Angeles, which employs two thousand people. Rachel is a former ballet dancer who regretfully stated that she began her work life around men who expected her to keep her ideas to herself. However, today she manages a workforce where employees are measured not only by what they say and accomplish, but how they do it, with ethics, kindness, tolerance and openness. We show that business in pursuit of money alone is more often less civil and even less successful over the long haul. Seemingly in agreement with this idea, CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, speaking for many of the biggest companies in America at the Business Roundtable, stated that business leaders should commit to balancing the needs of shareholders with customers, employees, suppliers and local communities. This recommendation comes at a good time, based on a recent survey which found that only 20% of the workforce says they are “flourishing1.”
According to management scholar Warren Bennis, most often businesses reflect the personality of the leader, with respect and trust as the most essential attributes of leadership 2. This book follows our decade-old book Leading With Kindness, which attempted to prove that over the long run, a kind leader has the most success by empowering the workforce, and allowing it the freedom to perform at its best. Itzhak Perlman, the virtuoso violinist observed that the notes don’t make beautiful music, but rather by what is created in between the notes—how one note is passed to the next.
At a time when there are low rates of unemployment, and when 36% of employees say they have dysfunctional managers3 and 75% of workers say that their boss is the most stressful part of the job4, is it any wonder that the very best people quickly move on when they are not properly respected and managed. As a country we are slowly losing the social, human nourishment we require for our happiness and well-being. When managing large commercial broadcast businesses, I soon realized that when hiring a person, we were also hiring a family. More and more companies realize that today, and do take seriously the needs of the employee outside of the workplace. Clearly, money alone is not the key to employee satisfaction.
One of America’s finest leaders, former Time-Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, remarked that building confidence in the workforce was the most important element of leadership. World class executive Dan Ritchie continually held high the mission and institutional values, as he led some of the most successful media businesses in the 1980’s and later the University of Denver. James Berger, founder of World Courier Group, shared significant profits with employees when he sold his multi-million-dollar business prior to his death. These are examples of individuals who prove that one does not need to be a “strongman” to lead a strong business. In fact, the opposite is most often the case.
Treating people with kindness and respect does pay off, and there are many examples of this throughout the country today. By engaging in the “strongman” boss style of leadership, we will surely be doomed. Certainly, to aim just for the bottom line is to aim too low. We can thank Jamie Dimon and the Business Roundtable for recognizing that.
Start reading Organizations for People »
Notes
- Keyes CLM. 2007. Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist 62(2): 95–108.
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Bennis W. 2014. Respect and trust. Leadership Excellence Essentials 31(1): 11–12.
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White MC. 2015. If you think your boss is horrible, you’re probably right. Timecom, February 3
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Leary TG, Green R, Denson K, Schoenfeld G, Henley T, Langford H. 2013. The relationship among dysfunctional leadership dispositions, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and burnout. Psychologist-Manager Journal 16(2): 112–30.
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