To “punctuate” (I love that word choice, by the way) his feelings on genuine leadership, McChrystal quotes a guest speaker in one of his leadership classes at Yale as saying…
“People will forgive you for not being the leader you should be; but they won’t forgive you for not being the leader that you claim to be.”
You may need to read that twice.
To McChrystal, leadership is all about candor, empathy, authenticity, and leading by example (i.e., integrity). (Side note: If you know my leadership philosophy, you know this is a man after my own heart.)
In my Total Quality Auditing® and Ethics trainings (oh, and yes, I am still doing these virtually, in case you need CPE), I emphasize the critical importance of honesty and integrity in establishing and maintaining an ethical culture… and in keeping your organization out of the headlines. And the first step is to ensure you have the right leadership, with the right values, that establish and practice those same values sincerely, uniformly, and consistently every day. Even in a crisis.
My favorite corporate examples, just to pick on a few are:
- BP – that claimed to “care about the safe management of the environment.”
- Wells Fargo – that claimed to be “committed to the highest standards of integrity . . . .”
- Volkswagen – that claimed that the “trust of customers in our products is our most precious asset.”
And, more recently…
- Boeing – the world’s premier aircraft designer and manufacturer – that claims in one of its value statements that:
“We [Boeing] value human life and well-being above all else and take action accordingly. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for the safety of our teammates and workplaces, our products and services, and the customers who depend on them. When it comes to safety, there are no competing priorities.”
Sadly, we all know the rest of the story in each case. And we know the claims are/were untrue.
So, in this time of the COVID-19 crisis (as well as all other times), McChrystal’s counsel for organizations/leaders is essentially that saying I believe we all should live and breathe by:
“Say what you mean and mean what you say.”
Always “lead with integrity.” A track record of candor with your team is particularly important in times of crisis, if you want to be believed and followed. (Perhaps we need to be more proactive and work on this outside of a crisis? I know several bosses that really needed this advice pre-COVID.) (But remember, it’s never too late to start improving.)
Communicate regularly to build “empathy and connection” with your team. As McChrystal often did, wear your feelings on your sleeve – it’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think most people find it refreshing in today’s world.
And lastly, “whatever you do, it has to be genuine.” (Yessss! Thank you, McChrystal.)
Be authentically YOU and people will forgive your mistakes. But don’t make leadership claims you can’t keep. They are like promises broken. Unforgivable.
