Leadership
Leadership Is Not Defined by a Title: Leadership is Enacted Through Service, Communication, and Core Values
In my adult life, I’ve held what many see as leadership positions. I have been President and CEO of a community bank. I have served as the CFO for several community banks and a regional bank, CRO for a regional bank, and the director of Risk Management for a regional public accounting firm. By title, each of these are considered a leadership position within their respective organizations, yet I readily admit that calling myself a leader while I was in those leader-centric positions made me uncomfortable.
I’ve just completed my final course for the Master of Arts in organizational leadership (MAOL), and as you’d expect, leadership has been a frequent topic of discussion in this program of study. Because of the MAOL, my view of what leadership is and what leadership means has expanded. I am convinced that the competencies required for effective leadership are the willingness to serve well, the desire to listen and communicate, and the ability to live and lead in alignment with core values.
The most effective leaders understand that their role is founded on service to others. After I was promoted to President and CEO of a bank, I often found myself explaining how my role had changed. I went from having one boss, the former CEO, to having countless bosses. In my new role, I reported to the employees of the bank, the members of the board of directors, every shareholder of the bank stock, each customer that the bank served for their financial needs, and all the members of the communities where the bank had a presence. The role was not about me in any way; it was about how well I could serve for the benefit of all. This idea of service is key to leadership. A top competency for any leader is being able to serve well. As leaders, we serve and respect each person, and if we do this to the best of our ability, then people may willingly follow us. People following willingly then is at the core of being a valuable leader. When we serve others well enough for them to choose to follow us, then we have truly achieved a valuable leadership role. Jesus Christ — the greatest leader of all time — preferred to emphasize the servant role of leadership rather than calling Himself the leader of all heaven and earth.
In my nearly 40 years of service to the banking communities, the most frequent area for needed improvement has been communication. Another competency a leader must possess is the ability to communicate effectively. When communication is a barrier, a person usually has their own expectations and definition for what communication means and requires. Effective communication must flow from top to bottom and from bottom to top. As leaders, we must recognize that each stakeholder needs to be able to clearly understand what we are trying to communicate to them. And I, as their leader, need to be able to understand what they are trying to say to me. Of course, the issue is often appreciating that each stakeholder is their own unique self and does not initiate or receive communication in the same way as others. This truly presents both the challenge and the need to meet everyone where they are and to make them feel respected and heard. As a bank leader, I often visited employees at their workstations and met customers in the branch lobbies to sit and talk with them. My most uncomfortable setting to talk with people was at my desk. There I would sit behind a massive, old wooden desk and the other person would sit in an inferior position in front of me. This was the place where communication was at its worst because communication was not on level ground. To communicate well, we need to meet every person on their turf, on their terms, and in their comfort zones. We will only truly know the success of communication when those to whom we have tried to communicate tell us what we said, and when what they say matches what we intended for them to hear. True communication is more about listening and understanding than it is about our own spoken words. A top competency for any leader is taking the time to listen to understand — not merely listening to respond or relate our own story back to them.
Another key competency of a leader is ensuring that a rich set of organizational core values are in place and then living in alignment with those core values. When a leader can clearly live out the core values in their own life and emulate them in a way that others want to replicate, the values of that organization work to build a strong culture. Organizational core values need to be thoughtfully designed, well publicized, incorporated into daily conversations and work goals, and be top of mind for everyone.
The way this works is that when an action is taken, when a problem arises, when a conflict needs resolution, or when a strategic direction needs to be followed, anyone in the organization should be able to compare that situation to a core value for which it aligns. Leadership should emulate the core values and redirect behavior not in alignment with those values. When each action and interaction can clearly identify a core value, then the leader has built a strong culture.
If I’ve learned anything in almost 40 years of leadership or in my studies in the MAOL, it is that leaders must behave in a way that causes people to want to follow them. Once we’ve accomplished this, then we can be recognized as true and valuable leaders and our titles no longer matter. True leaders can have any title in any organization, or no title at all, and hold any position. Leadership is known by having a servant mindset, being a champion of communication, and building consensus around core values.
