This post on leadership is by Terry Tucker, our guest in episode 312. You can watch the video or listen to the audio. We publish it here with his permission and with our thanks.

In any organization, as goes the leader, so goes the team – Always!

But every piece of data would suggest that workplaces are in bad shape and there are low levels of trust in our leaders. A Gallop poll shows that worldwide, roughly 13% of employees report being engaged at work, and in the United States, the number is barely 20%. Job satisfaction has declined linearly since 1987. The Edelman Trust found that employees do not expect their own leaders to make ethical decisions or tell them the truth.

            Given these statistics, it sounds like there is a significant lack of leadership in all areas of our lives and throughout the world. Hopefully, the following stories will give you hope for the future of our leaders, along with providing some tools and ideas you can use to improve your leadership ability. 

Most people would agree that Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was an entrepreneur, innovator, and leader. But how did Ford evaluate candidates to bring into his organization?

The following story might provide a greater insight into how Henry Ford viewed leadership in other people.

One evening, Ford took two engineering candidates to dinner. They were both graduates of the same university. They had the same grade point average, and they were both very capable.

They finished dinner and walked out of the restaurant. Once outside, Ford said to the one, “You’re hired. You start on Monday.” To the other candidate, he said, “We won’t be proceeding. Thank you very much.”

The candidate who did not get hired summoned the courage and said, “Mr. Ford, can I ask you something? During dinner, we never spoke about engineering, automobiles, or even our experiences at college. We only spoke about general life events. Why did you decide to hire my friend and not me?”

Henry Ford replied, “For two reasons. The first is that your classmate tried his steak and then put salt on it. You put salt on your steak before trying it. I like people who try things before they make changes. The second and most important reason you weren’t hired is that your colleague was courteous and polite to all the waiters saying ‘thank you’ and ‘please.’ The waiters were invisible to you. You were only polite when you were speaking with me.”

The moral of this story is that a leader is someone you want to impact your organization by seeing the human beings who work for the company, not the hierarchy that is in place to ensure the business runs efficiently.

Kat Cole is the president, chief operating officer, and board member of Athletic Greens, the nutritional supplement company. Before joining Athletic Greens, she was the president of Cinnabon. She is a dynamic, innovative, and seasoned leader in the consumer brands, food, and retail markets.

One of the novel leadership tools Cole uses in her business and personal life is a six-question “check-in” instrument that she engages in monthly with all her direct reports and, on a personal note, with her husband.

The interesting thing about these questions is that they operate in a two-way fashion. Not only does she ask these questions she also answers them with the person she is talking with. This unique communication style allows her to understand where her staff is coming from but also provides the people she is talking to, with an understanding of what’s on her mind and where her efforts are focused.

The six questions are:

1. What is the best thing that has happened in the last 30 days?
2. What is the worst thing that has happened in the last 30 days?
3. How can I be a better…(boss, partner, coach, etc.)
4. What worries you the most?
5. What are you most proud of?
6. What are you most grateful for?

These questions not only allow the leader and subordinate to make sure they are on the same page from a business perspective but, as in the previous story about Henry Ford, they also take into account the personal or human side that might be affecting another person.

Finally, one hundred and sixty-three of the Fortune 500 companies are run by leaders who at one time or another were members of the United States Marine Corps.

These men and women learned through their military service, a culture of accountability, where a leader does not make excuses or blame others when things don’t go right.

The Marine Corps teaches that leadership is associated with an individual choosing to be responsible for the successful outcome of an organization’s mission along with the welfare of its people and their personal and professional aspirations.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel hires employees for culture first, and job knowledge second. It then puts its employees through a lengthy orientation and training during which they emphasize eye contact, smiling, remembering guests’ names, and providing exceptional service. The Ritz-Carlton believes that when it comes to leadership, the minimum standard is to expend maximum effort at all times.

Every leader, at each level, should continually ask these three questions:

1. What should we start doing?
2. What should we stop doing?
3. What should we be doing differently?

If you want to be a great leader, and it certainly sounds like the world could use as many capable, honest, and inspiring leaders as possible, remember this quote from Zach Progrob, “Surround yourself with relentless humans. People who plan in decades, but live in moments. Train like savages, but create like artists. Obsess in work but relax in life. People who know this life is finite, and choose to play infinite games. Find people who are going up mountains and climb together.”  

TERRY TUCKER BIO –  INTERNATIONAL

Terry Tucker is a speaker, author, and international podcast guest on the topics of mindset, motivation, and self-development. He is the Founder of Motivational Check LLC. Terry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The Citadel and a Master’s degree from Boston University. Among his many diverse roles, he has been a college basketball player, a marketing executive, a hospital administrator, a SWAT Hostage Negotiator, a business owner, and for the past 12 years, a cancer warrior. He is the author of the book Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles To Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life, and the co-author of the new book, Perspectives On Cancer, Stories of Healing, Hope, And Resilience. Terry has also been published in Authority, Thrive Global, and Human Capital Leadership magazines, and featured in the book, Audaciousness, Your Journey To Living A Bold And Authentic Life by Maribel Ortega and Helen Strong.