Rotman, the award-winning magazine of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, just published an interview I did with them on Connection Cultures, leadership and employee engagement. The Spring 2009 issue also features fascinating interviews with Warren Bennis, Prof. Renee Mauborgue of INSEAD and Prof. Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago. You can subscribe to Rotman magazine or purchase the download by clicking here. Following is the text of the interview.
Tag Archives: michael lee stallard
Darden: A Legacy of Community and Connection
This week I taught a half-day workshop on Connection Cultures, employee engagement, leadership and teams to the graduating seniors of the MBA for Executives program at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business. This is the second year I’ve taught at Darden. After speaking last year, I wrote about my first impression of Darden in a blog post entitled “The Connected Class.”
New Webcasts: Servant Leaders, Lonely Leaders and Networking Leaders
In my experience as a leader, a board member and an advisor to leaders, I’ve learned that all great leaders are “servant leaders,” a term first used by Robert Greenleaf in his influential essay “The Servant as Leader.” Recently, I hosted several webcasts on the leadership and employee engagement channel at Brighttalk.com that have a link to the servant leadership theme.
Howard Behar, the inspiring and wise former president of Starbucks International, spoke with me about his experiences as a leader and his outstanding book entitled It’s Not About the Coffee. I loved this book.
The Leadership Style of Warren Buffett
Over the weekend I read Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. I admire Buffett. I’ve met him, followed him closely over the years and I own Berkshire stock. I’ve also written about Buffett in The Economic Times and spoke about his leadership style in leadership training workshops I conduct and in this brief training video I recorded for Athenaonline.com (click on the link to see the video).
In his letter to shareholders, Buffett displays some of the attributes I’ve described as being part of his leadership style, namely he loves to praise and give credit to his managers while being humble (or critical) about his own performance. Here are just a few excerpts that provide more evidence that Buffett is as great a leader as he is an investor:
Joining Marshall Goldsmith, others as expert on Success Television
Last week I joined Marshall Goldsmith and others as one of Success Television’s experts on leadership and employee engagement. Former CNN executive Helen Whelan, Success Television’s founder and CEO, is developing an excellent platform to provide corporate training via online, dvds and videos. Success Television’s website is currently featuring an article I wrote about Truth, Beauty and Goodness in Leadership. You can learn more about it by clicking on Success Television.
Presentation to Wharton and Harvard Business School Clubs of D.C.
Last week I spoke at a breakfast meeting of Wharton and Harvard Business School Clubs of D.C. It was such an engaging group of individuals that included entrepreneurs, leaders of government agencies, and leaders from the social sector. I would like to thank them for their enthusiastic response to my presentation.
During the presentation I spoke about the leadership style of or Retired Admiral Vern Clark, the former Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) who served as CNO from 2000-2005. Retired Rear Admiral Rose Levitre, who presently works for LMI (an intelligence consulting organization) and Rear Admiral Frank Thorp, the current Chief of Information for the Navy, stood up before the group and shared their experiences working for Admiral Clark. Thank you Rose and Frank for inspiring us with your stories.
Finally, I would like to thank the Wharton Alumni Club of D.C.’s president, Alan Schlaifer, for doing a first class job of organizing this event and Anthony Priest, chairman of the Harvard Business School Club of D.C., for promoting it.
Truth, Beauty and Goodness Increase Employee Engagement
Here is the draft of an article I’m working on. What do you think about it? If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me at mstallard@epluribuspartners.
Values of Great Leaders Connect with Employees
By Michael Lee Stallard
When people feel emotionally connected, they put more effort in their work. Research bears this out. A 2004 Corporate Leadership Council study of 50,000 employees worldwide concluded that emotional factors were four times as important as rational factors when it came to employee effort.
Great leaders connect on an emotional level with the people they are responsible for leading. When employees follow their leader’s example, they become more connected with one another, boosting trust, cooperation and esprit de corps throughout the organization. What I have discovered as a leader and as an advisor to leaders over the years is that the emotional connections leaders develop with people are ultimately grounded in the leader’s own values. The values that foster connection among people come in clusters that I refer to as Truth Values, Beauty Values and Goodness Values.
Webcast with Charles W. “Willy” Moore, Jr. of Lockheed Martin
Please join me as I host a webcast with Charles W. “Willy” Moore Jr. on January 14, at 11:00 AM Eastern. When I spoke to a group of leaders at Lockheed Martin last year I heard Willy share his thoughts on leadership. He impressed me with his wisdom and extensive experience as a Vice President responsible for a major group at Lockheed and as a Vice Admiral during a distinguished 36-year career in the United States Navy. During his Navy career, Vice Admiral Moore served as a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Readiness and Logistics, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet (1998-2002). In this role VADM Moore commanded all U.S. Naval Forces throughout the Middle East and the Horn of Africa during a time of nearly constant combat. VADM Moore led his forces in combat operations including Infinite Reach after the 1998 Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Operation Desert Fox in Iraq and subsequent combat in the no-fly zone, Operation Southern Watch, Operation Determined Response after the terrorist bombing of USS Cole and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan fighting the global war on terrorism.
This is a webcast you don’t want to miss. To sign up for the live webcast or to hear a recording, click here.
New York-Presbyterian Recognized for Employee Engagement
Congratulations to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for being recognized as the top academic medical center in terms of employee engagement. I wrote an article about New York-Presbyterian entitled “Strengthening Human Value in Organizational Cultures” that appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of Leader to Leader. You can read about it in a blog post of mine entitled “Amazing Things are Happening Here.”
Jim Blasingame and I discuss employee engagement on his radio program
Last Friday I was a guest on my friend Jim Blasingame’s nationally-syndicated radio program entitled “The Small Business Advocate.” In the interview Jim and I talked about employee engagement and why leaders need to clearly communicate their vision and values to the people they are responsible for leading. This is especially important during difficult economic times. You can hear the interview by clicking on the “listen now” below.