Imation Corp.
Lead by example.
“The most important leadership technique I know of is to lead by example,” says William Monahan of Imation, specialists in data storage. “We hear a lot about ‘walk the talk,’ ‘get out front,’ and so on, but we don’t always see as much of it as would be effective.
“Everyone in a company watches what the leader or CEO does, where they go, how they travel, do they communicate, do they practice what they preach. Employees then determine the credibility of a leader based on the consistency of his or her actions.
“I am particularly against CEO perks such as limos, corporate aircraft, huge offices, special treatment. These perks set leaders apart from the team. They create the ‘Star CEO’ syndrome and cause a disconnect from reality.
“I also believe strong leaders need to set an example in being able to say no. It is very important to avoid or eliminate effective or nonsuccessful programs and projects. Often companies allow those to continue drawing resources, attention, and focus from priorities.
“Employees respect a definitive no. It is also crucial that leaders can say no to customers when the deal or the direction negatively impacts the company’s financial success. No often establishes the right atmosphere in tough sales situations, gets the truth in front on the customer, and leads to a win-win.
“At Imation, we did not create perks. We believe the entire team should work together, without special perks for executives. This has allowed us to take on divestitures, restructuring, and downsizing, and maintain the morale and dedication of our employees. We set policies, and executives follow the same policies.
“Also crucial is to explain to all employees not just what we are doing, but why and what will change due to these actions. You get a much faster response and better understanding with all employees pulling in the same direction if the why is outlined.
“An example of both walking the talk and providing the why of a decision occurred at Imation recently. We closed down part of a business operation affecting 15 employees. I personally announced the actions to the team affected and why we had to take these steps.
“We received numerous e-mails thanking us for meeting face-to-face and taking responsibility for the decision and outlining why we had to do it. The result was that the affected employees enjoyed a smooth transition. We ended up cooperating with another company to hire them, and we are referring business to them.
“A person who has good leadership capability can become better by consistent training and input. They need to gather new input and layout an improvement plan. One of the best techniques is to agree with a mentor who is the best leader in the organization and learn from that person, striving to be as good as them or better.
“If someone has leadership shortcomings, the only answer is admission and realization that the shortcomings are theirs. Without employees understanding that improvement is needed, they will be in denial and not improve.
“Using unbiased, independent mentoring and training has been successful in improving these types of leaders, but not in more than 50 percent of the cases. Denial is tough to overcome.”