10 Inspirational Examples of Great Leadership. Part 1.
As we move into 2022, I thought a little inspiration might be called for. Over the years as I have written about leadership, I have uncovered some inspirational stories that depict leadership as it should be. Often, it emerges from the most surprising places and circumstances. Some of these names you will know and some you will not.
In this article I share the first five of 10 inspirational stories.
1. The hotel with a hockey rink
When organisations truly empower their employees, magic happens. The Ritz-Carlton is a great example of an organisation that does just that. All the Ritz-Carlton employees referred to as Ladies and Gentlemen are empowered to spend up to $2000 per guest to improve the guest experience – to deliver a WOW moment. No questions asked. No permission needed. They are trusted to do the right thing.
There are many Ritz-Carlton stories to be told but this is one of my favourites. A loss prevention officer at The Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, was called to a guest room for the second time to receive another complaint about children playing hockey in the corridor. He could have spoken to the parents and asked them to keep the children in the hotel room. Rather than do that, he came up with a more creative solution to the problem.
He enlisted banquet employees to isolate space in one of the meeting rooms and create a hockey rink, using banquet tables as the outline of the rink. While the set-up was taking place, he went to a local sports store and purchased two hockey nets, six hockey sticks and hockey balls. When the set-up was complete, he delivered a hand-written note to the family informing them that The Ritz-Carlton had a hockey rink for those who wished to play. Further he challenged them to a match against the Loss Prevention All-Stars. The children’s father was incredulous that The Ritz-Carlton had a hockey rink and a team on site and vowed they would be down to the rink shortly. When the father and sons arrived at the meeting place, they were awed by the impromptu hockey rink. It was a WOW moment created by demonstration of inspired leadership.
The Loss-Prevention All-Stars and Team Family had a close match with Team Family winning the game. The game was recorded on the in-house cameras and the family send photos of the event. Double-wow!
Leadership traits: Creativity, initiative, customer-first, empowered.
2. To serve
Chip Bell shares a great story from the 1995 book Fabled Service by Betsy Sanders who is now a business consultant dedicated to improving corporate organisational efficiency and individual growth. Whilst a store manager at Nordstrom, she and her team made retail history building the new southern California business to $1 billion in annual sales over a 12-yearr period, quickly becoming Nordstrom’s largest and profitable region. While developing Nordstrom into a business partnership with their customers, this team, under Betsy’s leadership is credited with having set the industry and international standards for service.
In her book, she shares the story of a homeless woman dressed in dirty clothes who entered the flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Seattle.
“No one questioned her motives as she made her way to the evening gown section of the store. Warmly greeted by the sales associate, she stated she wanted to try on an evening dress. Without hesitation, the sales associate helped her try on several expensive dresses, commenting on how well she looked in each. After a while, the homeless woman thanked the sales associate and made her way back to the street, a smile on her face; her head held high.
A customer who had witnessed the whole scene approached the sales associate and inquired about the motives behind her generous actions. "You knew from the start she was not going to buy an evening dress. So why did you take such time with this poor street person?" Confidently, the salesperson responded, "This is what we are here for: our purpose is to serve and be kind."
Leadership is about having purpose and to serve others. A servant leader’s main goal and responsibility is to provide service to others and put the needs of others first before their own. These leaders do not judge, discriminate, or ostracise. These leaders lead with equity, diversity, and inclusivity at their core.
Leadership traits: Diversity, equity and inclusion, empathy, purpose, servant-leader.
3. Authenticity and empathy
It would be amiss of me not to include New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the top 10 stories of great leadership. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges for political leaders around the world. Ardern’s leadership style in a crisis has resonated with so many people.
Her authentic and empathetic leadership and excellent communication were illustrated when she “checked-in” with the people of New Zealand in March 2020. At home, after putting her daughter to bed, she hosted a Facebook live Q&A focused on the pandemic. She was wearing comfy house clothes and she apologised for her attire explaining that “it can be a messy business putting toddlers to bed.”
She then implored New Zealanders to remain in self-isolation, while explaining the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country will go up, but not to be discouraged. She acknowledged that it was tough, but so crucial to stay at home. She demonstrated empathy. This was authentic leadership in action. It was real, there was no pretence, no staging, just pure, open, and honest conversation.
The previous year she showed the world what a leader should be. Wearing the hijab, she comforted Muslim men and women following the Christchurch mosque shooting. She refused to be drawn into anti-Islamic rhetoric and swiftly put in place practical measures such as gun-legislation. In her address to parliament after the massacre, she said:
“On a quiet Friday afternoon, a man stormed into a place of peaceful worship and took away the lives of 50 people.
That quiet Friday afternoon has become our darkest of days.
But for the families, it was more than that.
It was the day that the simple act of prayer — of practicing their Muslim faith and religion — led to the loss of their loved ones' lives.
Those loved ones were brothers, daughters, fathers, and children.
They were New Zealanders. They are us.
And because they are us, we, as a nation, we mourn them.”
Her leadership style was welcomed in The New Yorker:
“Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, has staged a revolution. In the wake of a shooting that killed fifty people, in two mosques, in the city of Christchurch last Friday, Ardern has quietly upended every expectation about the way Western states and their leaders respond to terrorist attacks.
Ardern has resisted war rhetoric.
This is what political leaders do in the face of a senseless tragedy: they grieve with their people, they think with their people, and they act together with their people. None of those tasks requires a declaration of war.”
Leadership traits: Authenticity, empathy, transparency, honesty, great communication, inclusivity, humanitarian.
4. Last man out
On 5 August 2010, Luis Urzua went to work as usual. He was the shift foreman for what was to become the ill-fated group of Chilean miners who became trapped below the surface of the Atacama Desert in the north of the country. Urzua and his crew of 33 men were trapped 2000 feet underground for 69 days.
As soon as the collapse happened, Urzua mobilised the team who worked as one to ensure that every miner survived and thrived in what were the worst of conditions. He got them all to share in the hardship by rationing their two-day supply of food to last 17 days – when they were finally rescued – and to eat together at the same time. They reportedly ate one teaspoon of tuna and a half-glass of milk each 48 hours. An employee said that Urzua was able to convince the miners of the need to ration despite some of them think they would be rescued in 48 hours, due to his reputation for caring and protecting the team. He kept a sense of team by having them eat their tiny rations together in the same place. Everyone was on a level playing field and knew that they had no more or less than their teammates.
He focused everyone on the goal of getting out and surviving in the meantime. He had them dig for fresh water, map out their tunnel, and build a latrine. Having these tasks to complete gave the team a sense of hope and direction. Why would Urzua get the team to do these things if he didn't believe they would eb rescued?
Every member of the team had a job to do and Urzua kept them busy improving their living conditions and providing them with a shared sense of purpose. He provided his team with order, structure, and emotional support. His reputation prior to the crisis was critical.
Perhaps his greatest act of leadership was to be the last man to exit the mine. Whilst many talked about his leadership, he humbly talked about the welfare of his men. He led by example all the way to the end.
Leadership traits: Humility, emotional support, care and compassion, purpose, resolve, focus, resilience, determination.
5. It’s not a company. It’s a cause
This was how the late Herb Kelleher – long-time CEO of Southwest Airlines – described his business. It’s not a company – it is a cause. His goal was not just to keep airfares low and to fly to more places. The goal, in his own words, was to “democratise the skies.” He wanted air travel to be as easy, affordable, and flexible for the average person to travel, and he succeeded.
There are so many great stories about Herb. He was a larger-than-life character. He was a cigarette smoking, whiskey drinking, maverick.
Dying in January 2019 at the age of 87, he was the co-founder of Southwest Airlines. He was instrumental in growing the airline from a local, short-haul airline to a global enterprise. Officially launched in 1971, Southwest turned a profit for 45 consecutive years while pioneering a low-cost model that other airlines now emulate. It became the largest low-cost airline in the world.
Southwest has only flown Boeing 737’s since its inception. It was part of the cost-saving intent, as it was easier and cheaper to maintain a one-plane fleet. Its low cost was also enabled by its fast turnaround. As Herb said, “planes only make money in the air.”
Southwest became (renowned for its 10-minute turnaround. It was an all-hands on deck operation. As soon as an aircraft was arriving, everyone raced to their posts. More than 100 tasks had to eb completed before the plane could depart, and a delay in just one detail, would derail the whole operations. Nobody, including the pilots, provision agents, or Herb himself, was above taking out trash or restocking peanuts. The flight crew did not wait for the cleaning crew, they started tidying up themselves. There was no seat allocation, customers found a seat and the plane would taxi even as customers were still getting seated (an activity ended in 1986!). The 10-minute turnaround was a turning point for Southwest in 1972 as they turned the corner to profitability.
He created a company that was a beacon of inspired and passionate employees, fully engaged and firing on all cylinders. He loved his people and put his employees before everything else including profit. When the airline ran into trouble in 1973, he chose to sell one of the planes rather than lay-off employees. During Kelleher's tenure, the company never had a layoff, furlough or pay cut, despite being among the most unionised airlines in the world.
He was an incredible listener, totally present and fully engaged. He showered his employees with sincere gratitude and treated them with dignity and respect. He led with empathy and was always approachable.
Kevin and Jackie Frieberg recalled in this Forbes article:
“Herb loved to tell a story about being on an elevator with the CEO of another company who didn't even acknowledge two employees who got on the elevator with them. When the CEO asked Herb how he could create a Southwest-like culture, Herb said, "You might start by saying ‘Hello' to your people."
“Under Herb's leadership, Southwest instituted a Walk-a-Mile program. It was about developing empathy and a deeper understanding of the pressures people are under in other jobs. For example, pilots dressed as ramp agents loaded bags for a couple of days and learned how hard that job is.
He created a culture of trust and empowered employees to make decisions at the local level without fear of reprisal if something went wrong. He would say that the great culture at Southwest was formed by treating people the way he wanted to be treated and treating them the way they deserved to be treated.
Leadership traits: Empathy, listener, gratitude, inclusivity, approachable, employees first, trust and respect,
Next week 5 more great leadership examples.