When Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and other excellent books, spent some time among West Point cadets, he came away with additional insights into the characteristics of successful leaders. Based on this experience, he wrote an article in Inc. magazine that describes a three-part formula for successful leadership in the workplace. Here’s an excerpt:
"If you want to build a culture of engaged leaders and a great place to work, you need to spend time thinking about three things. 1) Service to a cause or purpose we are passionately dedicated to and are willing to suffer and sacrifice for; 2 Challenge and growth – what huge and audacious challenges should we give people that will push them hard and make them grow?; and 3) Communal success – what can we do to reinforce the idea that we succeed only by helping each other?"
Collins has observed these principles at work in in a number of great companies he studied during their best years – including IBM, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, and Federal Express.
Not a bad way to look at the leadership in your company!