Robert W Wells

3 Qualities of an Impactful Leader
Author: Robert W Wells
Published: July 14, 2009
For more articles: www.robertwells.com

In my consulting business (Light Point Strategies), I have the privilege of working with leaders of all sorts and sizes. These leaders come from all walks of life and varied business experience.  Through the time I’ve spent with these leaders and throughout my life as an entrepreneur, I realized there are certain qualities impactful leaders possess. This article will help identify a few of these important qualities. I will write about other qualities in future articles. This article is primarily intended for fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders, however, even husbands and fathers can benefit from these 3 powerful qualities.

“In business, you succeed by helping other people succeed. The more people you help, the more success you have. Pushing up people is a way of life!” – Art Williams

Servant Leadership
The following quote is posted on the public website of a company (QualityHub, Inc.) of which I spent many years building alongside the president. “When we seek to discover the best in others, we always bring out the best in ourselves.” This statement proclaims the philosophy of this company’s leader (Tim Wells) and in my opinion is the reason why this business has been successful for so long. His company has had to turn away customers because they are consistently booked, sometimes up to a year in advance. His company does no advertising and has no sales team, but yet, year after year has increased revenue and more customers. I have seen Tim Wells reflect the genuine actions of a servant leader.

What is a servant leader? A servant leader has the heart of a servant being humble and without pride as he/she carry’s out daily activities. We live in a culture where the masses and media profess an “all about me” mentality. We see this image in advertisements, TV shows, in businesses and it seeps into our own homes. With the introduction of social media, “me monsters” are even more prevalent all around us. Today, with absolute ease, people can broadcast what they are doing every second of the day, making themselves mini superstars.  In business, the “me monsters” are everywhere. Look at the recent economic meltdown. A well led company doesn’t just go bankrupt overnight. Most of the company’s that have fallen recently are the product of greed and pride. Most likely, these were company’s whose leaders were making decisions with little to no accountability and/or integrity.

In the book every business leader should read, Good to Great by Jim Collins, the author points out the five tiers of leadership with the highest level of leadership being defined as “Level 5 Executive-Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.” The book goes on to explain that Level 5 leaders (servant leaders) channel their egos away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company.

Humility
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” – Philippians 2:3

A great leader is humble and constantly strives to learn and grow. This is most often reflected when leaders make mistakes and take responsibility for their actions. Great leaders embrace an attitude of humility and put the goals and needs of their company and their followers above their own desires. “A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.” – John C Maxwell

Leaders must be very cautious not to fall into the “know it all” trap. It is very easy for a leader, because of the virtue of their position, to feel they must have all the answers. Being wise does not always mean you must have all the right answers. A successful leader will seek wisdom in the company of many counselors. “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” – Proverbs 11:14 The greatest leaders in history surrounded themselves with wise counsel. In business, it is so important to have a solid Board of Directors or Business Advisory board who helps guide the executive team to make wise decisions. I believe it is important to embrace this same principle in your personal life also. We most often hear about the opposite in the tabloids of the business world. We often hear about leaders acting out their own selfish desires and forgetting to seek wisdom. These leaders seldom consider the often detrimental impact their decisions have on the whole company, all its employees, all its stakeholders and customers.  Again, in my opinion, this type of selfish leadership has been showcased in the last few years with the collapse of so many businesses in the United States.

Learning and growing doesn’t always mean listening to older people exclusively. A great leader will also listen to those who are younger. A good mentorship relationship should be equal, with both parties learning and growing. This is a foundational part of humility.

Generosity
Going back to the same company I wrote about above (QualityHub, Inc.), I will demonstrate some examples of how the company’s leader displays generosity in his leadership style. Tim Wells never really cared about becoming rich and famous. He spent 26 years fervently working for the U.S. FDA helping fellow Americans live in a safer environment. When he retired from the FDA and started QualityHub, Inc, his focus remained the same. He made decisions with integrity, boosting up those around him, empowering his fellow associates and ultimately going above and beyond for his clients. He paid his associates much higher than the going rates, and he paid his staff much higher than the average salaries. He spent extra time with clients without billing them. So, what does this all mean?  Well, as I described above, Tim’s company has had to turn away customers because they are consistently booked. His company does zero advertising and has no sales team, but yet, year after year has increased revenue and more customers. I truly believe this is because Tim is so generous to everyone around him.

You are what you eat! Not really, but we’ve all heard that old slogan. It’s not to far from being true. In the context of leadership, we become like those whom we surround ourselves with. Leaders need to make a conscience effort to surround themselves with people who reflect servant leadership, humility and generosity in their lives and in their businesses. It doesn’t matter that everyone else thinks the Donald Trump approach to business is the “right way”. What appears to be success materially doesn’t equate to genuine success in relationships and in our families! I encourage you to be the difference! Try to go about your day adding value to the lives of others. In your conversations, try listening completely and try not to give your opinion right away. Let your co-worker, your wife or your child be the priority for that brief moment in time. When faced with an opportunity to help someone else get ahead… DO IT!! God’s word tells us, if we are “true” and “genuine” and follow the example of the perfect humble and generous servant leader, we will be highly rewarded. The reward is not always “apples” for “apples”. We are most often rewarded in many other ways.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on the 3 Qualities of an Impactful Leader. I wish for you success in your business and more importantly in your personal and family life.