How does the guy do it? First, it was the Apple and the Mac. Brought a major corporation back from the brink of bankruptcy. Then, there’s the iPod, considered essential by its 280 million devotees, and iTunes, which together many believe saved the recording industry. Seventy-five million iPhones have been purchased since its January 2007 debut. And most recently, the iPad has sent hundreds of software developers scrambling to create applications.
And in the midst of it all, the guy was near death until a liver transplant seemingly reversed a tragic fate.
You may have guessed I’m talking about Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple, Inc., named CEO of the Decade by a CBS Marketwatch.com poll.
Few disagree that Steve Jobs is the creative force behind Apple and the very embodiment of the corporation that he and a partner founded in a garage decades ago.
How does the guy do it?
What can we learn about leadership from the corporate sector? What do we see about leadership when we look outside of the federal government? What constitutes leadership? Can it be taught? Can it be cultivated? How can the Fish and Wildlife Service – and the greater conservation community – develop the next generation of leaders? How can we identify them early?
Those questions were at the very center of the work by the Core Team on Leadership and Organizational Excellence. So, what are they saying? It’s time to find out – see their revised draft document online and provide your thoughts on leadership and organizational excellence.
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Great example of a leader Greg, Though I am not a Steve Jobs fan due to the reports of how his employee’s are treated and how closed off he is to open enterprise, Leaders have a gift. Their gift is as another great leader Theodore Roosevelt who gave the us or “marching Orders” once said ” People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.”. As Steve Jobs does things in “Covert” and then makes a big production of what he has invented, Our leadership in the service has been for the most part Transparent in their leadership. That is the mark of a true leader and I believe we have some of the best leadership I have seen in many years….
Hello Greg,
I just received this from my friend Kirk Weisler today; “What matters most in leading is attitude. It is not the number of years that the leader has been leading, how many leadership classes they have attended or how many times they have read leadership books. What matters most is the attitude and spirit with which they lead. A teachers attitude is not taught, it is caught. Likewise, a leader’s attitude is not taught, it is caught. One of the primary roles of a leader is to help individuals take responsibility for their own development – to awaken in them a desire, and inspire in them a determination to study, grow, learn, become and live better lives.”
On Apple: I believe the reason why Apple is so successful is because they strategically understand that in order to be successful, they need to meet at least half of humans basic needs; 1) certainty and comfort, 2) variety, 3) significance, 4) connection, 5) growth, and 6) contribution…different sources have slightly different terminology. We are in a unique position during our vision process, not just to change, but to change our organization to cultivate some of these basic human needs…to become relevant to a changing America. What basic needs can the Refuge System be a leader in fulfilling for the American people? We can’t be everything to everyone, but we can be really good at a few things if we identify and focus on the strengths of the Refuge System as it relates to human needs.
Wow Joanna well said. Some of the best leaders I followed in my military career where just natural. Some were Officers, some were enlisted, some leaders were higher ranking than me and others were lower ranking. It wasn’t the fact they went to college and were touched by the “leader Fairy” as one of my commanders used to say. It was the fact that they had the gift that would allow them to create an atmosphere anywhere they were that made people want to accomplish the most mundane tasks with passion. They say to be a good leader you need to learn to follow and that is something I think some leaders forget when they are placed in a position of power. A GREAT leader will follow even in a position of power.
I just checked back here to see what’s happening, and see this great post from Greg. This is a deep and ponderous question and one without an easy answer. The source of leadership may be deep within the spirit of a human being when they are born. There is a mysterious “something” that leaders have, that is more felt by others than named. If left uncultivated, it may wither without ever casting a shadow or hint that it was there. Or it may be that leaders are lucky in their lives and find themselves on a path that leads them to mentors who show them the way forward or through. How they come by it, I am not sure, but this I know to be true…great leaders have love and passion too immense for their own hearts to contain, and “vision” for life, that is so beautiful that it must be shared to be realized. The weight of their great passion spills out into life over and over and over, inspiring people to seek the source that inspires, that breaths new life and passion from one heart to another…that’s leadership…it’s a gift, and great leaders give over and over, and over…so that others can do the same.
The Invitation
As fast as I click the “reply” button to a posting on this website, I feel the sudden, heavy weight of regret as I see my reply pop up and note a spelling error (or several). I then slowly re-read what I just wrote in a flurry of passion (like now) and see that I didn’t articulate my ideas quite the way I wanted to. “Oh man,” I think to myself, “THAT word doesn’t fit, that’s not quite what I meant, what will people think of me?”
Too many times on this website, in fact almost all of the time, I find myself here, reading what’s posted and then responding as fast as I can type and with all my passion…I can hardly reign in or stop myself…off the cuff I go, as quick as my reaction occurs, I find myself typing what comes into and over my heart as fast as I’m feeling it, like now. Then I re-read my posts later and see, with absolute horror, they are far from perfect and in fact full of grammatical errors… and I start to think to myself…
“What will people THINK of me…what will the LEADERSHIP of FWS think of me…here I am on this website, and all my posts are all messy, almost all of the time, and I am always posting ideas with lots of misspellings because I am too busy with being passionate to care, and too busy, truly, to have the time to craft a “perfect” post…will it reflect poorly on me, will I miss a promotion (or 2 or 3?), or other career opportunities because of my postings here, will people think my ideas are dumb or lame, or worse that I am weird and not listen to my thoughts at all?”
And then I think to myself….What is the real reason behind this website? It isn’t here so I can write “amazing posts” and impress lots of folks. This isn’t the place to be trying to “be cool.” Should I fear that my actions here will reflect poorly upon me? There’s a small part of me that does, but the rest of me says…No. No, no, no, no, no, no. This website was created as a place for all of us to check those natural fears at the door, with the understanding that we are all here for something far deeper and bigger than all of us.
I see the wilderness as I am typing, just outside my window. I think of all the creatures out there, small and big…wildlife and wild lands that I love deeply, and that I will spend the rest of my life on, working to defend their right to simply be there…working to help teach humanity the importance of our natural resources and our place within nature…and suddenly a peace comes over me, and I know completely, and utterly…that it doesn’t matter how I “present” my ideas here…what matters is that I speak at all…and that I speak up, NOW, and speak for the wilderness that I love, and that has no voice. Our world is changing, rapidly, and development and urbanization of land continues….the wilderness doesn’t really have time to wait for me to “get the words just right,” or to craft the perfect post….
Some folks, bless their hearts, spend a lot of time on the writings they post, and that’s wonderful too….I wish, I wish, I wish I had their discipline, and many fine ideas are very well articulated on this website by folks who have the ability to be diligent and work with restraint, on their posts, using time and thought, arriving to the beautiful and eloquent posts I see here…..and this vision process will be the better for those efforts…but my INVITATION is to all the others, like me, who’s passion gets the best of them most of the time, and they find themselves flinging their spirits forward absolutely recklessly, responding to posts they see here just after reading them with their first thoughts and all the passion the post stirs up in them…..
That is welcome, and encouraged here…You are not alone, and this is an invitation to all of you….let this be a place where you can think, feel, and write, absolutely unencumbered…where you let your flow of thoughts just come forward, despite the imperfections you may perceive or wish were not there, and despite not being able to, “write it perfectly,” despite the spelling errors that happen when one responds and writes with pure inspiration.
Know that the fears you have are shared by most, if not all of us. Don’t let those fears stop you from being a part of the higher purpose that calls us all here. There is something wonderful that happens when we let loose from the common restraints of life and career and society, and just honestly, and openly, put forward our real thoughts, our real feelings, our true selves, and our deepest and most important ideas.
That’s what this vision process is really, and truly all about. It isn’t about “Us” at all…but the wildlife and wild lands we all care about. When you visit this website, and find yourself stirred up to respond to a post…write with your full passion, with the true depth of your spirit, and with your full authenticity…go with your gut feelings, disregarding the need for personal gain or to conform to societal conventions …the future of wildlife conservation is hanging in the balance, and depending on each and every one of us. Accept the invitation…
Thank you, Kristin. I feel your struggle as I too tend to be a zapper and put my gut feelings out there, especially when it comes to things that I care deeply about, like land ethic and how the FWS fits into the overwhelming task of encouraging the development of a land ethic in the American public. You go, girl! Let it all out. We can take it mispelings and al. ;o>
But on leadership… Steve Jobs is sort of a good example, but I believe people like Martin Luther King, Jr., might be an even better example. He encouraged people to believe in a dream that was bigger than a single individual and bigger than himself. He was truthful about the difficulties and truthful about how long it would take. He included everyone and made sure everyone knew that they could make a difference.
In our agency, do we make sure that every employee and volunteer feels like they can make a difference in fulfilling the Vision of the NWRS and FWS? I think that’s the real gift of a true leader and a characteristic of an agency that truly believes its employees are its greatest asset.
I’m not sure that the FWS has made it to that level yet. There are glimpses of it. It seems to be getting better. The way that the Core Teams were developed and the openness of this website are part of that change.
I haven’t read the new combined Vision document, but when it’s released and I get to comment, I will be looking in the leadership section for how we are going to encourage the “least” of us to become leaders. There will always be those who want to climb the ladder, but we need to remember that there are also those that are leaders but for one reason or another must stay on the same organizational rung. We must continue to find new ways of growing all employees and reminding us all of our ultimate agency mission and the important role each of us has in fulfilling that mission.
Kristin, love the post. In my experience a True leader is one who is willing to challange the leadership. Not in a negative way, but in a way that will let them see you are “Hot on their heels” as an up and coming leader. Leaders are not born they are made. I have known leaders who are very quiet but when they speak people listen. I have also known leaders who were very “outgoing” and when they spoke everyone heard even some that were not intended to be hearing the converstation. All in all, a leader is in the heart and passion of what you want to accomplish. I have worked with some great leaders in my military career but by far the best leadership came from those who recognized that just because they are in a position of power, they didn’t start out there. They recognize that there are many of us “Underlings” who are trying to find out nitch in the grand scheme of things as they once did. They treat you like a human being and don’t look down on you or your ideas based upon where you are. GS-1 or GS-10 you have to start somewhere. A leader is someone who will get the job done and not admonish others in the process for doing their best. You manage personalities not People. We all can’t be placed in a cookie cutter and managed or lead the same. A Great leader recognizes this. A Great leader accomplishes the mission not for personal gain but for the good of all. Just some thoughts from an “Underling” on leadership….:) We really need a spell check on this website
I agree very much with your thoughts on leadership. There are so many examples out there, where I Think Steve Jobs is not as much a leader as he is a visionary and has the money and resources to get what he wants. The example of MLK is a very good example and there are many more leaders or famous individuals who carry that same charisma to change peoples thoughts and actions to attain a goal. Not all leaders with this gift were good examples however, if we look at Adolf Hittler, he was a charismatic and very adept leader but used his gift for the wrong ideals and goals. There are so many on both sides of the coin but you are correct in what you believe.
I also believe that you hit the nail on the head as far as our leadership “Not quite being there yet”. People are our greatest asset not tools to get the mission done. Without the people there would be no refuges, no FWS and NO DOI. We just haven’t gotten to the point where our people as a whole feel they can accomplish great things no matter what their position.
As for me, a Term GS-4 who came from a management position in the Air Force, it has been refreshing to see things from this perspective again. I have hit brick walls trying to solidify a permenant position with the Service even with all my experience. The positions I’m qualified for have no upward mobility and it’s frustrating to have ot apply elsewhere for job opportunites that are not in the service. I know I can make a difference here and have the passion but can not get the perverbial foot in the door to make things happen. I tend to be looked at as a GS-4 (term) not a difference maker and so I can see where we still have a long way to travel.
Kristin – I was moved by your honesty, your passionate plea to all of us to speak up. It is a difficult thing, this laying bare one’s thoughts and ideas for all to see. But we should be afraid of doing too little too late. At the same time, we need to honor others with our best thoughts and commentary.
I came across this Roosevelt quote in Curt Meine’s, “Correction Lines” and I think it is appropriate for us in this discussion.
“Reformers, if they are to do well, must look both backward and forward; must be bold and yet must exercise prudence and caution in all they do. They must never fear to advance, and yet they must carefully plan how to advance, before they make the effort.”
Roosevelt was a hugely successful president and human being. His advice is well taken.
Cheers,
Jimmy
Jimmy,
Wow, your words give me serious pause, and the wisdom you share is both insightful and very thought provoking. To “honor others with thoughtful commentary,” that is a way of looking at the Vision Process that I had not considered. As we all go through this process, I keep returning to the idea that it is a true process of learning for all of us. And this website allows many people to connect with and learn from others that they might not come into contact with otherwise. I am humbled by your thoughtful approach to participating in the process of change, and thankful to you for sharing your ideas. As we learn and remain open to learning, we have the opportunity to change. I think I just learned the single best lesson I have ever learned, and I really mean that…and I will apply it now in both my career and my personal life. Thank you, very much, for the opportunity to see with a new vision, and for the opportunity to grow. -Kristin
You said it best Kristin. “We learn and remain open to learning.” I’m trying but it is hard work. And there is likely no one working harder on this than you. Thank you for inspiring me Kristin.
This is a quote that summarizes excellent leadership to me:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather the wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless seas.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Also, much research shows that pay alone does not motivate – that people want autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Thanks everyone for such thought and reflection. On a practical note, I would rather take a course from an outside source than a Service lead leadership course. My voyage to find leadership leds me to Stephen Covey courses and the likes of him. I find Service leadership instructors , that is the one’s chosen by NCTC as good, but, I long for a great sea of ideas that lies outside of the Service box. There is so much excellent going on outside in leadership training. I think we should make a better effort to conbine great outside leadership courses with some of our excellent leadership initiatives. Beth’s quote does sum it up for me. I would design more free ended leadership courses with more room and time to grow.