"We need leaders..."

Back in 2019, former U.S. Surgeon General and past Meharry Medical College President David Satcher, MD, PhD discussed leadership at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine as part of the Flexner Dean's Lecture Series.  He said, "We need leaders who first care enough.  We need leaders who learn enough.  We need leaders who do enough.  We need leaders who will persevere until the job is done."

Dr. Satcher makes an incredibly profound statement on leadership here, and I want to spend a few moments unpacking each of his points in a little more detail.

"We need leaders who first care enough."

Dr. Tracy Brower wrote in Forbes magazine a few years ago that "empathy is the most important leadership skill", citing a study by Catalyst of nearly 900 employees that showed that empathetic leaders foster innovation and creativity, increase engagement and productivity, lower burn-out, foster inclusivity, and increase retention.  She writes, "Leaders don’t have to be experts in mental health in order to demonstrate they care and are paying attention. It’s enough to check in, ask questions and take cues from the employee about how much they want to share."  Olga Valadon writing for Harvard Business Review suggests that leaders can be more empathetic by:

1. Actively listening (be curious)

2. Know and acknowledge that they don't have all the answers

3. Always making time for their employees

4. Avoiding "one-size-fits-all" responses

Valadon writes, "As a leader, you need to understand that the workplace is made up of people, and you’re in the privileged role of guiding and supporting them. A part of that work involves understanding what it means to be human. Everyone has a life outside of work that they need to deal with while still fulfilling their professional obligations. You may not have a solution to every problem or challenge that is brought to your attention, but what matters is that you genuinely care for people, validate their feelings, and are willing to offer support."  

We need empathetic leaders.  We need leaders who care.

"We need leaders who learn enough."

Walt Disney reportedly once said, "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."  Curiosity fuels innovation, creates a culture of continuous improvement, and as stated above, helps foster empathy.  We need leaders who are humble enough to recognize that they don't know all the answers, but curious enough to go look for them.  Colleen Bashar writing for Forbes magazine defined curiosity as the ability to let go of being right.  Curiosity means "going into every discussion, strategy meeting or tough conversation actively curious and open. It means listening and understanding before responding."  

Great leaders recognize that they don't know everything, and more importantly, they are willing to learn from others (even those who report to them).  Direct, hands-on experience is a great way to learn, but it doesn't have to be your own personal experience.  You can learn a lot from the experience of others.  Personally, I've learned a lot about leadership by reading about how leaders throughout history have approached different problems or crises in their lives.  

We need leaders who are willing to learn.  We need leaders who are curious.

"We need leaders who do enough."

Vince Lombardi once said, "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."  There's no question that leadership is hard work.  More importantly, leaders need to work hard at being good leaders!  Knowing what to do is not the same as doing it.  To that end, Norman Schwarzkopf said, "The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."  Leaders often have to make difficult, and at times unpopular, decisions.  Making hard decisions is hard work and requires courage, commitment, and compassion.  

I came across a Medium blog post entitled "Traits of successful leaders" by the Center for Junior Officers that applies.  They write, "Working hard is a simple concept to understand and intuitive for leaders. It is only the application where a leader usually trips up. After all, hard work is just that… hard. Peter Daland, former USC and Olympic swimming coach once said, The secret to swimming is not how far you swim, and it’s not how hard you swim. The secret to swimming is how far you are willing to swim hard. This same idea is true for leadership. A secret to leadership is about how long you are willing to work hard. Will you be the one to give up and quit or will you keep going? Will you be the leader who will find a way or will you say it was impossible?"

We need leaders who will work hard and make the tough decisions.  We need leaders to do.

"We need leaders who will persevere until this job is done."

As a leader, you will encounter obstacles to progress on a daily basis.  The author James Michener said, "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." It's not about the first or second attempt - it's about what happens after.  The greatest leaders are the ones who never give up and keep working hard until the job is done.  Where others see barriers and obstacles, leaders see opportunities and a path forward.  

Calvin Coolidge famously said, "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

We need leaders who will stick with it, even when times are tough.  We need leaders who will resist the temptation to quit.  We need leaders who will persevere until the job is done.

Being a leader in today's world isn't easy.  We are living in turbulent times.  And today's turbulent world requires leaders who care enough, learn enough, do enough, and stick with it until the very end.