The thirst for values based leadership

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center indicates that military service continues to be the most desirable trait in a Presidential candidate.  Interestingly, atheism was a deal breaker with 53% of the respondents saying they were less likely to vote for an atheist - the highest in the less likely category.  Another notable difference from earlier years was that respondents who viewed a candidate's  prior experience in Washington DC as a negative, outnumbered those who considered it as desirable. Prior experience continued to be important, but in a gubernatorial capacity.

Although America vehemently holds its state and religion separate, and in general has  an anti-war sentiment, why might religion and military service consistently figure at the top of desirable qualities of leaders? Demographic facts aside, it is undoubtedly the moral values that religion represents, and the belief that a religious candidate will adhere to them. Military credentials also represent a candidate's  experience in adhering to a strong moral code.

In their best selling leadership book - Leadership Challenge- , authors Kouzes and Posner discuss the results of their survey of over 70,000 people over the globe (latest data in 2007), to identify the most important characteristics of a leader as: honesty, forward looking, inspiring and competent. They point out that credibility is the foundation of good leadership, and the most important behavior of a credible person is that "they do what they say they will do".  The Pew survey results suggest that the partisan behavior in Washington at the cost of public interest, has eroded the faith of the public in their elected representatives. The gubernatorial posts are seen as more independent, less likely to be influenced by vested interests of others.

How can a leader ensure that they always do what they say? To paraphrase Kouzes and Posner, this begins with the leader having a clear set of values, and then consistently living these values. This is the- behavioral way- of demonstrating honesty and trustworthiness - the cornerstones of leadership. The Pew center results don't just indicate the importance of values based leadership, they show that the public yearns for credible leaders. Religion and the military are valued - at least by the American public- because they  provide the structure and motivation for leading a values based life.        


Thankfully, despite the upheavals in Wall Street, 33% of the Pew study respondents favorably view a business executive as a presidential candidate, while 13% view them as negative, and 53% say it didn't matter. Business leaders must take this opportunity to rebuild their credibility by practicing values based leadership.

Fixed vs. growth mindset: Examining Roger Federer

Roger Federer lost to Tsonga in yesterday's Roger's tennis cup final. As always, his critics have been quick to write him off, yet again. Why not quit while at the top, and leave in the blaze of glory? Why put yourself and your fans through those humiliating moments, when your strokes are a shadow of your hey days, and when younger and gutsier players beat you regularly?  But then, that's not how Federer thinks about tennis.

Carol Dweck in her book "Mindset", talks about the difference between the fixed mindset and the growth mindset, and the importance of the latter for sustained success. Those with a fixed mindset consider ability as static, and judge themselves and others by "results" or peak performance. Therefore, they avoid challenges which may tarnish their impeccable performance record, get defensive when faced with obstacles, don't believe that effort can enhance their already considerable talents, cannot handle negative feedback and feel threatened by the success of others.

Those with a growth mindset on the other hand, believe that ability can be developed, constantly embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as a condition to mastery, learn from criticism and from the success of others, and thus reach ever-higher levels of achievement (Mindset, by Carol Dweck, page 245).  Dweck makes an important and interesting distinction between leaders with a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The fixed mindset leaders may be high individual performers and stars, but do not prepare their firms to survive in their absence. Here is where the mighty Iacocca fails; Chrysler didn't survive after his departure, while it can be argued that Apple continues to buzz away, albeit in a lower key, even after Steve Jobs' passing.   

Back to Roger Federer. It is evident that he does not have to prove anything to anyone but himself. Why does he continue with his grueling tour and training schedule despite his ever growing family? What motivates him despite not winning a major since 2012? His  love for the game has to be the top reason, but how does he cope with not winning titles, and near misses, after his undisputed reign at the top for many years?

Federer definitely is a supreme example of a growth mindset. He is no fool to continue playing while his skills are waning across the board. As the grand old man of tennis at thirty three - an age when improving one's game seems improbable,- Federer's serve has actually improved and is the strength of his game today. He continues to train with his long term  physio-whiz, Paganini, who is angered at the talk of people wanting Federer to quit, because he knows Federer is still capable of a shot at the big titles. One mustn't forget that he is still the number three in the world.  Admittedly, even the unflappable Federer has gone through some -coming to terms- moments of being defensive, or even worse -crying- when he loses. But thankfully the growth mindset has truly established its presence now. No doubt winning titles is his ultimate goal, but not the only goal.

Using Dweck's criteria of a true growth minded leader, will Federer leave tennis a better place than it was since his arrival? The answer is a resounding YES. His seventeen grand slam titles don't seem so out of reach now for Nadal, or even Djokovic. But Federer, as even his rivals admit, has raised tennis to new heights, not just with his sublime talent, but with his global appeal, approachability and above all his growth mindset work ethic: an inspiration to all aspiring players. As his coach the great Stefan Edberg remarks "If Roger is in the game, it is great for tennis".

Another great man with an insatiable growth mindset -Tiger Woods- is now lying low, undoubtedly  working hard on recouping his physical and mental prowess. His detractors too have already written him off as incapable of winning another major, but sooner than later Tiger is bound to prove his critics wrong. 

The growth mind set is after all about running the marathon rather than the sprint.  

 

The importance of being a role model outside work

 While we stress the importance of leaders being role models at work with their work ethic, integrity, and compassion, we hardly pay attention to their influence outside the workplace. Perhaps we should. Thanks to the media, the symbols of wealth are now universal: expensive cars, clothes, holidays in exotic locations, and palatial homes. The continuing popularity of the bizzare Housewives series indicates our almost morbid interest in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Who can resist the guilty pleasure of skimming through the Daily Mail's side strip chronicling the decadent lifestyles of celebrities, often relayed by the celebrities themselves through Instagram?  Unfortunately, slowly but surely,  the relentless media focus on the opulent lifestyles of the rich has skewed our perception -as a society- about what is valuable in life, and what it means to be successful.

In his engaging book "Delivering Happiness", Tony Hsieh of Zappos, talks about walking away from a contract with Microsoft resulting in a loss of 16 million out of a total of 40 million, because passion was more important than money. We may scoff that 24 million is not small change, but even these little examples add up to shift societal perceptions about wealth and the wealthy. There is no doubt that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have strengthened the giving muscle in many of their peers globally, including those who have signed up for the remarkable Giving Pledge ,where billionaires pledge to give away most of their wealth.  When rich CEOs talk about not wanting their kids to be trust fund kids, they send implicit signals to others about the priority of values like hard work in success. Arguably, the most credible voice against inequality, in the documentary "Inequality for all," was that of  Nick Hanauer, CEO of Pacific Feather Company - because here was a wealthy man speaking out against inequality.    


 India's visionary and multi- millionaire businessman, Narayan Murthy, is known for his simple lifestyle. When a journalist expressed surprise at  Murthy's modest lodgings, Murthy responded by stating his belief that the rich should have modest private spaces, but build luxurious public spaces. Murthy's Infosys offices are a class apart in the amenities they provide. In a developing and populous country like India, where public spaces are often sub-standard, Murthy's credo is  inspiring. Compare this to another leading industrialist, Mukesh Ambani, whose  house is the tallest,  and perhaps -ugliest- structure in Mumbai. Even Ratan Tata, one of India's most venerable leaders, couldn't help questioning the appropriateness of Ambani's 27 storied house - which stands out like a sore thumb amongst the sprawling slums of Mumbai.  

A recent article about the super -shy, super-rich of Germany, illustrates the influence that modesty from the rich can have on shaping societal perceptions, and trends towards the loftier values in life. While leaders are free to decide how to spend their hard earned wealth, they should be conscious of their influence - positive and  negative - on public perceptions about wealth and success.     





Infosys' Pune office



Murthy at lunch with wife Sudha