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1-Page Summary of The Leadership Moment
Overview
Think about your experiences at work or in the community. Have you ever had to take charge of a situation? What did you learn from that experience? What lessons can you apply to other situations when someone else has to take charge?
In this article, we look at nine world leaders who faced a difficult challenge. They are business executives, astronauts, NGO leaders and civil war generals. We can learn from their experiences so that we can be better prepared to handle our own leadership challenges in the future.
In this article, you will learn how a lack of action almost ended Salomon Inc. You’ll also learn that a lack of communication can be fatal and what an astronaut can teach us about quick decision-making.
Big Idea #1: Seek out new challenges to grow your leadership skills.
People who are always looking for new challenges are usually successful. They’re able to gain more experience and skills, which prepares them for even bigger challenges in the future. Clifton Wharton is a good example of someone who’s been challenged with many different jobs over his career, but he was able to successfully complete each one because he learned from previous experiences and applied those lessons to other situations. For instance, when he became president of Michigan State University, he had just finished working at Ford Motor Co., so it made sense that he would be able to use some of what he learned there while running MSU. He also used his knowledge about how large organizations work after being appointed chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY). SUNY was ten times larger than MSU, but Wharton still managed to make changes by using what worked well at MSU as well as applying lessons from corporate boards on which he served during his time at Ford Motor Co.
Wharton was prepared for yet another big challenge when he accepted a job offer from TIAA-CREF, the biggest non-government retirement provider for college and university professors.
TIAA-CREF had a lot of products, but they weren’t working. The organization was in dire need for change. They wanted to offer clients more options and flexibility with their retirement funds. Wharton took on the challenge and changed TIAA-CREF’s structure by offering them better investment options for their clients.
When Ron Wharton took office, he modernized the state system and introduced greater autonomy, accountability and customer service. Clients were given access to diverse investment options as well as greater flexibility in transferring their funds with improved counseling services. You can also enjoy your job more when you immerse yourself in it like I did by taking on diversity of work opportunities that will give you the skills needed for future positions.
Big Idea #2: Understand and adhere to your vision and values.
When looking for a new job, people tend to look at companies that share their values. They also have a vision of the future and are led by someone who shares those same values. Nancy Barry had all these characteristics as well.
Barry had doubts about whether the World Bank’s projects were actually helping people in developing countries. She decided to start her own organization, Women’s World Banking, which provides microfinancing services to low-income groups and helps them provide for themselves.
Barry’s experience at the World Bank provided her with a network of connections that allowed her to help women in developing countries become self-sufficient. She was able to use those experiences as an asset when she started Women’s World Banking, which helps millions of women receive microfinance loans.
