Leaders on Leadership

F
EW WOULD DISPUTE THAT LEADERSHIP IS
needed for any business to succeed in
today’s competitive marketplace. As
Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard
said in their book Management of
Organizational Behavior: “The successful busi-
ness has one major attribute that sets it apart from
unsuccessful organizations: dynamic and effective
leadership.”1 But what constitutes dynamic and
effective leadership? Perhaps the insights of lead-
ers of successful organizations can help answer
this important question.
CEOs’ insights At two events held last fall—ASQC’s Quality
Forum XI and the Business Week Symposium of
on how to Chief Executive Officers—leaders from successful
effectively organizations gathered to share their experiences
and views. For these leaders, dynamic and effec-
lead an tive leadership includes creating and articulating a
vision and plan; being customer driven; and creat-
organization ing the necessary environment.
Creating and articulating a vision and plan
“The best thing that you can have happen in a
business is to have your employees badger you
with the question, ‘Where are we
going?’” said Charlotte Beers, the
ously—and creatively—articulate the company’s
vision and goals. This is achieved through open
communication systems that encourage employee
feedback and facilitate a two-way flow of informa-
tion. Because the company’s ultimate goal must be
to satisfy the customer, it is imperative that
employees understand what is expected of them as
well as their responsibility for achieving results.
“An effective communications strategy does not
merely rely on memos, magazines, or e-mail. In
fact, surveys show that our employees’ preferred
source of information is their direct supervisor.
This involves an operationwide approach and a
commitment at every level of the organization to
open two-way communication.”
Being customer driven
“One absolute certainty that we have is that our
customers will continue to demand more for less,”
said Wolfgang R. Schmitt, chairman of the board
and CEO of Rubbermaid Inc. “They will want
more quality, more service, more choice, and, most
important, more innovation. And for that, they will
continuously want to spend less time getting it,

Direction
by chairman and chief executive officer
Karen Bemowski, (CEO) of Ogilvy & Mather
associate editor Worldwide. “The analysts call this
‘vision.’”

Goals
“Taking the time to paint a picture
of the future is important,” concurred
Kevin J. Jenkins, president and CEO
of Canadian Airlines International Ltd.
“Without a clear sense of direction,
even the best of efforts will dissolve
into a series of projects and plans that

Results
ultimately go nowhere. When your
efforts are aligned and integrated, you
can achieve amazing results.”
Once an organization creates a
vision, however, the work is only half
done. “A vision held only by its leader-
ship is not enough to create any real
change,” indicated Jenkins. “To ensure
success, management must continu-

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Quality Progress January 1996 43

The Business Week Symposium of
Chief Executive Officers
Some movers and shakers of Wall Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue converged Sept. 27-29, 1995, in
Washington, DC, to discuss “Taking Charge: The New
American Leadership.” Influential company leaders—such
as the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Ameritech,
Procter & Gamble, and Rubbermaid—and prominent gov-
ernment leaders—such as the U.S. Senate majority leader,
the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the gov-
ernor of Massachusetts—shared their views on leadership
to an audience of about 100 peers.
The symposium was sponsored by Business Week, in
association with the American National Standards Institute,
Cadillac Motor Car Division, Heidrick & Struggles, Inc.,
Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, The Principal
Financial Group, SAS Institute Inc., Symmetrix, Inc., and
Unisys Corporation.
The speakers at the symposium included Edwin L.
Artzt, chairman and retired CEO, Procter & Gamble Co.;
Charlotte Beers, chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather
Worldwide; Arthur C. Martinez, chairman and CEO, Sears
Roebuck and Co.; Wolfgang R. Schmitt, chairman of the
board and CEO, Rubbermaid Inc.; and Raymond W.
Smith, chairman and CEO, Bell Atlantic Corp.
take less risk when they buy it, and pay less for it. That puts an
interesting challenge to leaders in how to get the right organiza-
tional structure and the right organizational attitude to achieve
that.”
One way, according to Arthur C. Martinez, the chairman and
CEO of Sears Roebuck and Co., is to make a profound transfor-
mation. “What kind of transformation will ensure long-term
success? It involves changing a company from being what I
characterize as a process-dominated company—a company that
is so insular, so focused on itself, so focused on its internal
processes that it loses insight into any relationship with its cus-
tomers—to a customer-dominated company.”
In a customer-dominated company, the customer is the focus
of all major activities, starting with the development of the com-
pany’s vision. “I’ve read at least 150 vision statements from
every part of the country,” said Martinez. “Most of them read
like a United Nations charter: ‘We’re going to clothe the naked,
feed the hungry, and achieve world peace.’ But they didn’t orga-
nize around the principle of the customer. They worked back-
ward from the customer, trying to integrate everything that the
companies did.”
When Sears developed its vision, said Martinez, the senior
managers asked: What is it that, as an enterprise, we want to be
known for? They came up with three simple concepts around
which Sears now galvanizes and moves the company forward.
Sears wants to be a:
1. Compelling place to shop
2. Compelling place to work
3. Compelling place to invest
“The most important element in this vision is that it starts
with the customer,” said Martinez.
44 /
Quality Progress January 1996
Creating the necessary environment
“To be successful as a CEO, you must create an atmosphere
of continuous, constructive change in your organization,” said
Edwin L. Artzt, the chairman and retired CEO of Procter &
Gamble Co.
“To create a climate for change,” explained Jenkins, “man-
agement must remove obstacles to success. Management
should not expect employees to enthusiastically buy into its
suggestions simply because it has a plan. Employee involve-
ment at the beginning of the process is essential.”
Canadian Airlines International found this out firsthand. For
example, management had long encouraged its flight attendants
to refer to the business-class passengers by name to facilitate
better customer service. There was a slight problem, however:
The manifest printed only the first six characters of the passen-
gers’ last names. When this problem finally surfaced, the com-
puter program was changed so that the passengers’ entire names
were printed. “For a modest investment, it represented a big
leap in customer service,” said Jenkins. “We were able to pro-
vide the flight attendants with a tool they needed to do their
jobs.
“To create a foundation for success,” continued Jenkins, “the
leader’s job is to demonstrate commitment to change by remov-
ing roadblocks; providing the necessary resources, such as edu-
cation, training, and work structures; and inviting contributions
from all involved, including employee and labor groups.
“Successful leadership enables more than just those at the top
of the organization to take the helm. Yet leaders must resist the
temptation to take back the controls when the going gets tough.
The effective use of power is knowing when to stand back and
when to step in.”
The vice chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc., Gary L.
Tooker, agreed that empowerment is important in creating the
necessary environment. “Empowerment is an appealing concept
in all cultures,” said Tooker. “It appeals to American workers
who are concerned with self-improvement and the ability to
take charge of their own careers. It appeals to the consensual
team spirit of Asian workers. In all cultures, however, we see
managers who have trouble letting go and workers who don’t
want to make decisions.”
These barriers can be overcome, said Tooker, by redefining
leadership to include empowerment and the individual leader-
ship of quality. “When I use the term ‘leadership,’ I’m not just
talking about the top management of an organization,” said
Tooker. “I’m talking about every person. All of us, as individu-
als, help determine our own priorities. We set our own personal
goals. We all have a picture of what we want to be—of how we
want to be remembered. We all need to decide the role that
quality will play in our lives in the way we relate to the people
we work with and to the people we live with.”
James Autry, formerly the senior vice president of Meredith
Corp. and president of its Magazine Group, believes that, to cre-
ate a good environment in which to work, leaders must be hon-
est with their employees in both words and feelings, trust their
employees, and manage people one at a time. Of the three, trust
is the most difficult.
“Managers are fearful that if they trust people,” said Autry,
“they will be taken advantage of—that their trust will be
abused. Well, of course it will. But if that is your worry as a
leader, then you’re not a leader, because to move from manager
to leader requires you to let go of your ego.” (For more on hon-
esty, trust, and managing one person at a time, see the accompa-
nying article “Love and Profit: Finding the Balance in Life and
Work” elsewhere in this issue.)
Putting it all together
The elements of creating and articulating a vision and plan,
being customer driven, and creating the necessary environment
are reflected in Raymond W. Smith’s view on leadership. Smith
is the chairman and CEO of Bell Atlantic Corp. as well as an
actor, director, and playwright.
Although Smith was introduced to the theater by accident, he
has developed a love for it. Throughout the years, he has
remained active in the arts community, even though he admits
that he has no plans to quit his day job. But because of his dual
jobs in the arts and business communities, Smith has noticed a
correlation between the two.
“Leadership is like the theater,” said Smith. “You need a
good leader, a CEO, who at any given point must play not just
one role, but four roles.” The four roles are:
• Studio executive: As a studio executive, the CEO must ana-
lyze market data; assess industry trends; evaluate risk and
opportunities; develop a vision; and set strategies.
• Executive producer: As an executive producer, the CEO
must establish goals; hold others accountable; organize and
enable work; and evaluate people and performance.
• Director: As a director, the CEO must lead and coach teams;
motivate and channel work; translate strategy into action; and
train and develop employees.
• Actor: As an actor, the CEO must work on the front line;
know customers; deliver products and services; and receive
feedback from customers.
“Leadership in business means playing all four roles,” said
Smith. “It also requires an ability to improvise and work in an
unscripted environment. At times, leadership requires scrapping
the script and building a new vision, organizational architecture,
and executive team and work force.”
How adept are today’s business leaders in these four roles?
At the Business Week Symposium of Chief Executive Officers
at which Smith spoke, the audience of CEOs were electronical-
ly polled about their adeptness. The CEOs were first asked,
“Which of the four roles is your strongest suit?” Of the 105
CEOs who responded, 41% indicated that the role of studio
executive was their strongest suit, while 29% said executive
producer. The roles of director and actor received significantly
fewer votes (17% and 13%, respectively).
The CEOs were then asked in which of the four roles they
needed the greatest development. Not surprisingly, the roles of
director (32%) and actor (27%) were perceived as roles that
needed to be developed. The remainder of the 94 CEOs indicat-
ed that they needed development as a studio executive (25%)
and executive producer (16%).
Next, the CEOs were asked, “Thinking of your senior man-
agement team, in which of the four roles is it strongest?” Of the
82 CEOs who answered this question, 50% said that their
senior managers’ strength lies in the role of director, 23% said
actor, and 22% said executive producer. Only 5% of the CEOs
said their senior managers were strongest as studio executives.
When asked in what role the senior management team need-
ed the greatest development, the results did not mirror those of
the previous question. Of the 89 CEOs who answered this ques-
tion, 52% said the senior managers needed development in
The Quality Forum XI
More than 230,000 people listened intently as leaders of
such companies as Motorola, Inc., Canadian Airlines
International Ltd., Harley-Davidson, Inc., and McGuffey’s
Restaurants talked about leadership, life-long learning,
and empowerment at The Quality Forum XI on Oct. 26,
1995. The Forum, which was held in Chicago, IL, was
broadcast via satellite to more than 1,000 sites throughout
North America.
The Forum, which focused on “Quality Happens
Through People: Leadership, Life-Long Learning, and
Empowerment,” was sponsored by ASQC, AT&T,
FORTUNE, and Motorola, Inc. It was held in conjunction
with The National Quality Symposium, which was held on
Oct. 26-27.
The speakers at the Forum included James Autry,
author, poet, and consultant (formerly senior vice president
of Meredith Corp. and president of its Magazine Group);
Kevin J. Jenkins, president and CEO, Canadian Airlines
International Ltd.; and Gary L. Tooker, vice chairman and
CEO, Motorola, Inc.
being an executive producer, while 26% said studio executive.
The rest indicated that their senior managers needed their direc-
tor skills (13%) and actor skills (9%) developed.
A self-sustaining process
Many factors influence the success of an organization, but
one of the most important is leadership. According to the lead-
ers of several successful companies, dynamic and effective
leadership involves fulfilling not one, but four, roles. In these
capacities, leaders must create and articulate a vision and plan,
make sure their companies are focused on the customer, and
create the necessary environment in which employees can do
their best work and be innovative. “Today’s successful leader,”
said Jenkins, “realizes that innovation creates opportunity, qual-
ity creates demand, and teamwork makes it happen.”
“Quality leadership,” explained Tooker, “starts with leaders
who plant the seeds, set the tough goals, create the environment
for success, empower their people, and then get out of the way.
It becomes self-sustaining when these empowered people learn
the process and build it into the way they do business.”
Reference
1. Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, Management of
Organizational Behavior (New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1982).
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Quality Progress January 1996 45