Leadership Lessons from William A. Osborne

A recent Crain's Chicago Business "Talking Business" episode included an interview with the Chairman and CEO of Northern Trust, Bill Osborne. I've had the distinct pleasure of facilitating training & offsite meetings for the Northern, as well as some executive coaching. You can often learn a lot about a leader by what people in their organization say about him or her. Here are some things I consistently hear people say about Bill:

"He's so personable."
"He's very approachable."
"He doesn't talk down to you."
"He's very down-to-earth."
"He's sharp. He knows the business."

Here are some notes from the brief video:

You're not a leader if you're not respected. We continually need to be reminded that we're not a leader simply because of our title. In many of our leadership workshops (such as Influence & Accountability for Project Success), we discuss the difference between positional power (you follow me because of my position) and personal power (you follow me because of who I am). There are times when leaders need to exercise their positional power, but the most effective leaders for the long-term are those who have a well-developed arsenal of personal power. One of the keys to increasing your personal power is increasing the respect others have for you, and respect is something that is earned day-by-day, decision-by-decision, one interaction with a person at a time. Contact us to learn how we can help you better develop your influence.
Leaders are visible and accessible. Bill spends half of his time visiting offices, meeting with employees. I don't remember meeting a partner (what the Northern calls their employees) who had been with the organization for more than a year that has not met Bill. We coach leaders to Manage By Wandering Around, which sounds a lot like Manage By Walking Around, with some subtle differences. Wandering implies less of an agenda, with the true agenda being available for interaction. The ivory tower syndrome hits too many leaders, often due to death by meeting. Certainly you are required to participate in more than you share of meetings, but you must carve out time to be on the floor, available to team members.
Leaders listen to all levels. I appreciated Bill's comments about not simply listening to his direct reports. It's been observed there's an inverse relationship between someone's level in the organization and their ability to see reality! We can joke about that, but the truth is that reality is often obscured in the executive ranks because the food chain under them overly massages the information to the point that it bears only a shadow's resemblance to the original message.
Leaders learn from others. Though Caterpillar and Northern Trust are quite different enterprises, Bill provides a good example of how serving on the Caterpillar board has benefited his business. Too many leaders have the mindset that they already have the answers, and stop actively working to learn from others. In discussions with friends and colleagues in other companies, ask them questions about the business. Try to understand the business models and operating principles. Intentionally watch for ideas you can apply to how you manage your areas of responsibility.

I strongly suggest you invest the time to learn from one of the great leaders in the banking industry, Bill Osborne.

Labels: accountability, executives, illusion, leadership, learning, listening, reality

posted by Andy at 4:22 PM

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Leadership Lessons from William A. Osborne