How to lead like Walt
Great leaders have faith in us even when we don't in ourselves. They make us believe we can do more than we think. Walt, it turns out, was brilliant at this. Here are some leader learning points:
1. CONNECT WITH PEOPLE ON A PERSONAL LEVEL
"Whenever anyone called him Mr. Disney he got upset. It was always Walt. And he always knew your name. In the early days, we didn't wear name tags, but Walt still called you by your first name. Once he knew your name, he never forgot it."
- Gary Carlson, Disney Sound Engineer
* * *
2. ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LEARN
"Walt ran the studio like a university. We were learning all the time and a few of us were going to art school at night. Walt would drive us there and pick us up later."
- Les Clark, Disney animator
* * *
3. STOP BEING AFRAID
"The rest of us live in fear. Walt had no fear."
- Jim Korkis, Disney historian
* * *
There is a poem by Christopher Logue that perfectly sums up that 'have no fear' instinct of Walt's and how it could inspire others to take risks and achieve things they never thought were possible. It's a perfect summing up of how leaders inspire people to achieve more than they think they can:
Come to the edge
Come to the edge, he said
They said: We are afraid
Come to the edge, he said
They said: It is too high
Come to the edge! he said
They came
He pushed them
..and they flew
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Connecting
We recently saw a video that has been floating around the B&D world. It is an interview with Alonzo Decker Jr, son of Alonzo Decker, of Black & Decker fame. You may have heard of them.
Anyway, he said a very similar thing about connecting with people. His dad used to help out on the factory floor, knew line operators by their first names, offered to help them with what they were doing. The guy who showed us this, also knew about the farm that was owned by Mr Decker (not sure wheich one at this point, maybe it passed down), and the same pattern emerged there as well, people were known. They felt connected. As with B&D, people felt a loyalty that seems almost frightening these days, people who would come back year after year, just to cut the grass. There a people at B&D who have only ever been at B&D.
This is another example of how important it is to connect with people, and how empowering it can be when you do.
I will try to get hold of that interview and post it up.
Colin.