Interview conducted by Chris Van Nostrand Tell me about winning the Lavengood Award To say that I was surprised is an understatement. In fact, I first found out I was a finalist when one of my students congratulated me and I said: 'for what?' I thought he was kidding, since he's a bit of a jokester anyway. And then a few days before the actual announcement I was told that I should be prepared to say something. So I'm thinking to myself that there's one thing I don't have to worry about doing. Then of course I get there and I hear my name and I realize I have to say something. My son told me afterwards that I looked a little dazed. It was just truly unbelievable. I was so touched at that moment. To put it in perspective, I feel that being recognized by the students meant more to me than being named CEO of Baxter. In what way? When you're in business, you may do well -- get promotions or reach an executive level, or have your stock price rise -- but to be recognized by the people you're interacting with usually doesn't happen. I tell my classes to do the right thing and do the best you can, because we're here for a short period of time and only have so many opportunities to have a positive impact on those around us. I'm trying to make a positive impact through my teaching, so for the students to tell me I'm doing a good job is unbelievably rewarding. What drives this desire to make a difference, particularly in your role at Kellogg? I never would have had the opportunities I've had if not for receiving a strong liberal arts education and for Kellogg. So to have the chance to give back is an honor. When I first spoke with Dean Jacobs and Dean Jain about teaching, I thought maybe I should focus on finance. But as I really thought about, I decided that doing a good job really comes down to leadership. As I reflected on my work experience and the boards I've served, I began considering the following: 'what if I was able to lay out for students what are the things that are most important to leaders?' As it turns out, one of the great lessons in my life was that until you have to explain something to 60 or 70 people, you don't really understand it. So you need to both cut to the essence and engage in a dialogue, and the remarkable thing is that this happens in the classroom. I feel I learn more from the students than they do from me, because often things I never would have been able to articulate come together in the classroom. That brings up the point that as a leader, you can always get better. What other philosophies do you have on leadership? I try to keep it simple so I don't confuse myself. To me, values-based leadership comes down to a few things. The first is self-reflection. Do you know what your true north is? If you don't know yourself, then can you lead yourself? And if you can’t lead yourself, then how can you lead other people? The second is the ability to truly understand every perspective. Almost every issue has multiple sides, and a leader needs to think through what makes sense. That means when you're dealing with people, you need to truly take the time with what someone is telling you and not just respond by saying 'I don't understand where you're coming from.' If you think hard enough, you should be able to understand them. Finally, true self-confidence and genuine humility are essential. Also, as a leader you should be the last person to talk. You'll have plenty of time to do that. You need to focus on listening and getting as much input as possible from your team. How do you approach the organization of your classes? I ask my students to write a short reflection paper on a situation they're dealing with in real life, such as the conflict between wanting to be liked but also needing to give honest feedback. The key with this example is that if you're focused on being liked, you may not be respected. But if you're focused on doing the right thing, then giving feedback is almost a moral obligation. If you know something that will help someone do better, than you have to share that information. And here's the interesting thing - if you do the right thing then you'll be respected, and there's a good chance you'll even end up being loved. One thing I don't have is a Q&A. Instead it's Q&O -- Question and Opinion. And I have a lot of O, because leadership is very personal. It's all about becoming yourself -- not Jack Welch, necessarily - which means following your values and beliefs. It's authentic leadership. For this reason I try to expose my students to as many different opinions as possible by bringing in guest speakers from various backgrounds -- large vs. small companies, private vs. public, profit vs. non-profit, U.S. vs. global. Ultimately the course is also based on continuously getting to know who you are, so that you're capable of developing yourself to the point that you can run your organization. Kellogg is in many ways an extension [of the liberal arts education] in the business world. We're trying to generate enough true self-confidence so that if something needs to be done, you can do it, or learn how to do it. Any final thoughts? We know what we know, we know what we don't know,
and every person matters. That helps to keep things in perspective.
Yes, you may work hard, but the team plays a big part and so does
luck and timing. It's not all about you. |
