Relationships
Ever wondered what could go wrong in leadership? HBO’s Succession is practically a masterclass on the subject. This gripping tale focuses on the Roy family, led by the cunning patriarch Logan Roy. His children could easily fill the roster for ‘Leadership Don’ts 101.’ The show deeply resonated with me, offering a trove of cautionary tales on how not to lead. Let’s delve into some of these eye-opening lessons.
The Self-Absorbed Leader
In HBO’s “Succession,” the Roy family members are so wrapped up in themselves that they don’t see past their reflection. This trait sharply contrasts with what Jim Collins espouses in his book, Good to Great, “Leaders look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well. And when things go poorly, they look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m responsible.'”
- Quick Tip: Exceptional leaders are selfless. They recognize that their role is serving others— their team, shareholders, or customers. The credit for success is shared, and responsibility for setbacks is owned.
The Ambition Trap
Ambition can fuel the rise of great leaders. However, as Napoleon Bonaparte stated, “Great ambition is the passion of great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts.” The Roy’s demonstrate the darker aspects of ambition, which are motivated solely by personal gain.
- Quick Tip: Balanced ambition, on the other hand, is channeled toward goals that benefit not just the individual but the entire team and organization. When you leverage ambition for collective achievement, you truly lead.
A Cautionary Tale of Dysfunction
The Roy family could easily be a case study in Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” which pinpoints the issues of an absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. The Roy’s embody all these dysfunctions, often all in one episode.
- Quick Tip: High-performing teams are built on a foundation of trust, embrace healthy conflict, show commitment to decisions, hold each other accountable, and focus keenly on achieving results. Leaders should aim to cultivate these positive traits within their teams.
The Lure of Expedience
Tom Wambsgans, the bootlicking in-law, personifies expediency. He lives by what Martin Luther King, Jr. warned against: “Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
- Quick Tip: Exceptional leaders choose the right course of action, even when it’s the path of most resistance. They weigh their decisions carefully and act in line with their ethical principles.
The Illusion of Alignment
In the climax of “Succession,” the Roy siblings demonstrate that being in the same room doesn’t mean you’re on the same page. Real alignment is about shared values and unified objectives.
- Quick Tip: Consistently communicating your organization’s purpose, vision, and mission keeps everyone aligned. When a team understands how their individual contributions ladder up to the larger goals, it fosters a powerful sense of unity.
“Succession” isn’t just a cautionary tale but a vivid lesson on what not to embody as a leader. So, the next time you’re at a leadership juncture, consider asking yourself, “What would the Roy’s do?” Then, do the opposite. Ready to be the leader you were meant to be? Your team isn’t just waiting; they’re craving the exceptional leader you can be.
Want to become an exceptional leader? Visit my website, http://www.prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers!
Preston
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After completing my short-term stint with Hershey’s Sales Development department, I anxiously awaited my next assignment. I’d invested two years learning everything about the confection business and knew that my new role could be anywhere in the U.S.
The phone rang. “Hi, Preston. This is Dave. We’d like you to become the Giant – Carlisle key account manager and stay in the Hershey area.”
My heart began to sink because I’d heard how difficult it was to call on Giant.
Dave continued, “Your role won’t be easy at first. As you know, Giant is in our backyard. A majority of our employees shop in Giant’s stores. You’ll be under a microscope.”
Microscope? – I imagined thousands of Hershey employees complaining about something.
“And, our company has a lot of baggage with Giant. Things haven’t gone well with them over the past few years. We’ll want you to “bend the trend” – restore relationships, turn the business around and deliver results. Are you up to the challenge?”
With a lump in my throat, I quickly processed the opportunity and said, “yes.”
Dave said, “Great, and welcome aboard. I’ve already set up a meeting with Giant’s confectionary buyer tomorrow. I’ll brief you on the way to the meeting. No better way to do than to begin.”
Boy, this will be a quick transition. It’ll be sink or swim.
Dave briefed me on Giant and Matt, the candy category buyer, in the car ride to our appointment. He told me that Matt was one of the most stringent buyers in the Northeast. In his opinion, Matt was arrogant, very demanding, and hard to get along with. He was ambitious and only approved innovation or promotions that made him look successful. No one at Hershey had been able to materially breakthrough with him. The most recent Key Account Manager was run over by Matt and was highly ineffective.
The two company’s relationship was purely transactional with little hope of developing a strategic one. To complicate matters, our key competitor took advantage of Hershey’s challenges with Matt, and he showed a preference for their brands. It didn’t look or feel good having our key competitor beating us in our home market.
Dave and I met Matt for lunch. Right off, Matt was defensive and began telling us all of the things that were wrong with Hershey’s customer service. He said we had great brands, but we didn’t deliver on promises; he’d throw us out if he didn’t absolutely need us.
The conversation turned to the “baggage” Dave mentioned. Giant made big plans to promote Hershey brands during last year’s Halloween season. However, Hershey couldn’t deliver the product due to an untimely SAP data platform conversion; multiple candy truckloads were “lost” in the system and never made it to Giant’s warehouses. And as a result, Giant lost millions of dollars in sales. Matt felt burned – he didn’t receive an incentive, and he’d lost favor in management’s eyes.
After lunch, Matt looked at me and said, “I’m not sure you want this role. I’m not going to be of any help to you or Hershey.”
Leaving the meeting, I wasn’t fearful; something arose in me, and I embraced the challenge. I figured if I could somehow breakthrough with Matt, we could turn the two company’s relationship and business around.
I began with a series of short sales calls to connect with Matt. I asked him questions about Giant’s strategy, operating model, and what mattered to him. I listened to him with an open mind and a solution bent.
After learning what was essential to Giant and Matt, I began proposing promotion or new item opportunities aligned with Giant’s strategy. . .. He said “no” to me so many times I lost count, but I kept plugging away.
Matt continued to keep me in the penalty box because of the previous year’s Halloween delivery debacle. To prove his point during my first few months working with him, Matt only ordered 10% of his regular Halloween candy order. The small order put our business in a huge hole, and I needed to figure a way out of it.
I decided to take a different approach and win Matt’s heart first; then, I’d ask for his hand. I took a risk and invited Matt and his girlfriend to a Washington Redskins football game. Why? Matt told me that he was a huge Redskins fan but hadn’t ever been to a football game in D.C.
My wife and I rented a chauffeured limousine, picked up Matt and his girlfriend, and made our way to the stadium. I secured four company tickets in the second row. Matt wore his Redskins jersey; he was like a kid in a candy store (pun intended). He was genuinely excited and seemed to loosen up. I was very intentional not to bring up business during our conversations and wanted to connect with him personally.
Shortly after we arrived at our seats, Matt brought up business. He told me that I’d been in the penalty box too long; “nothing personal,” he said. He’d seen how hard I’d tried and really appreciated some of the business opportunities I’d shared with him. I asked him what it would take to turn our business around and restore the relationship between Giant and Hershey. He told me, “do what you say you’ll do.”
I responded, “Ok, I’ll do everything in my power to deliver. With that in mind, what can I deliver?” We began brainstorming ideas for a game-changing promotion where both companies would benefit. He shared best practices other manufacturers used to help grow Giant’s business. I listened to all of his ideas, and we aligned on a plan. I asked him if Hershey delivered on our collaborative concept, would Giant be aligned? Matt answered, “yes.”
I went to work with my cross-functional team to develop a “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” movie tie-in and partnership with Coca-Cola. We developed a shopper marketing program before shopper marketing was cool. The program included joint POS, in-store merchandising, an exclusive movie premiere, and supporting radio promotion.
I presented the plan to Matt, and he loved it. I showed him how the plan’s execution would grow his business and align with Giant’s strategies. The proposal met all of the promotion elements we discussed. Only hitch. . .. The moment of truth. . .. The close. . ..
I took a risk and asked for an unprecedented order. I asked Matt to quadruple his Holiday candy order versus last year. I knew that If Matt did, the order would overcome the Halloween deficit and put Hershey over our annual plan. Matt didn’t hesitate and said, “Ok. Write a suggested store level order and have it to me by next week.”
“One other thing,” he glared and demanded, “you’d better deliver!”
I confidently grinned and replied, “We’ll do what we said we’re going to do.”
And, we did. The promotion was a smashing success. Giant and Hershey both exceeded their annual business plan. It was gratifying to play a role in bending the performance trend and restoring relationships. To boot, my team won Hershey’s prestigious “President’s Cup” – the highest sales performance in the company versus the prior year. And Matt got promoted.
What about me? Well, that’s a story for another time. Let’s just say that bending the trend sometimes comes with a price.
If you are faced with the opportunity to drive positive change, I recommend you:
- Connect with Others. John Maxwell’s Law of Connection states, “Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.” [1] Begin implementing a change by getting to know the key stakeholders. Find out their interests, ambitions, hopes, dreams, challenges, and fears. Listen intently and be authentic. Make changes based on the feedback you hear. You’ll find trust and credibility begin to develop as you make the genuine effort to connect with others.
- Create Momentum. Once you know what makes someone tick and understand what they want, help them get it. Secure quick wins that will help you create and build momentum. Work hard and follow-through; deliver on your small commitments, and they’ll have the potential to turn into big ones. Create momentum and consistently pursue your goal. You’ll eventually experience a breakthrough and go beyond what you thought possible.
- Be Persistent. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t give up. Always be willing to try something new if what you’re doing isn’t working.
If you’ll connect with others, create momentum and be persistent, you’ll become a trend bender too.
Want to discover more about becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Please visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
[1]Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: follow them, and people will follow you. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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“Rob is one of the most difficult people to get to know and very hard to work with. Over the past 20 years, few company representatives successfully developed a relationship with him and influenced him. He can be very disagreeable and non-inclusive.”
My peers told me this as I took my new role working with our partner company’s new Senior Vice President, Rob. I had the demanding task of building trust with him and becoming a valued team member.
Early in my new role, I was invited to a meeting at Universal Studios in Orlando. I looked at the invite list and saw that Rob was attending the conference. What a perfect opportunity to get to know him.
As I arrived in Orlando, I received an email that the team was gathering in the hotel lobby at 3 pm and were going to the amusement park together. I arrived in the lobby along with 30 other meeting attendees. Everyone was there except Rob. I asked where he was, and they said he was running late.
We decided to wait a few minutes, but most of the group became restless, and folks slowly left a few at a time. I asked some of the team members before they went if they wanted to wait on Rob, and they said, “no, we want to have fun at the park. We’ll catch up with him later”. I considered going with them but decided to stick it out and wait for him.
About 15 minutes later, Rob came running into the lobby. The small group that remained greeted him after he checked in. He told us that he wanted to go to the park and asked where everyone else was. We told him that the group went ahead to the park and that we could catch up to them. He nodded his head in disappointment.
Then, he pulled out a map of the amusement park. Rob enthusiastically showed us how he’d mapped out all of the rides he wanted to take, including Harry Potter, Spider-Man, and the Dueling Dragons roller coaster. He confessed his love for amusement parks and said he’d been looking forward to the team building afternoon in the park for quite a while. I exclaimed, “what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Because the group was small, I had the chance to hang out with Rob in the park all afternoon. Waiting in lines and enjoying the rides together, I got to know him. We talked about families, hobbies, travel, current events, and even a little business on the side. Rob warmed to me and appreciated the small group going to the park with him.
Over time, I earned Rob’s trust. He began including me in meetings, and anytime I emailed Rob with a question or sought his help, he’d email me right back. He always picked up the phone whenever I called. Why? I attribute it to intentionally connecting with him at the park. I made an effort and took advantage of the opportunity. Who knew Rob was such an amusement park enthusiast?
My challenge to you is never to miss an opportunity to connect with others. It may seem uphill, but it’ll be worth it. If you show genuine interest in them, you’ll gain their trust and build lasting relationships.
Do you want to discover more about the value of connecting with others and becoming a leader others will gladly follow? Visit my website, prestonpoore.com, today!
Cheers,
Preston
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Preston Poore
I’m a disciple of Christ and an executive at a Fortune 500 Company. In my blog, The Discipled Leader, I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work.
As a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, I help others grow their relationship with Christ, develop their leadership skills, and understand how they can make a positive difference in today’s chaotic world.
Let me help you reach your potential.
I draw on my diverse business experience to help Christians connect their secular and spiritual lives at work. I invite you to subscribe to my blog and learn how to develop Christlike character, influence your culture and change your world.