the mount vernon report summer 2006 - vol. 6 no. 2

8/8/2019 The Mount Vernon Report Summer 2006 - vol. 6 no. 2

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I s su e s Af f e c t ing Repu ta t i on Manag ement and S t ra t e g i c Communi c a t i ons

Inspiration: A Powerful Foundation for Leadership

S u m m e r 2 0 0 6 v o l . 6 n o . 2

Inspiration comes from many places a cause, an idea, a per-son or even a problem. And while inspiration is the foundationfor effective leadership, simply being inspired is not enough tomake a leader.

Leaders need to inspire those around them and galvanize themto action. Leaders in all sectors from business to nonprofits,government to religion, face great challenges in their efforts tolead. External forces the economy, nature, and social andpolitical pressures are ever-present, unpredictable and beyondtheir control. Internal to the organization, leaders must clearlyand convincingly convey the vision and engage and persuade keyconstituency groups such as employees, customers, sharehold-ers, and board members to buy into that vision and work

together toward its realization, despite the odds. Moreover, thereputation of both the organization and the individual leaderare essential to a leaders ability to inspire.

Good leaders inspire others by demonstrating a personal com-mitment to the mission and vision, linking their decisions tothese goals in both good times and bad. To be successful, lead-ers must inspire others to believe in the mission and act in sup-port of it. And while leaders keep and safeguard the vision, theymust engage others to make their goals universal, to hold thedream in common. Only when an organization has a strongreputation that all stakeholders firmly support can it weatherups and downs.

A benefit of having a college daughter interested in literature isthat I can choose from a bookcase full of her castoffs. I admitthat there are a few gaps in my literary experience, and reading

John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath, offered me a new andwelcome perspective on leadership.

Most of us are drawn to heroic leaders engaged in mythicalbattles, overcoming extraordinary odds to prevail while leadingmany from harms way. However, as those of us who have readSteinbecks classic know, it does not take a person of immensephysical strength or stature to inspire others. Ma Joad, the maincharacter in The Grapes of Wrath, keeps her desperately poorfamily together in the face of the overwhelming hardships ofthe Great Depression. With her quiet, stoical strength, she helpsthem keep their spirits and humanity intact. When faced withan obstacle, Mas first reaction is that things will get better aslong as family and friends stay together. Together they canovercome anything. Alone all is lost. Ma Joad was a courageousleader, even when others despaired.

I recently met an amazing person we all can learn from

Massachusetts General Hospital's Susan Briggs, MD. Susanheads up an international medical response team that regularlydeploys crucial medical attention to the world's disaster areas(9/11 Ground Zero, the earthquake in Bamm, Iran, the massive2004 Tsunami, and Katrina). Susan and her team of dedicateddoctors, nurses and EMT's leave their families and are on theground in harm's way within 48 hours after receiving a call forhelp. She defines the role model of selfless leadership. Susan isa person of action and commands the respect of all who shareher mission of compassionate care to those in desperate need.Generals, CEO's and Heads of State call her a friend becauseof her deeds they also follow her lead.

In early May of this year, a tragedy occurred that received globalmedia attention. Reports chronicled the horrible death of a 34year-old British mountaineer attempting to climb Mt. Everest.When the climber experienced trouble at a dangerously highaltitude of the mountain referred to as the Death Zone morethan 40 other climbers passed him as he lay dying most

failing to offer any assistance.Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit ofMt. Everest in 1953, described the callousness and selfishnessof some climbers as horrific. In his day, the code of theclimber was to help others in need and abandon all thoughts ofreaching the top of the mountain if it meant leaving a fellowclimber behind. If one person had chosen to lead, leaving thetrail on Mt. Everest that dreadful day in May and turning toothers to ask for help, Im confident they would have also savedthe climbers life and, in a way, their own.

There is no reward for reaching the top if you end up at thebottom morally and ethically.

One public relations guru recently described leadership asmostly a verbal discipline, with CEOs inspiring othersthrough their words to take action, implement change or todrive the charge. As always, it is important for leaders to choosetheir words carefully and know the right moment to use them.Keeping in mind what I have learned from Ma Joad and others,I would suggest a slightly different version: inspiring otherswith true leadership is more about deeds than words.

Inspiring Leadership Comes In All Forms

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Serving as President and CEO of Morgan Memorial GoodwillIndustries has helped me understand just how powerful inspira-tional leadership can be. Founded in 1895 here in Boston by a trulyinspirational and visionary leader, Reverend Edgar J. Helms,Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries was the first in what hasbecome a worldwide network of more than 200 Goodwillstoday. A Methodist minister assigned to the Morgan Chapel inthe heart of Bostons South End in the late 19th century, Helmswas shocked by the widespread and abject poverty he saw amongthe local immigrant population.

With a burlap bag in hand, Helms went door to door in Bostonswealthy neighborhoods collecting donations of clothing andother items. He employed the poor to repair the items, and usedthe revenue from the sale of the items to pay workers wages. Hebelieved that people benefited more by working and gaining skillsthan by receiving hand outs. The system worked, and theGoodwill method of self-help and achieving independence was

born.Through the years and in the face of great challenges, Goodwillhas stayed true to its mission and continued to build its reputa-tion for providing not charity, but a chance to the neediestamong us. It also inspired others to act by donating clothing andhousehold goods to Goodwill, which is now an important localtradition. As a result, countless individuals with disabilities andother barriers to self-sufficiency have successfully entered theworkforce and became productive, tax-paying members ofsociety.

The importance of Goodwills mission and the value of

Goodwills reputation in the community were never clearer thanin the days and months following September 11th. A time oftremendous unease and uncertainty for everyone, this period wasparticularly difficult for community-based organizations.Charitable gifts plummeted. Public support for human serviceswas slashed. The effects were only amplified for the poor andthose in need. They endured layoffs and a dramatic drop in thenumber of available jobs.

It is during the hardest times that people need Goodwill themost. That has not changed in over 100 years, and these were thetoughest of times. In the face of these challenges, I personallydrew inspiration from reading about the early history of

Goodwill under Rev. Helms leadership. Doing so reminded methat the vision was not his alone but a shared vision of allGoodwill stakeholders, then and now.

As the leader of Goodwill, I needed to do my best to inspirethose around me. I made a commitment to continue to serve eachand every individual who came through our doors, finding everyresource I could to do so. Our board endorsed and stood behindthat commitment, and our staff worked tirelessly to provide thebest service to all who needed our assistance. And as I walk in hisfootsteps, I know that Helms would have done no less.

I learned from this experience that success depends on the orga-nizations reputation, and the organizations reputation dependson its success. In the aftermath of September 11th, we lookedhard at our organization and services and honed in on our corecompetencies. Staff rose to the occasion with dedication andcompassion. And, our business partners TJX departmentstores, Stop and Shop supermarkets, Mellon FinancialCorporation and Citizens Bank, to name a few continued tohire the people we trained and provide philanthropic funding forour work. Everyone understood that the people Goodwill serves

needed us more than ever, and we were inspired to follow Helmsphilosophy. Our stakeholders responded because they shared ourvision and understood how we contributed to their companiesand to the community.

With determination, hard work, resourcefulness and creativity onthe part of staff, and support from the Goodwill community,Goodwill met its goal. Everyone who came in our door wasserved. And despite the lingering effects of the economic down-turn, we have continued to serve more people year after year. Inthe past ten years, the number of people served has grown by ten-fold, from 900 to more than 9,000. Goodwills reputation forproviding not charity, but a chance and for helping those most

in need in our community sustained us then, and continues toflourish today.

When I look back at those difficult times, it is the tenacity andresilience of the people we serve and the commitment of theGoodwill staff that I remember. Now, it is their embodiment ofHelms vision that inspires me and what helps me to inspireothers as we work together to overcome new challenges, main-tain our reputation for excellence in the delivery of our servicesand keep the Goodwill vision and mission alive for those whoneed us most.

Joanne K. Hilferty has served as President and CEO of Morgan

Memorial Goodwill Industries since 1995.

We have courage and are unafraid. With the prayerful cooperation of millionsof our bag contributors and of our workers, we will press on till the curse of

poverty and exploitation is banished from mankind.~Rev. Edgar J. Helms


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Pomp and InspirationAs the annual graduation ceremony ritual comes to a close, thereare very few addresses that anyone can remember even the grad-uates themselves. The typical message of inspiration and call forpublic service has been delivered once again, and once again,rather than inspiring audiences, the speeches put many to sleep.

Addressing an audience at the University of Illinois atChampaign-Urbana, Robert Novak once remarked, Graduationday the high point of college. The commencement speech thelow point of graduation day.

Although they are meant to inspire, commencement speecheshave a bad reputation and have been a source of dread for many.These infamous lectures come in many forms the speech thatdrones on endlessly, the speaker who cannot relate to his audi-ence, or the speaker rushing through his address at breakneckspeed contribute to the rituals negative image.

Graduates minds are usually elsewhere that day, focused on thepast or the future, rather than the present.

Of course, thats not the point. The graduation speech isintended to inspire the young graduate to dream big dreams, see

the world for what it can be, and make the planet a better place.Graduation speeches arent always bad, and in the past have beenimportant social catalysts. Over the years political leaders haveused the graduation speech to call for revolutionary changes.Such groundbreaking commencement speeches called for a newand better world, where the graduates could be at the forefrontof change.

Among the most famous was Winston Churchills 1946 addressat Westminster College, where he warned about the then-SovietUnions expansion and the Iron Curtain settling over EasternEurope.

Shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President JohnF. Kennedy spoke at American University and announced earlytalks toward the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, whichbarred testing nuclear weapons above ground.

In 1997, then Secretary of State Madeline Albright used thecommencement address to reveal her plans for a modern-dayMarshall Plan to reduce poverty and disease in developingnations and help those countries expand their economies.

Such stirring speeches are few and far between these days. Today,the reputations of our political leaders are painted in hues of red

or blue, and their speeches, however profound or intelligent, areoften ignored.

Instead, the best-regarded and most-anticipated graduationaddresses in the modern era come from entertainers, celebrities,famous authors or television journalists. Speeches by the likes ofConan OBrien, Jon Stewart, or even Tom and Ray Magliozzi,Click and Clack of NPRs Car Talk float throughcyberspace, passed around each year at graduation time.

This shift may be a reflection of the celebrity-driven culture inwhich we live, where political figures of all stripes are often rav-

aged as self-serving or party-serving misanthropes, while the rep-utations of our entertainers are rarely sullied. It may also mirrorthe belief that there is more interest in the style of an addressthan its substance.

But perhaps the explanation is simpler.

At a time of war and economic uncertainty, as graduates face aworld that is rapidly changing; maybe the ability to laugh willhelp them through lifes many speed bumps.

Paul J. Smith, author of Onward!: 25 Years of Advice, Exhortation, andInspiration from Americas Best Commencement Speechesstated: In short,

many commencement speeches deserve their crummy reputation.A commencement speech should not be a screed, a defense, anadvertisement, or a labored attempt to compare now and then,and yet too often they are one or the other.

As the reputations of our elected officials and their speeches con-tinue their downward spiral, maybe speakers will learn from themore popular, inspiring speeches of the day. Addressing futurecommencement speakers, I would recommend they take them-selves less seriously. It is through empathy, understanding onesaudience and sometimes even humor, that speakers will inspire,lead and motivate new graduates to greatness.

~John Lamontagne

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Leadership is influence.~John C. Maxwell, The Power of Leadership

In all things in life, choose yourconscience, and trust your instinctsand lead your lives without regrets.

It is simply easi er that way.~David Halberstam, 1996


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Questions of Character: Illuminating the Heart ofLeadership Through Literatureby Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr. (Harvard Business School Press)Badaraccos book helps leaders and aspiring leaders preparefor the opportunities and tests before them. The bookoutlines eight fundamental challenges that test a leaderscharacter and proposes exploring them through the lens ofliterature, including Death of a Salesman and The Last Tycoon.Badaracco is the John Shad Professor of Business Ethics atHarvard Business School.

Onward! : 25 Years of Advice, Exhortation, and Inspirationfrom Americas Best Commencement Speechesby Peter J. Smith (Scribner)Onward! includes more than 200 excerpts from the bestcommencement addresses given during the last 25 years.

What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders andTheir Lessons for Transforming any Businessby Jeffrey A. Krames (McGraw Hill)Krames goes beyond theory to look at how contemporary busi-ness leaders carve their own paths to corporate achievement.Business icons profiled include Bill Gates, Jack Welch, MichaelDell, Lou Gerstner and Sam Walton.

Additional Books on Leadership and Management

Please visit us on the World Wide Web at: http://www.mountvernonreport.com

The Mount Vernon Report is published and copyrighted 2006 by Morrissey & Company, an independent Reputation Management and Public Relations firm headquarteredat 121 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108. Permission to copy and distribute is granted, provided that full attribution is given to Morrissey & Company. Furthercommentary or response to any of the topics discussed in this issue is welcome and should be directed to 617-523-4141 or via e-mail to [email protected].

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The Reputation Advisor: Qualities for Great Leadership

Leadership is about getting things done and helping people reachtheir potential. Good leaders excel at motivating people to dotheir best. Great organizations need strong management, but foran organization to truly excel, it also must have great leadership.

Leadership has a lot more to do with inspiration and vision thanstraightforward technical competence or educational background.All great leaders keep working to become increasingly effective.But this drive is not the only quality that makes a leader successful.

Some fundamental qualities of effective leadership include:

Decisiveness work with a sense of purpose, putting plansinto action.

Vision - have a clear vision of the future and make decisionsthat are in line with your objectives.

Responsibility always take responsibility for actions.Be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem,discover the first sign of trouble. Admit mistakes.

Passion allow your passion to inspire and encourage others. Support surround yourself with people smarter than you,and learn from them.

Kindness and Strength kindness is a certain type ofstrength. Leaders must be kind enough to tell the truth.Strong enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

By breaking down the qualities of what makes good leadership,individuals have been able to find the qualities that they need tostrengthen while at the same time reaffirming the qualities they

already have. To be a true leader, individuals must want to leadand pursue leadership with great determination with all themeans at their disposal. That is, using all his or her powers,qualities and potential.

There is no fool-proof recipe for leadership success; rather, acombination of experience, effective tools and the unwaveringcourage to make a difference all contribute to creating effectiveleadership. Look for opportunity in every challenge, define onesvision, and always approach each situation with integrity.

Skills that work well for some might not work well for others.However, everyone can learn the fundamental skills of leadership,

and adapt these skills for situations at work, in the community,and at home.~ Margaret Brady

Optimism is the true moral courage~Sir. Ernest Shackleton

the mount vernon report summer 2006 - vol. 6 no. 2

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