Being a Good Leader

My first professional job out of grad school helped shape my ideas of leadership. Many are inspired by sterling examples of leadership, while others fumble and do whatever seems to work. Others follow textbook examples like they are gospel. In my case, I made my way by doing the opposite of almost anything my boss said or did.

I called him Jolting Joe. He was always restlessly smoking a Camel cigarette, and drinking strong black coffee. He looked like smoke should be curling out of his ears.

Years later, someone I admired for leadership ability at the United Parcel Service described Jolting Joe’s style accurately by terming it Managment by Ambush. My friend’s approach is one we call Management by Walking Around. In Management by Walking Around, the leader moves about. You spot where people need help and either get them what’s required or pitch in. You can trust this type of leader if you share similar goals and objectives. They might chew you a new one, but you probably had it coming if that happened. The manager doesn’t just help you out of bad situations but actively works to develop the skills you need to complete your tasks successfully. By the way, the leader is not your best buddy. As we said at UPS, they treat you with “dignity and respect.”

In Management by Ambush, the “leader” is isolated. But jumps on imperfections with no coaching, rationale, or reason. My friend at UPS also pointed out that over time, you could wind up with the sort of workforce and workplace that you inspire: cooperative, safe, and productive, or hostile and dysfunctional.

Jolting Joe’s favorite management device was the monthly conference. Once a month, a selection of underlings came into his office like sheep for the sheering. All received a strong dose of disapproval. But one had a target painted on their back. The others left the meeting feeling relieved that it had not been them. Most people tried very hard to keep a low profile.

They hired me to lead a new type of center within the library system—a Folklife center charged with programming targeted toward the many ethnic groups living in the area around my center. As a result, I was almost always high-profile and developed strong political and social ties. In other words, I was the nail that Joe needed to pound down. My community liked me, and I was liked by the local politicians; there was little he could do but harass me.

He harassed me for seven and a half years. I eventually moved on from my little center for a job as a consultant to a prominent organization. The day after my job offer finalized. I went to Joe’s office and dropped my resignation letter on his desk while he was gone to lunch. From staffers nearby when he returned, you could hear his anger from one end of the Main Library to the other.

Many years after working at UPS, I asked a friend if there were any downsides to Management by Walking Around. He thought about it and replied that not all people were interested in being encouraged to work or develop skills of self-actualization. Some people prefer being told what to do and having a boss watch them.

For several years, I worked supervising a series of “doors” at a UPS hub. Our job was to load the trucks, minimize damages, and maintain safety. It was about as far as you can get from a job as a practicing anthropologist. One day, a tour of high-level managers walked through my area during the three-PM crush time. We were knee-deep and parcels; instead of just shouting orders or moving through, they stopped to help. A district manager asked one of the Teamsters if he wanted help and began organizing parcels for loading by the Teamster. Afterward, the District Manager, Who’d once been in the position I occupied, offered me some straightforward and savvy advice before going to his meeting.
My team members and I were astounded by what happened.
The District Manager had been a “Hub Rat,” just like us once. As he told us, he hadn’t forgotten where he came from.

At UPS, I learned more about human nature and leadership than Jolting Joe could have ever comprehended. Leadership is complex. Some lessons are intuitive; some you learn from books; others must be learned by doing.

For the record, I sometimes wish I had started at UPS rather than having the experience near the tail end of my career. Our society sometimes denigrates physical labor and doesn’t think outstanding leadership can come from that job. That attitude is seriously wrong.