ELEVATED LEADERS EMPLOY ELEVATED SYSTEMS THAT ELEVATE THEIR ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

AbstractThe author, a leadership development consultant and professor, discusses the concept of “elevated leadership.” His case study is that of Alan Mulally, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ford as well as Boeing Commercial Airlines. He also points to other elevated leaders, such as Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Mary Barra at General Motors, and Ed Catmull at Pixar and Disney Animation. The author’s explanation of the concept: “Leaders who are more elevated have a greater ability to effectively navigate their tumultuous environments and ensure long‐term success of their teams and organizations, because they employ elevated systems that ultimately elevate their organization.” His Table 1 shows executives at three different levels of adult development: Level 1 (Good Soldiers, 7%), Level 2 (Progress Makers, 85%), and Level 3 (Value Creators, 8%). As a contrast, 64% of all adults fall into the Good Soldiers category. He describes Mulally’s Working Together Leadership and Management System as comprised of five core elements: Governance, Leadership Team, Principles and Practices, Creating Value Roadmap, and Business Plan Review. Benefits of the latter included that it “engendered clarity and focus – It ensured that all leadership team members were clear on and united in the vision, strategy, and plan for moving forward and knew the areas that needed special attention.”