|
This Business Tip appears courtesy of RetailWire.com. CLICK HERE to visit RetailWire for engaging daily discussion about retail industry issues and trends. Interview with Dr. Stephen R. Covey:
If you rank Dr. Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People among your favorite books, you're in good company -- more than 15 million copies have been sold. CEO Magazine named it the "#1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century." Time magazine included Dr. Covey on its list of the "25 most influential Americans." Attendees of the upcoming FMI 2010 event will be treated to an educational session led by Dr. Covey entitled Leadership in the 21st Century, a topic of great significance in retailing today. At a time when individuals and organizations are under extreme pressure to do more with less, Dr. Covey will challenge us to ask, "why we are straitjacketing human potential?" RetailWire features
Dr. Covey’s THE INTERVIEW RetailWire: Where should personal convictions end and leadership begin in retail business? Dr. Covey: Leadership is fundamentally moral authority,
not formal authority. Those with formal authority but without moral
authority will create an adversarial culture, as we see in our country
today. Moral authority comes from living by and RW: Do you see a systemic lack of inspiration in retailing that turns young, talented recruits away? How can managers recognize future retail leaders and empower them to grow within the organization? Dr. Covey: By investing deeply in their
principle-centered moral authority approach, and by involving them in
learning to live this way in the face of the realities of the retail
world. These will be some of the issues I will discuss in my
presentation in Las Vegas on May 19th. Young,
upcoming leaders in retail need to understand the significance of
learning to communicate people's worth and potential so clearly that
they are inspired to see it in themselves. This is done both personally
and systemically in the way systems are planned and set up and
implemented. What happens is, a complementary RW: Many leaders are able to stand by their core principles during times of growth but are forced to abandon them during a down economy. Do you have any advice for consistent leadership for good times and bad? Dr. Covey: The only true test of whether a person is principle-centered is in down times. If they will sustain this kind of leadership, they will win the trust of all stakeholders. Trust is the key element that enables excellent execution, doing more with less and replacing fear with genuine engagement. RW: In this economy, we're seeing retailers using a greater percentage of part-timers and curtailing benefits in order to fund pay increases at the top. Can you talk about your principle of "mutual benefit" in this context? Dr. Covey: That very question needs to be sincerely discussed in small groups throughout the organization, so that we don't end up with such compensation extremes. Mutual benefit, or the idea of win/win, is foundational to trust and sincere, non-pseudo-democratic approaches. RW: High profile leaders today
are subject to scrutiny from anyone with a blog or Dr. Covey: This represents the voice and fingerprint of authentic and transparent communication, which is also fundamental to establishing deep trust. When trust is high, speed increases and costs decline. When it is low, everything slows down and costs go up. The heart and soul of real leadership is moral authority, particularly among those who have formal authority. When people borrow strength from their position, they lessen trust in every direction, and everything slows down. |
exhibiting universal and timeless
principles that are the foundation of all major cultures and religions
in the world, such as integrity, respect, contribution, service and the
constant development of the human mind and spirit. A good illustration
is Gandhi, the founder of modern India, who never held formal authority.
Another good illustration is Nelson Mandela, who received his moral
authority in 26 years in prison.