GETTING BUY-IN AND LOYALTY FOR THE INSTITUTION
Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard's president was the interview subject of the New York Times "Corner Office" column (Nov. 1, 2009) discussing her approach to leadership. What I took from her remarks, though coming from her experience in academia, was some advice for generating buy-in to an organization's overall success by practice group and business unit leaders.
Gilpin pointed out that one of the key reasons for leader communication frequently and repeatedly is so people will not feel a sense of mystery or suspect what a leader is up to. She said that by reaching out and listening, the leader not only can understand how others see the world, but also by having them feel listened to, they are more likely to
Gilpin learned from former business school dean Kim Clark to invest in people and give them the ability to do their best. Clark advocated promotion from within or else junior faculty would leave if the school just hired stars from outside. This is a lesson for firms focused mostly on hiring laterally.
She related an astute question asked by Michael Porter, noted Harvard professor and author, when she engaged him to facilitate a session at a deans' retreat. He asked, "How does being part of Harvard University give you an unfair advantage?" (I don't bring this up to incite Ivy rivalry.) What he meant was: how does one meet their own aspirations in their position by being part of the larger institution? What Gilpin was aiming at was more cohesiveness and integration - how they could all be better together.
When asked what she looks for when hiring, she responded: "For me, the most important quality is somebody who is about the institution and understands how his or her personal ambition can be marshaled in service of something that is bigger than the person's purposes."
Having witnessed so much narcissism and self-interest in the business and professional worlds for some time and the consequences, perhaps it would benefit all types of organizations to take those words to heart and focus long-term for the good of the whole.
Phyllis Weiss Haserot www.pdcounsel.com
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