What Leadership Shadow Are You Casting?

After Goodyear Tire lost money in 1990 (for the first time in 60 years), the board persuaded Stan Gault, a Goodyear Director and former CEO of Rubbermaid, to come out of retirement and replace Goodyear’s current CEO. When Gault arrived, he began to unplug lights and unscrew light bulbs in the former CEO’s large office, to reduce costs. He ate in the company cafeteria with the rest of the employees and got rid of executive parking spaces.

The word spread like wildfire among Goodyear employees that Gault believed “thrift is a virtue.” When Gault then asked all Goodyear employees to help reduce the company’s bloated costs, they already knew that their leader walked the talk. Goodyear employees responded to Gault’s integrity and his plea to reduce costs. As a result, the company paid down its debt and invested in new research and development. Soon thereafter, Goodyear launched the newly developed “Aquatred Tire?.” It was a huge success and Goodyear was restored to profitability.

?As leaders, we all have a shadow that we cast over others in the organization that is either positive or negative and is both ahead of us and behind us. What is our shadow saying about us before we actually get there, or what is our shadow saying behind us, after we leave?

?Organizations that flounder because of ethical issues usually indicates that there are leaders in that organization who are not ethical, and that negative shadow casts over others. Alternately, leaders On Purpose cast a positive shadow – as Stan Gault did for Goodyear – and help their organizations succeed and flourish.

A leader’s shadow can also strengthen a company’s culture and the engagement and commitment of its employees. In March of 2020, when retail outlets were initially forced to close their doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tim Boyle, president and CEO of Columbia Sportwear Company, cut his salary to $10,000 a year, while Columbia retail employees still received their regular pay. His pay cut helped to keep almost 3,500 retail employees compensated during that time of uncertainty. In addition to Boyle’s own pay cut, 10 top executives each voluntarily took a 15-percent pay reduction.[i]

That's a shadow of a leader. In this example, it's someone who acts – someone who talks about the values and then lives those values. With that mindset, they gain the respect of others; even those who disagree will hold them in higher esteem for their convictions.?

As the diagram shows, our leadership shadow can be defined through using four different personas. These characters are formed by how much leaders “Talk the Talk” and “Walk the Talk.” How much do leaders talk about what needs to be done or about the desired behaviors that need to be shown, and how much do they lead by example by exhibiting the behaviors they expect others to display?

The Commentator is the leadership shadow that does a lot of talking about how people should act and what people should do, but their actions do not align with what they’re saying. This could be because they don’t understand what they are commenting on or perhaps because they think that because they’re a leader, it doesn’t apply to them. This is probably one of the worst shadows a leader could cast.

Lisa’s Commentator Shadow could be seen recently. She attended a meeting with her peers in order to share the recent survey information about how the new leadership behaviors were settling within the organization, one of which was “Openness to others’ thoughts and ideas.”?When the data she presented was challenged by a colleague, she got very angry and started to argue with the person and tell them how wrong they were.

Commentators are people who are skilled at talking about what should be done or how others should behave, but they're not putting it into practice themselves. Are you a do as I say, not as I do leader, or someone who talks about what's right and then lives it and demonstrates it in your leadership?

The Resister is a leader who is not demonstrating the desired behaviors, actions, or values expected of leadership, and either talking badly to others about those expected behaviors, actions, or values, or not talking about them at all.

?Paul’s Resister Shadow appeared during a lunch meeting with his team. They were discussing the tight timelines they had been given for a new project. As Paul was walking away from the table, he said,

“I don’t really care what they say, I will get it done when I get it done.”

The Guide is a leader who demonstrates the desired behaviors or actions, but isn’t very vocal about those expectations. This may be because they are uncomfortable talking about it or because they simply don’t think about talking about it.

?Max has a Guide Shadow that shows in almost everything he does. He is an effective leader, but is very quiet about his leadership. You don’t always know what he is thinking because he doesn’t share much. When you watch him lead his team or interact with his peers, though, he is a walking model of the leadership behaviors that the company expects. You would be hard pressed to find anything Max does that doesn’t align with the image expected of leaders within his organization.

The Role Model is essentially the shadow of leaders who practice what they preach. The Role Model talks positively about what is expected of leaders within their organizations and makes sure that their behaviors, actions, and presence demonstrate those expectations.

?Jenny leads On Purpose. She strongly believes in, supports, and demonstrates the new leadership expectations that the organization has rolled out. Her Role Model Shadow prompts her to share feedback with others and encourage them to also be role models so that the organization will truly set itself apart from their competitors and help win the war for talent in their industry.

?She coaches others so they understand how they can better align their behavior and actions to those expectations, and when planned or unplanned, you can always see Jenny demonstrating and putting into practice everything she is explaining to and expecting from others.

One example of this was after a very busy week at the office. Jenny was really behind with her emails and wanted to work on getting caught up over the weekend. The organization, however, had just asked everyone to be respectful of other’s time away from the office and not send emails after business hours or on the weekends.

Earlier that year, she had told her team that just because she sends emails out on the weekends, in no way did she want or expect them to respond to them. After much thought, Jenny decided that rather than sending emails out over the weekend, she would prioritize how she would respond to them on Monday.

Leading with integrity is about the behaviors you demonstrate, the impact you have on others, and the choices you make. It’s about pausing long enough to consider the choices available to you and then making or responding in a way that aligns with what you want to accomplish. It is about staying true to your values and assessing all relevant information before you commit to a decision.

[i] Gariano, Fransesca (March 29, 2020). Columbia Sportswear CEO Cuts Salary to $10K, Keeps Paying Employees Regular Wages. Today. Retrieved from https://www.today.com/style/columbia-sportswear-ceo-cuts-salary-10-000-t177055

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