keeps him focused on his dream. Yet he retains a deep fear of failure emanating from his father's experiences. Rather than let his negative narrative drag him down, he uses it in conjunction with his positive narrative to keep Starbucks focused on succeeding.
The leaders we interviewed discovered their True North by understanding their life stories. Their stories cover the full spectrum of experiences, including the impact of parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors; the support of their communities; and leadership in team sports, scouting, student government, and early employment. Many leaders were influenced by difficult experiences, such as personal illness or illness of a family member; death of a loved one; or feelings of being excluded, discriminated against, or rejected by peers.
These leaders found their passion to lead through the uniqueness of their life stories.
Not by being born as leaders.
Not by believing they had the characteristics, traits, or style of a leader.
Not by trying to emulate great leaders.
Simply by being their authentic selves, they became great leaders, using their gifts to help others. Some outstanding leaders, such as Regeneron chair Roy Vagelos, did not see themselves as leaders at all. Instead, they wanted to make a difference and inspire others to join with them in pursuing common goals. If that isn't leadership, what is?
As former secretary of Health and Human Services John Gardner once said, “I guess I had certain leadership qualities that life was just waiting to pull out of me.” Have you examined what leadership qualities life wants to pull out of you? Let's focus on the life stories of two more leaders. As you read these stories, think about the ways your life story inspires you and defines your leadership.
Dick Kovacevich: From Grocery Store Clerk to Premier Banker
For 20 years as chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, Dick Kovacevich compiled the most successful track record of any commercial banker. In his interview for this book, however, he did not focus on his professional success but talked instead about how his experiences growing up in a small town in western Washington shaped his leadership philosophy.
Kovacevich was raised in a working-class family and interacted with people of all incomes and education levels. The dairy farmers, loggers, and workers that he knew at the local Weyerhaeuser sawmill were intelligent people who worked hard and had high ethical standards but lacked college educations. His teachers had a tremendous influence on him, encouraging him to do well academically and go to college.
From the age of 11, Kovacevich worked in a local grocery store, which stimulated his interest in business. After school he played sports, then rushed home so that he could eat before heading to work from 6 to 9 PM. In the summers, he ran the produce department when the manager went on vacation, handling displays, pricing, and ordering. Those experiences taught Kovacevich the importance of customer relations. He noted, “There I developed the intuition and leadership skills, more than in business school, where there weren't any leadership courses.”
Athletics had a significant impact on Kovacevich's development as a leader. He played a team sport several hours every day, becoming team captain in baseball and football. “On the athletic field I learned people can perform so much better as a team than the sum of their individual talents. By trial and error, I learned skills I could apply in business.”
If you had 11 quarterbacks on the field, you would lose every game. Just as quarterbacks are overrated, CEOs are too. You can't be an all-star quarterback unless you have some great linemen, outstanding receivers, and good running backs. Diversity of skills is an important element of any effective team. There is no way that leaders who surround themselves with people just like them can be effective. We need to recognize our weaknesses, but not amplify them, and then surround ourselves with people whose strengths complement our weaknesses.
Kovacevich used that principle at Wells Fargo, surrounding himself with talented executives who built the bank's individual businesses. He gave them authority to lead in their own way, while acting as quarterback of the team.
His life experience growing up in a small town profoundly influenced his banking philosophy. While other banks were using computers to eliminate customer service personnel, Kovacevich endeavored to make Wells Fargo the most client-friendly bank in every community. The primary concern of its employees is helping clients meet their financial needs. Because Kovacevich and his handpicked successor, John Stumpf, surrounded themselves with highly talented executives, Wells Fargo navigated the 2008 financial crisis better than any commercial bank.
Reatha Clark King: From Cotton Fields to the Boardroom
Reatha Clark King's roots trace to a rural community, where many encouraged her to become a leader. King acknowledged, “I didn't get here on my own. I am standing on the shoulders of the giants who helped me get launched.”
King grew up in Georgia in the 1940s, the daughter of farm laborers. Her father left the family when she was young, so her mother worked as a maid to support her three children. Her family was so poor that she often had to leave school to work in the cotton fields for $3 per day so that her mother could pay the bills. “Those were bitter moments in my experience, because white children didn't have to leave school,” she recalled. “That contrast was so clear and so wrong.”
Her church was a haven amid constant poverty and discrimination. “I have fond memories of going to church every Sunday morning. I can still close my eyes and see my grandmother praying.” The older women of the church identified King's special abilities, noticing her intellectual potential, initiative, work ethic, and dependability. “The sisters, teachers, and people in the community kept an eye on me, and encouraged me to overcome unjust barriers against black people.”
King credited her grade school teacher and the school librarian with influencing her development. They encouraged her to go to Clark University in Atlanta, where she won a scholarship and worked in the library for 35 cents an hour to pay for room and board. While King studied at Clark, the chair of the chemistry department mentored her, stimulating her interest in becoming a research chemist.
She applied to the University of Chicago's doctoral program, a bold step for a poor woman from Georgia. After earning her PhD in physical chemistry, she worked at the National Bureau of Standards and taught at York College in New York City. Even there, things were not easy. “One black faculty member called me an Uncle Tom for trying to resolve issues,” she recalled. “That was one of the most hurtful moments of my life.”
She got her first opportunity to lead when she became president of Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis. Even then she did not see herself as a leader.
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