Role models can do more than inspire. They are practical and sensible examples of how to do things the right way.

A role model is often a powerful force in your life and career. You can choose to closely emulate the person or select certain traits you can integrate into your individual style. Anne, for example, a financial services executive we interviewed, said Sallie Krawcheck was a role model because she demonstrated that a woman could rise to the top of a predominately male organization.  

A role model is frequently a game-changer who shows you a different way, an alternative path to finding your true north. Motivating role models challenge you, sometimes getting you to test your assumptions about handling yourself. For some, a role model can also be practical, sensible, and down-to-earth.  

The Game Changer

Highly successful businessman and former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg credits much of his success to the late William Solomon. Solomon was a managing partner at Solomon Brothers when Bloomberg began his career as a trader. For example, Bloomberg said Solomon “made his own decisions and didn’t look back.” Those lessons were game-changers for Bloomberg because he took them with him when he started a company with three other former Solomon employees  

Amy, a corporate manager at a major pharmaceutical company, told us about her first boss, Evelyn. Evelyn solicited and listened to Amy’s ideas, encouraged her to seek various opportunities, and then empowered her to take action. Evelyn was a game-changing role model who gave Amy the confidence that she was going to be successful. 

Tony, a martial arts instructor, saw his captain in the Marines as a game-changer because he had a robust personal code of ethics. Tony said it was the force of his example that led me, “to stop shifting the blame on to others, but rather accept and own it.”

Some game-changers can be inspirational, too. It is the power of their example that emboldens you to choose another path or forge ahead on your current avenue, but with renewed vigor. 

The Motivator

Some leaders, our research shows, are both a motivational force and a role model. Dick, another corporate executive in our interview group, said that Bill was a motivational positive influence leader. Bill was an informal mentor who inspired Dick to take responsibility for his actions, especially regarding how you treat people. However, Bill was also an efficient, positive influence role model leader. As Dick told us, “I watched him every day and was especially impressed by the fact that he behaved the way he talked.”  

In her long career as a sportswriter, Nancy was fortunate to work for Terry Taylor at the Associated Press. Terry was both a supportive and motivating positive influence leader. She gave Nancy opportunities that made her realize she wanted to be a sportswriter. However, she was also a significant role model because, as Nancy shared with us:

“When you’re a woman in a male-dominated industry, there are so many additional challenges. People question your ability as well as your motivations. People want to preserve the status quo. Seemingly trivial details, such as what you wear to work, take on added importance.”

The Practical One

Some role model leaders provide a heavy dose of pragmatic, down-to-earth positive influence with just a dollop of inspiration. While they hope you will change, they seem to make a point of wanting you to create your own leadership style.

Well-known financial advisor, author, and TV host, Suze Orman says It’s not about creating a cookie-cutter mold of yourself. Orman believes the best mentors help people find their own path and develop their unique definition of success. “While someone may admire you,” says Orman, “they should never feel the need to be exactly like you.”

Ray, a senior-level IT executive whom we interviewed, saw his boss, Fred, as a role model, but with a twist. Ray admired and wanted to adopt his style of being forthright about the desired goal of a project. However, Ray adapted that style to be more aligned with his inclusive personality. For example, when Ray was working with the company’s local management team in Chile, he approached them not with, “my way or the highway,” but with, “how can I help with your issues?” However, he always kept his eye on the end goal of the project.  

Another one of our study group members, Jennifer, saw her boss as a practical role model. She admired and wanted to be like him because he created “a no-nonsense” culture where the focus was on, “work fast, never say no and innovate whenever possible.” He also provided, “very little day-to-day oversight which gave me the freedom to lead my own group and grow as a manager.”

What type of role model are you?  

What do you do to be a positive influence role model on others? For more stories of positive influence role models and how you can become a positive influence leader, pick up a copy of our new book, Positive Influence: The Leader Who Helps People Become the Best Self (HRD Press, 2020). www.thepositiveinfluenceleader.com 

“The Most important Thing About Crisis Management is to Prepare for the Next Crisis.”

At this point, some businesses are reopening. Limitations on in-person meetings will be lifted. Some, but not all, employees will be happy and anxious to get back to the workplace and leave the stress of 24/7 home life behind. However, the positive influence leader will want to take a moment to ask, “how did we do, and what did we learn, and how will we specifically apply what we learned to both our departments and our firm?”  

This is a critical moment because:

• There will be another crisis in the future. 
• It may not be health-related, and it may not be of the same scale, but we will need to be ready, and it will need to be addressed.
• The organization may have been permanently changed by the crisis, and a simple return to “business as usual” is not possible. There will be a new normal for many industries and businesses.
• The organization may have adopted some new practices during the crisis that were beneficial. For example, new techniques for customer acquisitions, interactions, team meetings, and time management may have been effective and easily integrated into the post-crisis workplace.

As your organization and departments return to work, you must review and assess what happened during the crisis. As someone said, “the most important thing about crisis management is to prepare for the next crisis.”

Take the case of the island country of Taiwan because it provides a dramatic example of post-crisis analysis. This country of some 23 million is just 81 miles from mainland China with frequent flights back and forth between the two countries. And yet, as of late May, there about 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and just nine deaths. How did they do it?

Planning for this crisis effectively began after the SARS epidemic in 2004. The resulting plan included a 24/7 national command center that integrated the work of a variety of agencies under one roof. The result was a plan that included specific sections that were implemented during the current crisis. 

Crisis Review
Some people call it an evaluation or an after-crisis action review, but we can go with crisis review. The objective is to find out what worked, what didn’t work, what we learned, and how we will correctly apply what we learned when and if there is a next time. We’ll need a methodology and some key questions to guide the process.

Methodology 
Here are some process elements to consider:

Should we break these sessions down by department, e.g., Executive, Technology, HR, Marketing, Sales, Service, Operations, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Finance, Accounting? If so, how should we customize this process for each?

• Who should be invited?
• How many meetings should we have?
• How much time should we allocate to the meeting?
• What topics should we cover?
• What questions should be asked?
• Should we use a professional meeting facilitator?
• How will we take notes and capture the ideas generated?
• What will we do with the notes taken and the recommended action items?
• Do we send the questions to the participants in advance of the meeting?
• What criteria should we use to assess the success of the meeting?

Review Questions
Some possible questions to guide the discussion include:

• What did we stop doing during the crisis?
• What did we start doing?
• What did we continue doing?
• What changed over time?
• What worked well that we stopped doing? Started doing? What didn’t work well that we stopped and started doing? What could have been better?
• What should we do differently during our next crisis?
• What are some lessons learned that we can immediately implement in our current workplace?

What are the key lessons learned that could be applied in future crises?
As this crisis comes to an end, the decisive influence leader can help their organization learn from the experience and develop a plan for managing similar challenges in the future as well as identifying learnings from the current crisis that can be implemented in the near-term workplace.

“How companies respond will define their brand for decades.” — Mark Cuban

Whether responding to an international, national, local, or company-specific crisis, positive influence role models are a powerful force for showing us how to do things “the right way.” They provide an example from which we can learn how to be successful. 

You may choose to emulate a person you admire closely; however, you can also benefit by extracting certain traits and integrating them with your unique style. To be a positive influence role model, follow these five actions

1. Be Open and Authentic

At the outset of a crisis, you don’t want either your customers or your employees to worry, and there may be a tendency to minimize or sugarcoat the truth. It’s also possible that you don’t have complete information. However, the worse thing you can do is deny, deceive or deflect — this opens the door for rumors and distractions.  

Be honest and say something like, “this is what we know as of this moment, but the situation is fluid, and things may change. However, as soon as I know, you will know.”  

The textbook case of how to handle a corporate crisis is the 1982 Tylenol tampering episode in which seven people died in Illinois after taking the pain-killer. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Tylenol, relied on their corporate credo that clearly states, “our first responsibility is to our patients, doctors, and nurses, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services.” 

As a result, they quickly took responsibility by withdrawing the product from the market, halting further production, and offering to refund or exchange the capsules for solid tablets. Later it was found that some of the product was poisoned after it reached Chicago and then sold to unsuspecting customers. In the end, J&J, and specifically CEO James Burke, was applauded for their quick and candid response to the crisis. As a result, Tylenol ultimately regained most of its previous market share.

Transparency builds trust and loyalty. Trust is the cornerstone of authenticity, a hallmark of the decisive influence role model leader. People — both employees and customers — will follow you if they see you as the real deal.

2. Be Clear and Specific   

In the current corona crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has become familiar to millions of Americans and is universally seen as a calm and constant voice of reason. Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has been involved in every epidemic in the past 40 years, including HIV/AIDS and Ebola. However, he can clearly explain complex scientific and arcane medical issues and make them easily understood by the general public that has made him a great example of a positive influence role model leader.  

Colleagues and employees are listening carefully to what you say and how you say it. Avoid minimizing a situation or being overly optimistic. Speak your truth clearly and precisely. As Mark Twain once said, “tell the truth, and you never have to remember anything.”

3. Listen, Ask Questions, Listen Some More, and Respond

In a crisis (and during regular times, as well) positive influence role models are open and accessible to their team — and they listen. They listen to people’s concerns, both technical and emotional.  

Companies are holding regular all-hands videoconference meetings where employees can ask questions and discuss their concerns about how to balance work-family issues during the crisis. A few organizations are also ending the week with a virtual happy hour where team members can share lighthearted stories about their work-at-home experiences.  

Who listens also learn ideas from employees on how to work smarter and create work processes that increase efficiency and effectiveness. When leaders are open, and accessible employees eagerly provide insights into both the degree and elements of customer satisfaction. 

Most effective positive influence role models not only listen, but they respond with plans to implement these ideas. As a result, companies with a culture of positive influence role models typically emerge from a crisis in a much stronger position.   

4. Walk the Talk  

Models or, more specifically, the most successful positive influence role models are well aware that people are watching. In this context, it is axiomatic that if, for example, you want members of your team to provide extraordinary customer service during a crisis (and beyond), then all of your customer interactions must meet or exceed that same elevated standard. 

At the top of the house can set the standard by being a role model who walks the talk. Such was the more recent case of Kevin Johnson, Starbucks CEO when he found the company in the eye of a negative storm because two African American men were arrested in one of their shops in Philadelphia for no apparent reason. Relying on the company’s top corporate value of “creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome,” Johnson quickly apologized to the men and the nation. Within a week, Starbucks announced that it would close all its 8,000 stores for an afternoon to provide staff training on implicit bias and ways of ensuring that everyone feels safe and welcome in their stores. 

Statements look good framed and hung in corporate conference rooms, but they only come alive when customers and employees see you “live those values” through your actions. In other words — when you walk the talk.  

5. Conduct an After-Action Review

When the crisis is over, there is a strong tendency to quickly get back to business as usual or the way things were before the crisis. However, the most effective positive influence leaders take some time to review and learn from the experience. You can call it an evaluation session, an assessment, or a more formal after-action review. The simple facts are:

• There may be another crisis in the future, and you’d like to learn how to handle it better.
• It’s entirely possible that things have changed as a result of the crisis, and it is not possible to return to business as usual. For example, some customers are no longer able or willing to buy a product or service.

You may have done some new things during the crisis that you now want to integrate into regular business operations going forward. For example, you find that video conferencing works well for many meetings and, therefore, you will reduce or eliminate a large number of face-to-face meetings. You may use a different language, but most project reviews focus on:

• What was our goal(s)?
• What happened/What did we do?
• What worked? Why?
• What didn’t work? Why?
• What should we do differently next time?

In times of crisis, the decisive role model leader can be a powerful force that encourages you to think outside of the box and not limit your options to the conventional ways of doing things. During this period, they are open, honest, transparent, and specific. They do not sugarcoat the harsh realities of the situation, but they also create a participatory process that includes lots of questions and an equal amount of listening. 

Perhaps most important, they “walk the talk” and thus ensure their actions are always consistent with their words. 

www.thepositiveinfluenceleader.com