I’m the Offensive Line…Clearing the Way for Others

Our University of Iowa MBA Leadership and Personal Development class was honored to hear from guest speaker Jim Israel last weekend.  Jim is the President of John Deere Worldwide Financial Services Division.  He shared his guidance for developing yourself, as a person and as a leader.

1.  Get out of your comfort zone.  Your success will be how effective you can rally your team.  “To be a good leader you don’t have to be an expert.  I see myself as the offensive line clearing the way for others to run and pass the ball.”
If you ever get the opportunity to do something new, do it.  “If we make 100% of our decisions right, then we’re not making enough decisions—or taking enough risks.”

2. If you  have a chance to do a global assignment, do it.  The world is a lot more similar than it is different.  Our customers and dealers have very similar desires and concerns.  It is also great to see the United States through another country’s lens.

3.  Set a clear vision for your organization.  Jim talked about the power of aligning his division around a common vision.  But creating that vision is only the first step.  Then you have to motivate, align and inspire the organization.  “And motivation isn’t about pom-poms.  I have seen some soft-spoken leaders drive people to do great things.”  (Jim also joked that he, however, isn’t one of the soft-spoken ones.)

4.  Stay true to your own style.  Do what your passionate about  And have fun! “Going to work shouldn’t be drudgery.  If you don’t go to work everyday excited about what you do, go somewhere else.”

5.  Do things the right way.  And make sure your “say-do” ration is 100%.  “It is equally important how you accomplish something as what you accomplish. ”

6.  Communicate, communicate, communicate.  You can’t over-communicate.  You have to say things over and over.  And people need different kinds of communication.  “You also owe it to your people to talk about the bad news.  People are afraid of what they don’t know. “  He talked about the credit crisis in 2008 and how they spent a great deal of time in straight talk with their people.  Also, one of the most important parts of communication is listening.  “Our greatest ideas come from people closest to our customers.”

7.  Focus on developing talent.  “The most important thing I do is get the right people in the right chairs.”  Identify people who have potential and keep providing them with challenges. Stretch your high potential people.  And remember for yourself not to focus on pay.  “If you’re moving around alot, you’re going to be at the bottom of the pay grade a lot.  Your pay will catch up with you. ”

8.  Strive for work-life balance.  Not only your own but for your people.  “It used to be a badge of honor how many hours you worked.”  But there are a lot of things in life you’ll never have the opportunity to get back.  Work is a marathon, not a sprint.  Take care of yourself, emotionally and physically.  “I invite my grandkids to come and have lunch with me at work every couple of months.”

9.  Give back to your community.  Pay it forward.

Thanks Jim for these words and much more.  And for providing a role model of authentic leadership for our class.

 

Tags: "say-do" ratio, authentic leader, authentic self, comfort zone, communicate, community, global assignment, Integrity Integrated, Jim Israel, John Deere, John Deere Worldwide Financial Services, leadership, talent, vision, work-life balance

One Response to “I’m the Offensive Line…Clearing the Way for Others”

1. Contracting Info says:

   October 17, 2012 at 4:10 am

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