BOSTON–Are great leaders made, or are they born? It’s neither, according to one person, And just what is it that makes one a leader? It’s likely not what you think, that same person advised, adding that no one can go it alone any longer as a leader.
Rene Carayol, a broadcaster, an author, a speaker on issues of inclusivity and a coach to numerous world leaders, told credit unions gathered here that anyone in his audience can be a leader—if they choose to be.
“No one makes you a leader. It’s about mindset and attitude,” he said.
Speaking to the World Credit Union Conference, Carayol noted he had not been to Boston in 20 years, and when he was last in the city leadership looked quite different from the way it looks today. Two decades ago organizations and companies were hierarchical pyramids that could be effectively led by one person who “was the cleverest man in the room. They made every call, they made every decision, they solved every problem, they authorized every process. The world was so much slower than it is today.”
But no more. Today, he said, technology has brought velocity and speed that make it impossible for one person to do all that.
The New Leadership
“Collaboration became the new leadership. It wasn’t one person, it was the team,” he said. “It completely changed the way organizations and corporations worked. It gave opportunities to so many more to be part of leadership.”
That only further evolved when the pandemic created a world in which leadership and resources could be anywhere in any time zone, Carayol added.
“The role of the leader now is to create an environment where everyone can flourish no matter what their background,” he said.
According to Carayol, creating environments where people do not feel judged, where they feel listened to and where they know they are part of something special is the biggest driver of performance he has ever seen.
A Lesson from Mandela
He shared a personal story of being at an event organized by Barclay’s at which Nelson Mandela was to appear. Mandela appeared earlier than his scheduled time and met with each the workers at the site, the gardeners, the cleaners and the security people. Afterward, he met with them again and called each by name.
“Guess how that made everyone feel?” Carayol asked. “It's not the big, amazing things, it’s the little things we do every day that demonstrate our care and competence, that we put people first all the time.”
The Big Question
Carayol said there is a question he is asked more than any other: Are leaders born or developed? His response is that it’s neither. He believes leaders are “found.”
“There are leaders on your team not yet found. Liberate them. Empower them,” Carayol advised. “Being a leader is a choice. It’s not about job title or rank, it’s your mindset and attitude.”
While IQ is developed and measured and often considered core to leadership, Carayol stressed his belief that EQ is equally if not more important, as culture and vision and purpose make up the “software” of any organization.
“Leadership is not management. It’s how you energize your people towards your vision,” he said. “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible. When they say it can’t be done, bring the leaders in.”
The Need for ‘Champions’
An effective culture requires “champions,” according to Carayol. “They provide the air cover, they encourage you, they are your sounding board. When it’s getting difficult, they’ve got your back.”
Carayol, who has worked with dozens and dozens of brands and their leaders, and who has coached numerous chiefs of state and world leaders, said he has learned something from them.
“None of them is brilliant at everything. But everyone is brilliant at something,” he said. “We try to find the two to three things you are brilliant at and get those to Olympian standards. No one can be brilliant at everything, but the team can be brilliant at everything.”
A Personal Story
Carayol is the son of Gambian immigrants who moved to London in the 1960s with a goal of giving their children better lives. He said he was fortunate to get to attend university and then to find a position with Marks & Spencer, where he remained for 10 years in nine different roles. In 1992, he was invited to join the board of Pepsi, even though he “knew they had the wrong person and I would be found out.”
He was the only non-American and person of color, although he stressed he was made to feel very welcome.
At his first board meeting at Pepsi’s headquarters in New York, the then CEO came into the room and proceeded to introduce Carayol—and as he reminded, this was in the days before Google—by describing in some detail Carayol’s family background, his life in London, his educational background and his professional experiences at Marks & Spencer, with no notes.
“Guess how he was making me feel?” Carayol asked. “For the first time in my life someone was talking positively just about me. The fear soon disappeared. I realized he wanted me to be there. I’m now feeling on top of the world. There was nothing I would not do for (the CEO). It took three to four minutes; it lasted me a lifetime. He kicked the imposter out the window. I no longer felt I didn’t deserve to be there.”
Feeling Sympatico
Carayol has drawn on those experiences to write a book titled Sympatico, which is about inclusive leadership. He outlined the book’s theme in the graphic, below.
“Give people a chance to change, to learn. Be the coach. Empower people and watch the return on investment,” he urged his audience. “If you see something that is clearly not right, enable them to change. Most of all today, be more compassionate than you need to be. Look out for each other. It’s the new leadership.”
In a theme he touched on several times, Carayol said credit unions are very uniquely positioned to appeal to what consumers and workers alike are seeking out, which is “something to believe in and something to belong to.”
What talent today is looking for are the five attributes outlined below, according to Carayol.
“We want to know there is a purpose behind what we’re trying to achieve. I put it to you that you are in a very special place,” he said.
What No One Remembers
During an earlier presentation, another speaker at the World CU Conference spoke to the power of telling stories. It was a position Carayol seconded.
“Leaders tell stories. Managers talk strategy,” he said. “No one remembers departmental strategy, no matter how scintillating you think it is. Everyone remembers David & Goliath.”
Carayol shared a video featuring Angela Ahrendts, who led Burberry as CEO from 2006-2014 before she left to join Apple, who said this about story telling:
“Great brands have to be great story tellers. We have to tell emotive, compelling stories, even more so because we are not fiction and we are building a life-long relationship with people. Every great relationship is built around trust. Any constituency touching your brand or business they want to trust that you are going to deliver, the message, the feeling the product you said you were. Everyone is a storyteller. Everyone is telling their life story. I don’t think the world is ever going to want to stop hearing stories.”
More Powerful Than Strategy
Carayol, who told credit unions that “culture is more powerful than strategy,” said there is something else that is also surprisingly powerful.
“Harvard research shows mentees get a 16% boost in career acceleration. Mentors get a 53% boost,” he said. “The role of the mentor is heightened when the mentee is from a different background. It forces you to lead differently. Go find yourself a mentee—it is the mentee who will grow you most.”
A Top 10 List
Finally, Carayol offered this top 10 list of tips for leadership”
- Lead by example
- Assemble a band of believers
- Share the plan and charge the hill
- What do you think? (The four most powerful words. Ask everyone)
- Be the inclusion champion. Diversity is the science, inclusion is the art
- Learn, unlearn and relearn.
- Everyone is brilliant at something
- Learn to get out of the way.
- Great players don’t win trophies, great teams win trophies
- Be the leader you want to follow.