Checking in from Stanford, CA.
These last two weeks I’ve had the good fortune of participating in the Stanford Executive Program (SEP) at the Graduate School of Business. We live in the GSB dorms, spend the entire day in classrooms, and when we’re not in class, we’re either reading articles/cases or getting to know each other.
What stands out to me about these last two weeks is that in my career, I’ve never spent this much concentrated time with other leaders. It’s been a 24-7 immersion into their behaviors, approaches and values. While I’m still processing everything I’m learning, I wanted to share a few takeaways:
1. The most effective leaders value culture more than execution. They have simple systems for showing how much they appreciate their teams. Some have teams of 5,000+ people, and still value culture over any other corporate value. They write handwritten notes, call people to check in, and say “thank you” 100s of times daily.
2. This group is remarkably humble. Rarely will I understand the extent of their responsibility in a first, second or even third conversation. One extremely unassuming leader runs a $1B+ global business but couldn’t be more humble or less impressed with himself.
3. They are not fancy. They’re happy going to a sports bar, wearing sweat pants, and enjoying basic things, like workouts and conversations. Few designer labels, no showboating.
4. They approach leadership with a sincere sense of duty. They lead with empathy, and behave as if yesterday they were an individual contributor and remember what it’s like. They have no concern with power. They obsess over employee experience.
5. This group is emotionally stable & consistent. They might be having a bad day, hour, or week, but it is not contagious, and their sense of duty compels them to control their emotions versus allowing them to rub off on others. This is a superpower that I’m in awe of.
6. By and large, they acknowledge their privilege, and seem to understand that many in their organizations cannot pass as being in a certain majority group. They are genuinely concerned with diversity and inclusion.
7. They are also genuinely curious. Several C-level executives have asked for time with me (!! - major imposter syndrome) to discuss how I approach leadership, how Google measures success, etc. They match curiosity with generosity. You can ask them anything.
8. Lastly, they’re able to laugh at themselves. They’re happy to be the center of a joke at the expense of others. They laugh easily, liberally and generously.
There’s a lot more, but I wanted to share some initial reflections while it’s very fresh. As I reflect on my career to date, it’s humbling how many of these characteristics are ones that I haven’t embodied on a consistent enough basis. I wanted to thank everyone I’ve worked with for being supportive and understanding that I’m a “WIP” and will do the best I can to incorporate many of the values and behaviors I’ve seen first hand at SEP.
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