Volume 1 Issue 1 September 9, 2003


Are you a 360 Leader?

What is it about certain leaders that sets them apart from others?

In our work with top global executives, Wf360 has identified four dimensions critical to what we call 360 Leadership. We’ve determined that the best leaders employ the following leadership and problem-solving capabilities:
1. The ability to draw on different aspects of their personality as the situation requires, so that their response is appropriate to the venue, the people involved, and the nature of the issue at hand
2. Making certain that their organization includes the best of thought leadership, representing diverse intelligence and strategic perspectives, so that they can call on resources throughout their organization for the ideas and people best suited to solve particular problems
3. Thinking globally, recognizing that today’s opportunities, as well as tomorrow’s competitive threats, come from everywhere in the world
4. Staying future focused, using the lessons of the past to help cover new ground
On the personal level, a 360 leader is one who uses every aspect of his/her unique personality, drawing on whatever personal resources are needed for a given situation. The panoply of behaviors available to each of us includes traits traditionally viewed as masculine (decisiveness, toughness, single-mindedness, comfort with hierarchy) and those traditionally viewed as feminine (compassion, consensus-building, comfort with consensus). The great leader – male or female – values and uses them all. But it may take a dramatic or desperate situation for us to have the courage to abandon a familiar, proven pattern of behavior and adopt one less familiar and comfortable.

In an earlier article I wrote about Rudy Guliani and how, during the 9/11 crisis, he abandoned his usual, familiar style -- one of toughness, lacking empathy, with little room for collaboration. In its place he acted with compassion and displayed his own deeply felt emotion. He was inclusive in decision-making, showed sympathy for victims and survivors alike. His behavior was just what the situation called for, and he behaved superbly, providing leadership and guidance for those anxious for certainty, willing to follow direction,

I’m convinced that Guliani – like all leaders – had the capacity for a broad variety of behaviors all along, but had not used the less familiar, more "touchy-feely" aspects of his personality because he had become routinized to use traits with which he was more familiar, more comfortable, and that worked well for him, or at least well enough. Like most leaders, he exhibited predictable behavior prior to 9/11. Such dependence on "what works" can lead to a narrowness of viewpoint, an inability to be flexible. The great leader does not need a crisis to become aware of the full circle of behaviors on which he can call; rather, he uses whatever is expedient and appropriate for the situation; whatever comes most clearly from his personal convictions and integrity or that he perceives will best help him communicate with his audience. The great leader isn’t afraid to look foolish or appear "out of character" by displaying behavior that may surprise people.

More frequently, though, our very success can often lead us to depend on the sets of behavior that got us where we are but, over time, those behaviors can calcify, leaving us less able to adapt to the changes that are inevitable in a demanding, forward moving situation.

Beyond the personal level, the 360 leader’s full circle behavior is demonstrated in her organization. Regardless of the size of her company, the 360 leader knows people at all levels of her company – from the board room to the server in the cafeteria -- and treats them with respect and appreciation for their expertise. When a particular situation calls for a team to be assembled, the great leader is able to move quickly, reaching for the best people wherever they are in the organization, across disciplines, from multiple levels, ignoring the organizational chart. Pamela Thomas-Graham, CEO of CNBC in remarks about her team’s response to a particular crisis indicated that one of the most valuable ideas of the day came from a junior staff person who suggested that CNBC communicate emergency information in place of ticker data.

The 360 leader has an appetite for excellence, no matter the source. So by employing people who are "best in class" the 360 leader’s organization is more likely to include a diversity of thought leadership re[presenting a multiplicity of backgrounds and cultures.

Outside the organization, the 360 leader – regardless of the size of his company -- thinks globally, sees the entire world as a potential market for his company’s products and services. The 360 leader keeps abreast of world events and looks for opportunities wherever in the world they may surface. At the same time, the 360 leader is aware that competition is global as well, that it can come from anywhere in the world. Thus, the 360 leader doesn’t narrow his vigilance to include only obvious, existing competitors in his own industry.

There’s another notion of the full circle as it applies to the cycle, the circle of time. The 360 leader is aware of the past and knows her history. In fact, she can understand history as a wheel, ever moving forward. So she is focused ahead on that part of the circle that is future-focused, open to new ideas even if they are uncomfortable or threatening to contemplate.

In producing the annual MainEvent, we look for examples of 360 leaders to showcase to our global audience. Let us know your ideas of people we should include as GC’s (Global Conversationalists) and on what topics you’d like to engage them in conversation. We also believe that an entire corporate culture can reflect 360 Leadership. Is your company as having a 360 culture and, if so, how does it measure up on the four dimensions?