1. Copyright Mark Leslie
Leadership and Culture
Mark Leslie
mleslie@leslieventures.com

2. Copyright Mark Leslie
Values and Culture
 Values
 A statement of what is supposed to be important around here
 Sometimes an ideal or optimistic statement
 And, by implication, what is not important
 If it works, a guide to inform both tactical and strategic business
decisions
 Culture
 The character of the organization
 What everyone knows about how things get done and what is
important
 Pervasive in every nook and cranny of the work life
 “Values” is talking the talk
 “Culture” is walking the walk!!

3. Copyright Mark Leslie
The Buck Stops Here
 Culture flows from the top (CEO) down
 Decisions
 An expression of values
 Process
 How the organization works
 Character
 Personality
A new CEO = a new Culture

4. Copyright Mark Leslie
Proprietorship vs. Stewardship
 Fundamental issue of leadership style
 Proprietorship is about “ME”
…and what you can do for me today
 Stewardship is about “US”
…and what we can build together for the
future

5. Copyright Mark Leslie
When I want to know what
France thinks, I question
myself.
-- Charles DeGaulle, 1966

6. Copyright Mark Leslie
“A leader is best when people barely
know that he exists. When his work
is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all
say, ‘We did it ourselves.’”
--Lao-tzu
(sixth-century B.C. philosopher and founder of
Taoism)

7. Copyright Mark Leslie
Be Visible, Be Invisible
 Be Visible
 There is a large part of leadership which is public (and mostly obvious)
 MBWA
 Many and varied public meetings
 Be exceptionally accessible
 Be Invisible
 The real work of leadership is behind the scenes, OFTEN ALONE
 Leadership is creating an environment where:
 people can independently apply their intellect judgment and energy
 …to advance the vision and goals of the organization
 …and achieve a personal sense of accomplishment in their work
 It is NOT “management”, which is accomplishing complex tasks through
others.

8. Copyright Mark Leslie
“Glamorous” is the Opposite of
Leadership
 Don’t get confused -- It is not about “ME”
 A Leader must always think of others and put them
first
 You can be a comrade to your followers, but you can
never be one of them
 When you are doing the “glamorous things”, you are
just doing your job on this team
Warning of Danger:
GLAMOR IS SEDUCTIVE…

9. Copyright Mark Leslie
If You Are Loyal to One, You
Are Loyal to None
 A leader must be loyal to the mission
above all else
 A leader is responsible for the well being
of ALL of his people
 A leader is the keeper of fairness and
equity in the organization

10. Copyright Mark Leslie
The Further You Are from a Problem
the Less You Know About It
 Trust those on the front lines – the really
do know more than those “back home”.
 The first line manager knows less about
the specifics, and THE NEXT manager
knows even less.
 When you get to the top you don’t really
know anything about anything anymore!
 You trade situational knowledge for
judgment, experience and perspective

11. Copyright Mark Leslie
The Higher Up you Get, the Fewer
Decisions You Should Make
 Everyone “offers” you the decision
 What is the impact of the decision
 Have they thought about it?
 Are they, more or less, in the right quadrant?
 What is the downside?
 Allowing others to make decisions has real
meaning to them, and develops their
judgment and maturity

12. Copyright Mark Leslie
The More Power You Give Away, the
More You Have
 You empower individuals by giving them
 Knowledge;
 Authority; and,
 An acceptable margin of execution error
 “What I know that you don’t know makes
me more powerful than you.”
 A leader has the power to level this playing
field!!!
 And diminish politicization of the organization
 Empowered individuals will be loyal to the company and
loyal to the leadership
 A loyal empowered workforce is a force multiplier for the

13. Copyright Mark Leslie
Know Thyself
 We all want to know everything, and be best at
everything
 It is a hallmark of great leaders that they know their own
 Strengths (the easy part) and
 Weaknesses (the hard part)
 Likes
 Dislikes
 Augment your weaknesses with other peoples strengths
 If possible find others to do the things you don’t like
 Check to see if your self-assessment is shared by others

14. Copyright Mark Leslie
Trust and You Will Be Trusted
 The first level of trust is based on the “fair
play” that is visibly exercised
 Great leadership comes from a deep
sense of trust between the leader and the
led
 As a leader, you MUST take the first step,
you must trust first!
 You may occasionally get disappointed, but
the payoff is greater than the cost

15. Copyright Mark Leslie
Confront the Issues Directly,
But be Thoughtful, Gracious and Caring
 There are many tough things that you need to do
 Firing one of your executives who is a friend
 Negotiate hard deal
 Go after a competitor
 Reduce your work force
 But you can do all things with caring and grace
 Treat each and every person (and company) you
meet with dignity and respect
 And…, you never know when you will run into them
again…

16. Copyright Mark Leslie
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and
Nothing but the Truth…
 A key job of leaders is to “Fix Broken Stuff”
 If you do not know what is broken, you can’t fix it
 Everyone wants to tell you what they think you want
to hear…
 … in a way that will make them look good…
 You must find a way to convince people that you
need to know the truth…
…and you must always “Honor the
Messenger”

17. Copyright Mark Leslie
Listen to Everyone, but Trust
your Own Judgment
 Each business is complex and unique
 There are no formulas, fads and gurus with quick and easy
answers
 Be genuinely open, listen constructively and learn
 Hold your opinions in abeyance while you collect information –
this is counter intuitive to all we have learned. It is very hard to
do!
 At the end of the day, trust your own judgment
“If something does not seem to make sense…
…it most probably isn’t sensible”

18. Copyright Mark Leslie
There is Life after Death
 In the course of events there WILL BE black days
…days so black that all you will see is despair
 Everyone will be looking at you!
 Communicate candidly and directly
 Be calm and show them a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, but
not false hope
 Focus on the things that you can do to make a difference
 Overcoming adversity together forges teamwork and trust
 Dark days are “leadership opportunities”
 When things are great, remind people that there will be dark days
again

19. Copyright Mark Leslie
Only Those Who Are Both Paranoid
and Courageous Will Survive
 You never know where and how the world
might change
 Great companies make transformational
changes
 You may have to put your whole company at
risk in order to save it
 You need the courage to stay the course
in spite of many who tell you otherwise

20. Copyright Mark Leslie
There is No Finish Line…
 Building a great company is like building a
cathedral
 those who start it hopefully will not see its
completion
 Each accomplishment is a prelude to the
next challenge
 The IPO is not a “harvest”, simply one
step on the long road

21. Copyright Mark Leslie
If you want a friend…
…Buy a dog
ROXIE

22. Copyright Mark Leslie
Values and Culture make it
worthwhile
 We spend more time “at work” than any other single
activity in our life
 Since the outcome of our efforts is not always
predictable, the quality of the daily experience is very
important
 Values and culture define the character of the company
 Values and culture permit us to do our work with
integrity, and to conduct business in a civilized and
honest environment
 Values and culture help the organization to recruit the
best, the brightest, and the principled
 Values and culture do NOT sap the competitive
capability

23. Copyright Mark Leslie
Leadership and Culture
Mark Leslie
mleslie@leslieventures.com