A crucible is described as the vessel that medieval alchemists used to transform base metals into gold. In his latest book from Harvard Business Press, “Crucibles on Leadership,” Robert Thomas uses real-life examples of how a leader’s personal experience can act as his or her crucible to transform them into a more effective leader.
One example he gives is Jeff Wilke, executive vice president of Amazon.com. Wilke describes a major reversal he had while he was a manager in a chemical plant before joining Amazon. When one of his employees died on the job, Wilke went through a lot of soul searching. He wondered, “How could this happen? Who was responsible? He said, “You start to question all these things. You convince yourself in an industrial environment that leadership is about making money, making the quarter, and at the end of the day you get to go home to your nice cushy urban or suburban lifestyle. But, in the end, it’s all these lives that are wrapped up together.”
After the death, he began to notice a profound change in how he viewed his job. “I was no longer willing to focus on the business as detached from everything else that happened along with it. I began to give myself permission to have emotion about my work. At the end of the day leadership is about people, and you can’t separate their lives from their work or your work.”
When I commanded an infantry battalion in the Army National Guard we had a tragic accident where one of our soldiers was shot on a rifle range. Combat is one thing, but a range is supposed to be a safe environment where tight controls reign and soldiers can feel their lives are not threatened. No one person had done anything wrong, all of the range regulations had been followed, but a series of small mistakes in judgment had combined to result in this man being shot. That night, as we kept watch in the hospital, sent out chaplain to get his wife, and began the safety investigation to determine what had gone wrong, I too looked deep into my soul and questioned whether I had done all I could have done to protect this member of my unit. In business and in all other walks of life it is often easy to focus on the operations and lose sight of the people that are making things happen.
Thomas says in his text, “The ability to find meaning and strength in adversity distinguishes leaders from nonleaders. When terrible things happen, less able people feel singled out, powerless, even victimized. Leaders find purpose and resolve.”
In Thomas’ book he gives six tips for leaders:
- Don’t assume anything about a situation; you’ll likely be wrong if you rely on your first impression.
- Leaders need to ask questions as often as they give answers.
- Be aware of the lenses you bring to a situation; a leader needs to question himself or herself.
- Learn to rely on others; a leader needs to be able to trust other people.
- When you’re new to a leadership situation, find a common ground by telling stories and getting people to share theirs.
- Remember that sometimes events can conspire to make you a leader.
Both Jeff Wilke and I grew from our individual tragedies and became better leaders as a result. I have never forgot that leading is ALL about people. When we decide to lead; those who decide to follow give us the gift of their service, their skills, and their loyalty. We then have the duty to use these gifts effectively to make the world a better place, to protect them, and to help them grow.