Beyond Bold: How to Lead a High-Performance Culture

On the eve of June 6, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, wrote a hastily scribbled note in pencil and placed it in his jacket pocket. On that paper, in highly edited cursive, was Eisenhower’s claim of sole responsibility for the failure of D-Day. Fortunately, he never had to read it. With an Allied Force of 156,000 troops, 5000 ships, and 11,000 planes, the world’s largest amphibious invasion was years in the making, and in the days leading up to the attack Eisenhower had worked around the clock, his blood pressure dangerously high – his diet a mix of cigarettes and coffee. Eisenhower’s masterful D-Day strategy rested critically on the day’s weather. He needed low tides at dawn, favorable winds, and a full moon. His planners and international team of meteorologists determined that June 5th to 7th would be the only window for an Allied invasion. The date was set for the 5th and as troops began to amass during the night and ships set sail into the darkness, Eisenhower’s meteorologists warned that the weather was turning against them. To postpone the D-Day launch at such a late hour placed Eisenhower at great risk of forfeiting any element of surprise, and with that, the extraordinarily grave chance of losing the entire war. Even so, Eisenhower listened to the young Captain who ran his American meteorological team, shouldered the responsibility, and delayed the attack for one day.

On January 28, 1986, 73 seconds into its flight, the Space Shuttle Challenger suffered a catastrophic failure of the O-rings seals on its solid rocket boosters. At half the height of the Statue of Liberty and each weighing 1.3 million pounds, Challenger’s boosters were the largest solid-rockets ever constructed. During the weeks leading up to the Challenger disaster, a small group of rocket engineers at the Utah-based Thiokol engineering firm desperately pleaded with NASA leadership that the rockets, and specifically the O-rings, were never certified for the unusually cold temperatures that Cape Canaveral had been experiencing. Despite the overnight temperature of 18F and a launch-day temperature below freezing, the decision was made to fly. Leadership pressure to expedite and continue the launch at all costs culminated in the all too familiar gut-wrenching footage of Challenger ripping apart in white plumes of exploding debris – viewed live by nearly 20% of the American population and countless school children.

Two “go/no-go” decisions with two horribly different outcomes. Leaders are taught that boldness is to be admired and that it is one of the defining traits that separates uniquely successful achievers from also-rans. And yet, such generalization fails to acknowledge one of the most critical ingredients of bold leadership: a leader’s willingness to foster an environment in which ideas are continuously questioned and reevaluated by all levels of the organization. Several techniques stand out as unforgivably necessary in building this type of high-performance culture. 

Walk the talk. NASA had prided itself on a world-class safety culture and yet found itself succumbing to pressure to launch when many other options were on the table. How often have employees heard the extended elevator speech from leaders who laud their open-door policy and yet make employees who choose to take them up on their offer feel as if they’re interrupting? Always ensure that employees know that their presence and their words are welcomed when they take the initiative and the risk to share their ideas and perspectives.

Know your team. When Eisenhower made the decision to launch D-Day, he insisted on personally visiting the men of the 101st Airborne as they were preparing for the next morning’s invasion. Covering his General’s license plate on his car and refusing to travel with his usual entourage, Eisenhower wanted to visit with the men of the 101st, soldier to soldier, one on one. Roll up your sleeves and get to know your people. Like Eisenhower covering of his plates, blend in when doing site visits and town-halls; sit amongst your employees and listen to their concerns, work on problems with them, pack boxes, and share a coffee. Ask them what changes they would make to improve the operation. You may be surprised at the power of their insights.

Validate and reward ideas. NASA’s failure to listen to the voices of the experts who understood the integrity of the O-rings better than anyone else was a failure to appreciate the intimate operational knowhow of those who are the very best at what they do. Is the “suggestion box” in your office overtop the trash can? It’s critical that when employees and team members offer insight, criticism, or foster debate, that leaders acknowledge them and reward their participation, even if leaders and the employees don’t (and perhaps especially if they don’t) see eye-to-eye. 

Make participation an expectation. When Eisenhower’s team formulated their D-Day plans, they had to consider every conceivable angle, every possible surprise, and every potential pitfall. This required all minds-on-deck. Leaders must ensure that one of the clear expectations of employment is regular participation in challenging the status quo. Over time, as employees begin to believe in the safety of speaking up, the corporate culture will slowly evolve so that participation becomes a routine condition and cultural norm rather than something a leader must constantly sell.

Facilitate leadership in others. One of the finest catch-all definitions of good leaders is their capacity to facilitate leadership in others. When Eisenhower met with the 101st Airborne, it was in the moments before they boarded the planes that would drop them behind enemy lines. Had they been unsuccessful in their mission, the rest of the invasion force may well have failed. Like all well-trained soldiers, once the Airborne parachuted into the darkness, their choices and their actions would steer the course of the mission’s outcome. Great leaders make their aim known and then build opportunity for team members to take the helm and make decisions as if they were running the show. There is no more valuable instrument for building commitment and loyalty than fostering an environment in which team members must rise to the occasion and demonstrate their strength of character. When a leader sits back and asks others what they would do and then asks them to make it happen -- it’s not out of weakness, it’s out of strength.