Joe Davis of BCG: Leadership Lessons on Generosity, Feedback, and Inclusion

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My guest for Episode #278 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Joe Davis, Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and author of The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain.

He’s had 40+ years of experience managing and leading teams. Joe has also served as chair of BCG’s Center for Inclusion and Equity and is a founding steering committee member of CEO Action for Racial Equity and the Southern Communities Initiative.

In this episode, Joe shares his “favorite mistake” from early in his career at Procter & Gamble, where he learned the importance of giving timely feedback to his team. The conversation explores leadership generosity, vulnerability, and the value of creating trust within teams.

Joe also discusses his work with BCG’s Center for Inclusion and Equity and addresses how leaders can navigate challenges in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Throughout, he offers insights on leadership growth, balancing results with empathy, and leading with authenticity.

Questions and Topics:

What is your favorite mistake?
Should anyone be surprised by what they hear in an annual review?
How do you handle dynamics of giving feedback to people older than you?
How do you define generosity in leadership?
Is leadership generosity the opposite of a transactional, quid pro quo approach?
What’s your perspective on using terms like “problem” vs. “opportunity” when giving feedback?
How do you define vulnerability as a leader, and do you think vulnerability is often mistaken for weakness?
How can early-career consultants effectively advise older executives?
What’s the role of the BCG Center for Inclusion and Equity, and why that specific terminology?
How do you navigate pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within organizations?
How do you address employees or leaders who criticize DEI efforts as promoting ‘equal outcomes' over ‘equal opportunities'?
Is it possible to convince long-tenured leaders to move away from top-down, command-and-control leadership styles?
How do you strike a balance between being vulnerable and still delivering results as a leader?

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“You live by your values through thick and thin.” joe davis

“Being able to say, 'I don't know'... you free others from their fear.” joe davis

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Automated Transcript (May Contain Mistakes)

Mark Graban: Hi, welcome to My Favorite Mistake. I'm your host, Mark Graban. Our guest today is Joe Davis. He is managing director and senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group, or BCG. And he's also author of the book The Generous Leader: Seven Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain. Joe has more than 40 years of experience managing and leading teams. He's also served as chair of BCG's Center for Inclusion and Equity and is a founding steering committee member of CEO Action for Racial Equity and the Southern Communities Initiative. So, Joe, thank you for being here on the podcast. How are you?

Joe Davis: I'm well, Mark. And thank you for having me. It's very nice to be here.

Mark Graban: It's great to have you. I will put a link to information about Joe's book in the show notes and the website joedavis.com. I've got to ask, did you buy that in the late nineties or something?

Joe Davis: No, I bought it one year ago. The people that helped me figure out how to do that on GoDaddy or wherever that is, were so surprised it was available. Good for you!

Mark Graban: Joedavis.com, very easy to say, spell, and remember. So no mistake there. But before we talk about the book and some of the other things you've done in your career, Joe, I'd like to start off with the main question here. What would you say is your favorite mistake?

Joe Davis: Okay, my favorite mistake—and I love the word “favorite” (it means it doesn't have to be the biggest, but it can be the one you learn most from, I believe)…

Mark Graban: Exactly.

Joe Davis: …It's actually many, many years ago. I was 24, 25, and I was working at Procter & Gamble. I started as a sales rep and got promoted after, I don't know, two or three years to sales manager. And I had three or four salespeople working for me. One was on a management track, so you know, you didn't do much with them because they just worked their rear off. And then the three were career salespeople who were great guys, great people. And I used to ride with them every two weeks. But I got to tell you, I mean, I was 24, and to me, they were very old. I think they were 40 or something. And I was afraid to tell them anything about what they should do differently, because who am I, some kid, to tell them anything? What did I know? I just knew what was in the manual that P&G trained me on, so I never really gave feedback. And then when we came to the annual review, I remember this so well—it stuck with me for, whatever, 40 years—I wrote the person's review, and I wrote everything this person did incorrectly, as per the book, and any advice… I had all this counsel but had never said a thing. I started going through the review with him, and he stopped me after about five minutes and said, “Wait a minute, Joe, you ride with me every two weeks, and you've never told me a single one of these things.” So embarrassing. I don't remember, I have to say now, whatever, 40 years later, what I said at that moment. I'm sure I said something. And then we must have finished the review, and he left. And my boss said, “Never again write a review where they don't understand every idea you're going to tell them.” I think he said every word. It's a little too much to ask for every idea. And that has stuck with me…

Mark Graban: Wow.

Joe Davis: …forever in my life. And it's one of the main stories I share, especially with young people, when talking about how to give feedback. You know, one thing—there's a lot of richness to giving feedback—but one thing is you've got to give it. If you don't give it…

Mark Graban: Wow. So, yeah, another way of saying that is, like, somebody shouldn't ever be surprised by what they're hearing at their annual review, right?

Joe Davis: Or even—I mean, the company I work for, we give reviews at the end of every project. You know, you work on a project with a client, we write up a review, and it could be eight weeks. You say “year,” and if you've worked with someone so intensely for eight weeks and you surprise them, something's wrong with you. And, of course, you and I both know there's a lot going on there. Like, first off, you're scared. I was scared, a 24-year-old kid. You know, you're worried about, “Oh, if I give feedback, that's not nice. What are they going to think of me?” I mean, you know, there's books written on this stuff.

Mark Graban: Yeah. I mean, but that seems like something where if you felt that way and you recognized you were holding back or scared, your manager or somebody higher up could have, should have been coaching you about that, or at least creating the opportunity for you to ask, “What advice do you have about giving feedback, age dynamics, or otherwise?” Because that's difficult for a lot of people to give feedback.

Joe Davis: Oh, yeah. No, you're right. And I can't remember if—you know, P&G 40 years ago was still an exceptional company, but it was one of those “management track” companies of the globe. So I'm sure I was told, “Now, when you ride with people, give them this feedback.” But what we didn't do is role model it or practice it, and it was never my boss, me, and the sales guy. I'm going to blame it on myself, but maybe I wasn't being pushed as far as I should have been. But I'm still going to blame it on myself.

Mark Graban: I mean, I appreciate your reflection on that. And like you said, I mean, it's a long time ago, and some of the details might be fuzzy, but clearly the main point of that moment stuck with you. I think that's really a good definition of what a favorite mistake is. It's something that you remember, and there was some lesson learned. How long were you there? Did you go from P&G to BCG?

Joe Davis: I was at P&G six years, and then I went to business school. It's interesting because you said I had roles over 40 years, and I always think, “No, I'm only at BCG for 37 years,” but I forgot I had six more years of work, which were very formative years. Yeah, I went straight from there to BCG.

Mark Graban: Yeah. So then in consulting, the way hiring and progression tend to work, it's probably pretty rare in consulting to be back in that same scenario of having direct reports who are significantly older. Is that fair to say?

Joe Davis: Direct reports who are older? Yes, that's very rare. I mean, I'm the third-oldest person at BCG, or third-most tenured. So when I ran BCG North America, 70% of the staff was under 29 years old. It's an “up or out” type of place, whether you don't fit or whether you don't like the work style—not the lifestyle, but the hard work. It's rare that someone has older direct reports, but there are plenty of situations where you have to give feedback. I mean, we promote people after two years, and it's pretty hard when you're 25 or 27 to give feedback to anybody. And at BCG, it's an “up or out” environment, so you actually have to give feedback, or you're really not treating the person fairly.

Mark Graban: Right.

Joe Davis: Although there was another lesson. Even at BCG, we used to—we had the left side of the page was all the good stuff, the right side was everything you had to work on. And we'd always have a little bit of ink on the left (the good side) and the right side was full. And I used to say, “Well, yeah, because if you don't fix all those things on the right, you don't get promoted.” But we completely missed focusing on the recognition and feedback and development of a person's strengths. Leverage those strengths to actually help deal with some of the opportunity areas. We've changed a lot over time. That's the other mistake. I know that's more of a macro mistake that people make. It's just, “Let me tell you, you're not good enough at this, you're not good enough at that,” as opposed to, “Hey, you're exceptional in these four ways. Leveragethem to deliver.”

Mark Graban: Right. I heard somebody talking recently that some of the guidance anymore is to give five pieces of positive feedback, or catch somebody doing something well, for every one piece of constructive feedback. I'm not saying that would be universally applicable advice, but I think your point is a common one—we forget to mention the positives because we think, “Well, that person knows what they're doing well. They know what they're good at. They don't need to hear it.” But maybe that's not always true.

Joe Davis: No, I agree with you. Another thing I believe you have to do if you really want to give good, direct, clear feedback is develop a relationship of trust, to some level. Whether it's, “Well, they know it,” or put that aside, if you tell them you're recognizing them, you're respecting them as a person, you're creating a relationship. If they're your direct reports, you're building a relationship that now gives you the freedom to then give—in the moment, which I failed to do—direct and clear feedback. As long as you either care about them as a person or you care about them developing—I don't care which, I mean, I prefer you care about the person and their development, but you can just care about them developing and that still counts. But you've got to earn a relationship, which is a portion of your five positives, I presume.

Mark Graban: Yeah, yeah. And I forget who I need to give credit to for that. It's not my “five positives.”

Joe Davis: No, no, you said someone said it.

Mark Graban: And I don't disown the idea because, to me, there's a reminder. As an engineer—and this has served me well in a lot of ways in my career—I tend to point out, identify the problem, the risk, the gap, the things that need to be improved. And I've tried to learn over time—I'm not the young MBA hotshot anymore. As you get through your career, there are certain mistakes I've had to learn from, too.

Joe Davis: It's interesting, Mark, that triggered a memory. I used to have a client who said, “Joe, you only point out the negatives.” Now, I could be self-reflective enough to say, “Okay, well, consultants have to point out what's wrong, because then we get paid to fix it.” But putting that aside, this was a person I had a relationship with over multiple months, and I was just so conditioned to focus on the negatives. It's not that it's bad, but it's not the healthiest. It's certainly not the healthiest way to start. But it was really interesting. She just kind of—she didn't slap me, but it was like, “Whoa!”

Mark Graban: I thought—I mean, what do you think about—I pause or even cringe sometimes at what one of my mentors used to call “happy talk,” like, “Well, instead of calling it a problem, we're just going to use the word ‘opportunity.'” To me, a problem and an opportunity are a little different. We can point out problems. To me, opportunities are maybe a little more aspirational. I'm curious what you think about those words as a leader and somebody trying to give feedback to others.

Joe Davis: Well, I think if you've created the right relationship with your people and they know you're coming from a place of care, I actually believe—I don't like the word “problem,” but I believe being direct about “Here's what you have to fix, or you're in trouble,” I think that's just fine. Now, if you have no relationship with them and they see you as a jerk, I'm not sure that's going to work so well. But the trophies for the last-place team on your six- or eight-year-old's soccer team? I'm not going to begrudge that. But I don't really agree with it. I don't know how to think about it. But that's not the work environment. I'll tell you, one time I had a fellow present to the executive team, the CEO and the whole team. He was a mid-level person at BCG, maybe 30 years old, and he used the word “like” all the time.

Mark Graban: Just as a filler word.

Joe Davis: Yeah, like, “Like, Mark Graban, I'm on your show. I really like to be here. And, like, I've got an idea.” It's embarrassing in front of a C-suite. It's okay if you're 16. Anyway, afterward, we stayed in the room, and I said—I gave him feedback. I said, “Alex, how old are you?”—this is really direct. He said, “30.” “Sixteen-year-olds say ‘like.' Don't ever say ‘like' again in front of a client.” And the whole team was still in the room. He said, “Oh, you just slapped me in the face.” But he never said “like” again. I knew I had a relationship with him where I could be direct. So, you know, depending on how you want to phrase it, where it's coming from, “opportunity” versus “problem”… I don't know. I don't like the word “problem,” but “This is what you need to work on, these are the things to develop”… there's in-between those two words, too.

Mark Graban: Yeah, well, I think saying something like, whether it's to a client or an employee, team member, “Here's what you need to do,” is positive. It's direct. Direct doesn't necessarily mean negative.

Joe Davis: No, I think direct means clear. You hear more people give what I call “mush” feedback. “Well, you know, that meeting, you did pretty well, but you were a little bit off, and sometimes you didn't talk very clearly. Just do better.” What am I supposed to do with that feedback? I did something wrong, but you didn't tell me what.

Mark Graban: Yeah, no, I mean, I think the best feedback is specific. There are teams I've worked with where they try to practice not being vague, even about the positives, like, “Oh, you did a great job.” Say what specifically is worth doing more of or what to build upon.

Joe Davis: Yeah, absolutely. I don't know if you want all these stories, but I'll tell you one other story…

Mark Graban: Go ahead.

Joe Davis: …just on this issue, a very learning moment for me. It was tough. I had a mentor, and he said, “Joe, I could put you and this other person in a room, four white walls, and give you a very difficult problem, and you don't get out till you solve it. You'll probably never get out of the room. This other guy will get out of the room every time. However, when you're out of the room, if I say, ‘Now, go get it done,' he'll never get it done. You will get it done 100% of the time.” So, you know, he pointed out my strengths are collaborating, surrounding myself with good people, figuring out what it's going to take to get it done, and maybe not being a solo genius analyst. That part was a little harsh, but it was a very good—it was a good reminder to leverage the strengths one has.

Mark Graban: One other question, Joe, before we talk about some of the themes in the book: Were there any opportunities to kind of build upon your story from back at P&G to think about BCG consultants who were inevitably advising people who were much older than them? So let's say the early MBA graduate working with an executive team. Were there any particular dynamics to help people navigate that more effectively? Or is it really more just about effective relationships and feedback?

Joe Davis: Oh, well, if I understand your story—some of it I do—if you're going to… I think there are two points. If you're a younger, quote-unquote, consultant navigating clients who may be older…

Mark Graban: That's what I was trying to ask.

Joe Davis: …I think there are two things that are important, and it actually doesn't matter the age, but you're right, it's even more amplified in that situation. Two things I think are critical: Any client wants at least for you to get into their head. They make the joke about, “Take my watch, or take my time,” but they do want you to know what they know so you can go beyond it. You don't just repeat what they know. So one thing that's really critical is actually—and I'm a big believer in this—what you call “listening to learn” or taking the other's perspective, but really understanding. If I said “Z” and they were thinking “D,” what's going on there? What does “D” mean? Whether it's consulting or anything else, if you come in with what you think is the answer and don't know what's in their head or their challenges, you've got half an answer. The other thing I used to say—and I believe this dearly, and it kind of goes along with that—is engage the skeptics and uncover the “no's.” So you've got an idea—this could be anywhere, even in a plant. “Hey, I've got a great idea.” “Oh, it won't work.” Don't presume those people are just naysayers trying to block you. They know something you don't know. “Oh, why won't it work?” “Well, because of A, B, and C.” “Well, I solved for A, B, and C.” “No, you didn't, because X, Y, and Z.” “Holy moly, I've got to think about this more deeply.” So I think that's—really listening is one thing. I think clients, or people with whom you're trying to solve something or get to a new level, that's what brings in the power of teamwork. Alex [Orlowski], I was listening to him at a conference where I spoke, and he said, “You don't have to be the smartest person in the room as the leader. You have to get the smartest answer or idea out of the room.” That was clever. Which sometimes means, turn the team on and then go get a water and go to the bathroom for a while, leave the room and let them run for a bit, because otherwise they're afraid to talk in front of the quote-unquote boss.

Mark Graban: Yeah. Yeah. So again, we're joined today by Joe Davis. The book is titled The Generous Leader: Seven Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain. First off, how do you define generosity and being a generous leader?

Joe Davis: Yeah, and it's not about paying more. That's nice, I think everybody figures that out, but you never get home.

Mark Graban: “You gave us a great bonus. Thanks for being generous.” How do you really define this?

Joe Davis: Sounds like the games some of those tech companies play, which are exceptional companies, but I'm not sure. Anyway, what I define a generous leader as is someone who gives of themselves freely, without expectation of direct personal benefit, so that others can grow, develop, and thrive at their full potential. That's what I think. Now, I'm going to give you a second half of this because it's interesting. Some people say, “Well, but Joe, don't you have to drive results?” I'm not saying just be nice. We just had the whole conversation around direct feedback. Joaquin Duato—he's in the book, I talked to him, he's the CEO of Johnson & Johnson—he said something to me. He said, “You know, Joe, trying your best effort, those are all nice, but if you're the leader, results and outcomes matter.” Then he said—I thought this was very powerful—”But the sooner you realize that and the sooner you get past yourself, have the maturity to get past you and understand that you need to unlock—use the word—the human traits, the capabilities of your team, the sooner you will get to the best answer.” That was pretty interesting. So, of course, if you don't get results, you're not a leader, you don't have a job. But you don't get results as a solo practitioner if you're a manager. Therefore, when I go to the level of “generous,” it's my job to make sure you all deliver, or thrive at your highest potential, because, duh, win-win if that's working.

Mark Graban: Right? So it sounds like this leadership generosity, it's the opposite of this transactional quid pro quo. “I'm going to do something for you only because I'm going to get something out of it.”

Joe Davis: It's the opposite of that.

Mark Graban: Right.

Joe Davis: In spirit and in heart, yes. The truth is, if you help your team all thrive, you as the leader are going to get something out of it because you're going to… Yeah, but that's not the objective. There is a mental difference there, and people will feel it, too, I think. The other thing is that you're respecting an individual as a human, as a person, et cetera, et cetera. I just think the days of—I can pick on IBM—the white shirt, blue suit, everyone's identical, or the Jack Welch “fire the bottom 10 or 20%,” where people are nothing but a cog in the organization, that doesn't work anymore. The best can just leave. And I think about this, what's happened—COVID made it secure, but work-life is just blurred. You no longer leave one there and one there. That started with the BlackBerry, when all of a sudden, in the 1990s, you're on 24/7. It just went on and on and on to Zoom. And then COVID—I think neither of us are in an office. It doesn't look like it to me—home office. Well, yeah, I know, but that's the point. It's your home. Not many people got to have a home office pre-COVID. So people now hope to bring their human self into the workplace, and they expect two things: They expect their leader to see them as a human self, and they expect to get a job done and get results—we talked about that—and they'd like to see, and expect to see, some humanity out of their managers.

Mark Graban: Yeah. Yeah. And do you think, is that a recent development, or are leaders just understanding people better because you write about things like empathy and being able to lead with emotion and vulnerability?

Joe Davis: Well, I think—yeah, I don't know. Well, I do, I have an answer. But someone said, “Oh, the Gen Z,” it's just not the young kids. So you can't… I think it's actually the change that's driven by technology, blurring work and life. It just… I mean, I didn't have a cell phone when I started, so if I went home and someone called me on my home phone, it would be weird. You went home. You didn't have a computer either. You didn't go to work at home. You might do some paperwork. I think one thing is that the blur has gotten so much greater, and I think people now—the recent change might be—yes, people are saying, “Okay, I expect something different. I do not want to be a cog in the wheel, and I don't want to work with that kind of manager.” The other thing going on is social media. I believe this strongly. It just complicates things. The world's tough. There's a lot of crap. We had—it doesn't matter what side you're on in the world—another bad thing nearly happened. So it's a lot of stress. You wake up in the morning, you turn on your phone, and there's all the news. So even more, people need some humanity brought into life.

Mark Graban: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've seen leaders, when world events or something traumatic happens, recognize that people need a little space to at least have the opportunity to talk about how they're feeling, realizing some people don't want to share how they're feeling, but to give some space rather than… I think of being at work in an office at a software company in Texas on 9/11, 2001. We all did get back to work that day, but it took a while. There was just that need to be there with each other. “When are we ready to go back? When are we ready to try working now? And how much of your mind was really on that?” It was hard that day.

Joe Davis: I remember I was in the DC office. I mean, you could see—we were out in Bethesda, but you could see the smoke from the Pentagon, and our staff was shaken. Some of them were like—you were really worried they were going to run out in the street and get run over by a car, because, like, what's… So we actually went further. We shut the doors. We said, “Nobody—'Well, I want to go see my kids.'” It wasn't like we were trying to control you. It's just, everyone needs time to decompress, get your act together, whatever emotional state you're in. Then you can go outside and take the subway and see your kids or whatever you want to do. “The subway is closed.” Yeah.

Mark Graban: Go ahead.

Joe Davis: Well, I can tell you, Scott Kirby told me a story. He's the CEO of United. I have a chapter in the book, “Small Acts, Big Impact,” which you can imagine. He told me—he's a deep believer in this—he told me a story after the George Floyd murder. He called—the story is, his wife was on a plane, and the captain came out and said, “Oh, I love United. I love your husband, my boss.” And she said, “Well, why?” It was a Black female captain. She said, “Well, Scott called every one of the captains who were a person of color, just to check in,” to your point. Didn't have an answer. He said, “We're here for you.” He didn't try to do anything but check in. That was your version, maybe, of when you said everyone had to—nowadays we use the word “process”—everyone had to process in their own way. I thought that was very powerful, to your point.

Mark Graban: Yeah.

Joe Davis: You know, such a simple thing. Unfortunately, probably not as many calls as you would like to have made, but he probably spent one morning calling a chunk of people and…

Mark Graban: Yeah, anyway, yeah, one other word I wanted to explore a little bit. We've talked about generosity, authenticity… I think the word “vulnerability” is worth digging into a little bit, because I think that's a word sometimes that means different things to different people. I'll lay a card on the table here that I don't think vulnerability equals weakness at all. I think some people do associate that. So how do you define and talk about vulnerability as a leader?

Joe Davis: Yeah. No, I think to your point about different things to different people, vulnerability can be quite simple, which sends a real positive signal about authenticity. Vulnerability may be showing a little bit of your human self, showing when you're uncertain, showing a little bit when you're shaken, like they're shaken. I should look up what the real definition is, but…

Mark Graban: I can give you one that I use. But go ahead.

Joe Davis: Yeah.

Mark Graban: What I was taught about this a couple of years ago in the context of psychological safety is that vulnerability is doing something that puts yourself at some level of risk or danger. So a leader saying, “I don't know,” or “I'm uncertain,” they might fear, “All my people aren't going to respect me anymore because I don't have the answer,” when I think actually the opposite is true.

Joe Davis: Yeah, no, I think so, too. I'll tell you another story. I had a boss—not a boss, a colleague at BCG in New York who was afraid to say, “I don't know.” He didn't want to look weak. He was a Black guy, so there's that on top of it. He would say sometimes, if his teams—if he could tell the teams were stuck before they turned to him and looked for an answer, he'd leave the room because he didn't want to say, “I don't know.” “You guys figure it out.” So one day—this isn't working because it's so unpredictable—he said, “Well, you know, guys, I don't know either.” And it was the opposite of his point. It was, “Oh, wow, you don't know, too? Oh, none of us know.” And he said this energy came into the room, and they all started to solve it together. The biggest thing about showing that kind of vulnerability is you free others from their fear, because you've got roadblocks. You have some roadblock, maybe you're… but you really are freeing others to say, “Oh, it's okay to not know, let me go at that and start to move.” The danger is a big word. I'm not sure it goes up. It depends, I guess.

Mark Graban: Well, risk or harm or loss.

Joe Davis: There's risk, but especially risk as we've been trained. I don't believe there's risk. Now, if you're a Black 33-year-old female and you sobbed every morning when someone said, “How was your night?” that might be a little overboard. I mean, you've got to figure out where the line is drawn. There's common sense, but being able to say, “I don't know”… Someone told me another story of a woman—this was maybe 20 years ago, a partner at BCG—another woman noticed she would put on her calendar, which was on your desk in those days, “Go pick up my son.” And she said, “Wow, no one ever would expose the vulnerability that I have a family and I might have to deal with them.” This is 20 or 30 years ago. Nowadays, that's like, “What?” That's a vulnerability? But to show, as a woman, that she had a family she had to take care of…

Mark Graban: Well, but I think you're bringing up a point, and maybe we can talk about inclusion and equity, or DEI—diversity, equity, inclusion, depending on the language we use. But I think there are—I've learned from people different than me…

Joe Davis: White guys, I know, we've got a benefit here.

Mark Graban: …of people different than me helping me understand the difference. For one example, I've talked to people on this show and in other settings, like, if I say, “I don't know,” I feel like, “Well, someone might think badly of me. I hope not, but…” But a Black woman might say, “Well, now people are going to be judging me. That's going to be reflecting on other Black women.” That's something I have the privilege of not really worrying about, how my vulnerability or saying “I don't know” will be perceived. That's a different layer of burden, perhaps. I've definitely heard people share that.

Joe Davis: Well, yeah, I'm just… my brain is processing the unfair burden that this person has to go through as opposed to being able to say… because what they probably have to do is position it differently. “Well, with all the analysis, I didn't get an answer to that piece yet.” I'm not really… So, and I've got this… You probably have to wrap it more than just, “I don't know, like, what the hell?” Which is grossly unfair, is what's going through my mind.

Mark Graban: And that's something I've gotten a better understanding of in recent years, and I'm trying to understand better. Some of that comes down to empathy and recognizing different people are in different circumstances.

Joe Davis: Yeah, well, no, I think with—actually, two points. One, your role as a leader is to actually try to understand and take the perspective of where they're coming from. You don't have to go do the job for somebody, take over, solve everything. But you've got to make sure, as best you can, they have a fair shake. I was—I did these dinners when I led North America. “Deliberate discourse dinners,” we called them. We got a diverse set of people at dinners—eight people per table. There's a room full of tables of eight. We had a set of facilitated questions. At one of the dinners, there was a guy, a Black guy, a manager at BCG, and he said to me, he said, “Joe, do you know—first, do you know what my life is like?” I said, “No, of course I don't.” He said, “Do you understand? Every morning”—he lived in a city where he could walk to work—”Every morning I wake up and when I walk out of my condo, I worry I will get shot as I walk to work. Do you worry about getting shot when you walk to work?” Holy shit. I don't want to go into a diversity thing, but—be—oh, it's the colorblind thing I learned maybe 10 or 15 years ago. You can say that. I don't think so. That guy is worried about being shot. You and I aren't. That takes up some of his mindshare that you and I can use to think about work, and he has to worry about where he walks.

Mark Graban: Right, right. So within BCG, I'd like to learn more about the Center for Inclusion and Equity. I'm not here to criticize language, but it's just interesting. It's a question of inquiry around why that language, and what does that mean to BCG, and what's the imperative for it?

Joe Davis: Let me say two things. The Center for Inclusion and Equity is actually—I formed it when I was head of North America to serve clients who are thinking about this topic and how they…

Mark Graban: Oh, okay.

Joe Davis: …But internally at BCG, I don't know what we call it. We call it “network diversity.” We call it the “diversity networks” and our “diversity…” We probably throw around DEI. But to your point, the reasonor the necessity, especially for us—I mean, we need very talented people. Everyone does. We're competing with all these other places—the banks, hedge funds, VC firms, the other consulting firms—to get these people. And no offense, but there just aren't enough white males to fill everybody's coffers. Put another way, all the data—the investment banks have done it, consultants have done it—shows that when you have a more diverse team, which means more diverse backgrounds and experiences and insights, you get a better answer, you get better results. In companies that have more diversity in leadership, the numbers are better. So it is an imperative. For us, for three reasons: One, you do drive better results. Two, our clients are looking for it. “Wait a minute, I want to see what we see. I want to see us.” Three, as I said, most of our staff is under 30; they expect to be around a diverse group of people. So it's… I think there's no company—well, it depends how big you are—but eventually, if you're going to grow and want to get the best talent, you're going to be looking at all the pools you can fish in. Otherwise…

Mark Graban: Right. Well, and I spent a lot of time working with a software company of about 40 people. A majority of the company is roughly 25 to 34. And the internal discussion—a company at that smaller scale, as opposed to somebody big like a BCG or a P&G or companies like that—there's been a lot of feedback from employees about making an extra effort. When you talk about pools of where you're posting jobs online, making that extra effort to not fall back on an excuse of, “Well, we can't find candidates of color.” Employees have given feedback: “Here's how you can help find them. They are out there. Put in a little extra effort.” Posting jobs to different job boards really isn't that much effort. But some of it is a matter of awareness, and thankfully, employees would speak up and share some ideas about that.

Joe Davis: Yes. I've done some work with a guy named John Rice, who leads Management Leadership for Tomorrow. It's a—he helps people of color get up into the business ranks. He and I were talking somewhere, and he pointed out that it's actually—and I've graded this at BCG, too—you don't have to—you've got to get into those right job boards. That's not that hard once you figure it out. But it's not so much getting a diverse workforce in, but what is still very hard is retention. There's so much wrapped up in that. One, people look up and say, “Oh, I see nobody like me, really.” Or two, to your point, about the burden—no one, even I, would have understood the burden you pointed out about the Black woman showing vulnerability, and she's carrying it for everybody else. So the burden they carry without someone like them around, to—not to take the blame—very, very, very talented, diverse people get poached all the time. So all the more you have to make it a great place to work that's inclusive. That is—I think it's hard. It's just continuous effort. And of course you have to get some—you have to have your board, your senior ranks—it just can't be all one type of person.

Mark Graban: And things have been so polarized and politicized, and I'm not trying to make this a political discussion, but my question to you, Joe, as a senior executive in a business, how—what do you think of when there's these external forces and some employees within the company undoubtedly share political views that are very negative of DEI initiatives and concepts? How do you navigate that?

Joe Davis: Well, a couple of answers. First off, a good organization has a clear purpose, I hope, and a set of values. You live by your values through thick and thin. At BCG, it's respect for the individual, clients come first, the person matters—a set of these things. Someone can be whatever they want, but these are our values. We're falling back on our values. It's actually also a clever way to think about it in the context of, as a business leader, do you speak up or not? That's the first thing I would say. But then, I think we have to be careful. I did tell you about my second podcast; it was very interesting. The person was—doesn't matter—from another country and really got on me about DEI, started challenging me and pushing. It was very interesting. “Whoa, that's what these things are like.” It was really intense. He said at one point, this fellow said, “Well, you know, Joe, all you woke people, all you want is equal outcomes for everybody.” I said, “Whoa, buddy, no one ever said that. I want people to have a fair shot. Now, when they get walked through the door, if they fail, they fail. They've got to be coached. Everyone gets a coach. No one said equal outcomes.” But it was very eye-opening for me because that's what he thinks. That was one person, but he—maybe more on that side—we just want… I don't know what you call that, because “communism” is bastardized. It was very telling. “Well, that's what you think. I'd be upset, too, because I didn't say I want equal outcomes. I want people to have a chance, and then they're up—they've got to do their best, like I've got to do my best.” So that's the one thing. I think we have to also be careful. The problem is we don't talk to each other enough. We're not going to be political, but I'd say, to even understand, like, that person told me that. Now I'll say, “Oh, that's what you're thinking. Let's talk about it now.” You might not believe me if I say I didn't think that, but sure, we've got to… it was material.

Mark Graban: Yeah. Well, I hope that wasn't—that didn't feel like—did it feel like a mistake to go on that podcast? Do you adjust, or is it just a matter of knowing what kind of discussion you're…

Joe Davis: No, no. Well, no, it wasn't a mistake, because every time you engage with somebody new, it's very interesting and you learn something. So I didn't… and I actually learned a lot from the way that fellow… he also said to me at one point, “I suppose your friends at BCG would be angry with me.” I said, “No, they'd love a good debate, so they'd like the debate. They wouldn't agree with your point of view, a lot of them, but they'd be happy to see the debate.” No, it was fine. But I—anyway, it doesn't matter. It didn't turn me off.

Mark Graban: All right. Joe, maybe one other question, just back to broader leadership things. One thing you write about that I agree with is, as you called it, the top-down, unilateral, single-focused leaders aren't effective in today's workplace. What can we do to help convince other leaders? Is it possible to convince them if they've got decades of experience operating in that mode?

Joe Davis: Well, if they have decades of experience, they're pretty soon going to retire. So that's a bad answer.

Mark Graban: Mid-career, two decades. They still have a runway of wanting to be top-down.

Joe Davis: I think—a couple of points. If they do not believe it and just want to be top-down, dictatorial, fine. I don't think it will work, because—I've thought more about this—if you just get promoted, you have a four-person team, let's say, if the team doesn't deliver, you can just do it yourself, probably. You might have to stay up 18 hours a day, but you could do it. If you're now Joaquin—my point, the J&J guy—100,000 people, he can't do anything. He allocates funds, he motivates, he sets direction, and then it's all about those 100,000 doing the best they can do. So I actually think the old command-and-control—I think either they'll discover, “Oh, shoot, I'm not…” It's their place. I mean, some of these tech guys run the thing, and they run it their way, and so be it. But people come and go. They just pay them enough that they don't mind them going. I think, over time, people won't get promoted. You won't get the best people. The good people will leave your organization. You saw during COVID the leaders—nobody knew the answer, so it was easy to be vulnerable because nobody did. But you know, you saw Arne Sorenson, the Marriott guy, do that video as he's dying of cancer. “I don't know what—I'm just going to do my best.” Scott Kirby talked about—he said, “I just went to the team and said, ‘I don't know for sure when we're going to fly again.'” And his—yeah, his team said, “Don't say that. You sound like you don't know what you're doing.” “What am I going to do? Say we're going to fly in 19 days and 4 hours?” I mean, so… I don't know. But I do have another point, I think, is that even if you believe in command and control, you have to have your people delivering. So the more of the—whether it's my traits in my book or others—the listening, the showing some realness, you can do that even if you don't deeply believe it. These are just practices you can adopt. Congratulating and thanking somebody—that's very helpful.

Mark Graban: Right. Well, I mean, I've heard people talk about leadership change and they say, “These other concepts, it's not complicated, it's just different.” I think that's one of the big challenges.

Joe Davis: It takes a little bit of—maybe—especially, as you pointed out, you and I as white males, weren't necessarily raised to think about… we weren't—it depends on your parents and all that, but we weren't necessarily raised to show vulnerability. I think these practices are shifting. But this is not to say—we've got to be very careful—you still have to get the results. If you're a CEO, you have to have a strategy, you've got to have a vision, you've got to be able to manage and set metrics. That doesn't change. It's just—head, heart, and hand—it's giving the heart maybe a greater beat.

Mark Graban: Yeah, but as we wrap up here, I think, Joe, you shared a good example of where is that line? One level of vulnerability is saying, “I don't know, and here's what we need to do to figure it out together,” as opposed to—it doesn't mean that you need to cry at work. It doesn't mean you need to bring every detail of your personal life into the office. There can be oversharing. Effective, humble leadership…

Joe Davis: Yeah, because you started with the word “authenticity.” If everyone just thinks you're perfect, it's just not going to work. They've really got to follow you and be inspired and motivated. I was just thinking that one of the executives I interviewed, she worked at Chevron or Shell, I don't remember which—125 years, corporate oil, blah, blah, blah—and they weren't delivering at the level they wanted. They had contractors, and normally you never talk to the contractors because… And she actually—one of the contractors had a better safety record, and she went to that contractor. “So what are you guys doing that I could learn from?” She said, “If my colleagues had heard I went to that contractor, I would have been roasted.” She said, “That was such a bold move, but he had some great ideas, and…”

Mark Graban: I copied them, and there we go. We get…

Joe Davis: …better results. There's a high-risk move. She thought, “Wow.” You and I would roll our eyes, like, “Well, gosh, go get the best answer anywhere you can get it.” But there are those dynamics. It comes down to leadership.

Mark Graban: Well, I've really enjoyed the chance to talk with you here, Joe. Again, our guest is Joe Davis. His book is titled The Generous Leader: Seven Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain. I hope you go check that out. There'll be links in the show notes. You can also learn more at joedavis.com. You're also doing speaking and other things people can learn about at your website, right?

Joe Davis: Yep, yep, the website. Since I wrote this book, I pay more attention to LinkedIn. If you send me a message there, I'll even respond.

Mark Graban: You probably now see that joedavis.com is easy. Searching “Joe Davis” on LinkedIn would give you…

Joe Davis: …a lot of Joe Davises. BCG, and you have a chance.

Mark Graban: I'll put a link in the show notes to Joe's LinkedIn profile. So again, thank you so much. Really appreciate you taking the time to be here.

Joe Davis: Thanks, Mark. That was a lot of fun.

Episode Summary and More

The Importance of Constructive Feedback in Leadership

Effective leadership hinges on the ability to provide clear, constructive feedback. This post explores some essential lessons gleaned from the experiences of Joe Davis, a seasoned leader with four decades of experience in various managerial roles, including his tenure as Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Using real-life scenarios, we'll delve into why giving feedback is crucial and how building strong relationships can enhance this process.

Early Career Mistakes and Lessons Learned

Joe Davis recounts an important lesson from his early career while at Procter & Gamble (P&G). As a young sales manager, he hesitated to give feedback to senior salespeople on his team due to a significant age gap and his own lack of confidence. This culminated in a painfully embarrassing annual review where an employee stopped him mid-conversation to highlight the absence of prior feedback—an important reminder that feedback should be continuous, not just a once-a-year formality.

Continuous Feedback: Avoiding Annual Review Surprises

Highlighted in this experience is the necessity for ongoing feedback. Employees should never be surprised during their annual reviews. Instead, feedback should be a continuous process, avoiding last-minute blindsides. In Joe’s words, if an employee is “surprised during their annual review, something’s wrong.” Ongoing feedback facilitates not only improved performance but also morale, providing employees the opportunity to address issues as they arise rather than at the end of the year.

Overcoming Fear: Why Leaders Must Deliver Feedback

Fear of causing discomfort can often lead managers to avoid giving necessary feedback. However, as Joe's experience shows, this avoidance can be counterproductive. He reflected on his fear as a 24-year-old manager, questioning his own expertise and the reception of his feedback from older, more experienced salespeople. Leaders must overcome this fear to foster an environment of transparency and growth.

Developing Relationships to Facilitate Effective Feedback

One of the key themes in Joe Davis's narrative is the importance of building strong, trusting relationships to facilitate effective feedback. Constructive criticism is most impactful when delivered within the context of a supportive relationship.

Building Trust: The Foundation of Feedback

Trust forms the cornerstone of effective feedback. Joe emphasizes that if you want to provide “good, direct, clear feedback,” you must first cultivate a relationship of trust with your team. This foundation ensures the feedback is perceived as coming from a place of care and commitment to the employee's growth rather than mere criticism.

Specific and Balanced Feedback

In his tenure at BCG, Joe noted another important aspect: the balance between positive and constructive feedback. Feedback should be specific, identifying not just areas for improvement but also strengths to build upon. He recounted a scenario where employees received reviews that overwhelmingly focused on areas of improvement, neglecting to acknowledge their strengths. This imbalance can demoralize employees rather than motivate them.

The Role of Direct Communication in Feedback

Direct communication is invaluable in providing effective feedback. Vague feedback leaves employees uncertain about what exactly needs to be improved and how they can meet expectations.

Specificity is Key

Being specific in feedback delivery helps in clear understanding and actionable insights. Joe’s mentor once provided him with incredibly direct feedback, contrasting his ability to get things done against another's analytical skills. Such feedback, albeit harsh, was a turning point for Joe and emphasized the need for specificity.

Constructive Criticism without Negativity

Direct feedback does not necessarily equate to negative feedback. Constructive criticism can be both direct and motivating if delivered correctly. For instance, pointing out specific instances that need improvement while also highlighting what the employee does well creates a balanced approach that facilitates growth.

Conclusion: Evolving Feedback Cultures

Joe Davis's insights and experiences highlight a significant evolution in feedback cultures within organizations. From his early days at P&G to his leadership at BCG, the shift towards continuous, relationship-driven, and balanced feedback is evident. Leaders must focus on building trusting relationships, providing specific and balanced feedback, and overcoming fear in giving feedback to create a conducive environment for growth and development.

Navigating Generational Gaps in Leadership

Joe Davis also reflected on the dynamics of younger consultants working with more experienced executives—a common scenario in consulting firms like BCG. While feedback and relationship-building remain constant themes, specific strategies can assist younger leaders in navigating these dynamics effectively.

Understanding the Client’s Perspective

A critical aspect Joe underscored is the importance of genuinely understanding the client's perspective. This approach goes beyond merely parroting what the client says but dives deep into their thought processes and challenges. Joe believes in the value of “listening to learn” and taking the other's perspective seriously. He advised younger consultants to truly understand the client's mindset: “If you come in assuming you have the answer without knowing what's in their head, you only have half the solution.”

Engaging Skeptics and Uncovering Hidden Knowledge

When proposing ideas, it's essential to engage with skeptics within the organization. Rather than seeing them as obstacles, view these individuals as sources of valuable insights. Joe mentioned scenarios where an idea might initially seem to meet resistance, but this resistance often uncovers critical aspects that need addressing. “Engage the skeptics and uncover the ‘no's',” he emphasized. By understanding the true concerns behind objections, leaders can better refine their solutions and gain more comprehensive perspectives.

Generosity in Leadership

Mark Graban introduced an intriguing facet of effective leadership: generosity. Joe defines a generous leader as someone who gives of themselves freely, without personal gain, allowing others to reach their full potential.

Leadership Beyond Transactions

Generous leadership stands in contrast to transactional interactions. It's not about what leaders can extract in return for their actions, but rather about fostering an environment where the team thrives. Joe candidly illustrated this with insights from discussions with various leaders, including Joaquin Duato, CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Duato argued that while results are paramount, achieving them is intrinsically linked to unlocking the potential of the team. “The best results come when you harness the human traits and capabilities of your team,” Joe reiterated.

Authentic Leadership and Empathy

In today's work environment, particularly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the blending of personal and professional lives has blurred. This shift requires leaders to show genuine empathy and humanity. Employees now expect their leaders to recognize them as whole individuals, balancing job performance with personal well-being. Joe spoke about the irreversible shift towards valuing empathy and emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Addressing Vulnerability and Psychological Safety

The conversation turned to vulnerability—a trait often misunderstood as a sign of weakness. Joe's definition aligns with fostering psychological safety, where leaders openly express uncertainty or limitations. This transparency can galvanize a team, making them feel comfortable to express their own uncertainties and collaborate more effectively. Joe shared anecdotes of leaders who embraced vulnerability, transforming team dynamics from apprehension to collective problem-solving.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Finally, the discussion veered into the territory of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Joe highlighted how different backgrounds shape the experiences of leaders and employees alike. For instance, the challenges faced by a black female manager may differ vastly from those of a white male. Inclusivity entails recognizing and respecting these differences, promoting equity within the team.

Bringing Authentic Selves to Work

Joe reminisced about a time when revealing personal responsibilities, like picking up a child from school, was considered a vulnerability. Today, such openness is not only acceptable but encouraged. This shift signifies the growing acceptance of diverse life experiences and the move towards more inclusive workplaces. “Diversity is not just about bringing different people to the table but also about ensuring they feel comfortable and valued when they get there,” Joe concluded.

Continuing to foster an environment of openness, empathy, and continuous feedback will empower future leaders to navigate complex workplace dynamics effectively. The core of leadership lies in cultivating strong, trust-based relationships and promoting a culture where everyone can thrive.

Navigating Generational Gaps in Leadership (Continued)

Diversity and the Authentic Self

Leadership in today's workplace is becoming increasingly diverse, prompting leaders to adapt their approaches to different team members' unique challenges. While inclusivity initiatives are essential, they often face criticism or resistance from various quarters.

Joe Davis shared profound insights into the complexities his team members face, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. He recalled an impactful conversation with a black manager who revealed his daily fears for personal safety—an experience starkly different from his white colleagues. This disparity highlights the mental and emotional burdens that diverse employees often carry, which can affect their performance and well-being at work.

Institutional Support and Equity Centers

To bridge these gaps, organizations like BCG have established dedicated centers focusing on inclusion and equity. These initiatives serve both internal and external purposes. Internally, they foster a culture that supports diverse employees, while externally, they advise clients on similar challenges. Joe emphasized that these centers are not just about diversification but about achieving better business outcomes. Studies consistently show that diverse teams outperform less diverse ones due to varied perspectives and problem-solving approaches.

Overcoming Political and Social Polarization

However, navigating DEI initiatives isn't straightforward. Joe mentioned how some employees might resist these initiatives due to political or ideological beliefs. He stressed the importance of organizational values, suggesting that companies should anchor their DEI efforts in these core principles. This provides a consistent framework for decision-making and conflict resolution, helping to manage internal dissent constructively.

Workforce Retention and Talent Acquisition

Another layer of complexity lies in talent retention. Merely hiring diverse talent is insufficient; companies must also create an environment where these employees can thrive and see a future for themselves. Joe pointed out that highly talented, diverse individuals are frequently poached by other firms, making it crucial for companies to offer not just competitive salaries but also a genuinely inclusive culture.

Practical Steps for Inclusivity

Joe suggested several practical steps to enhance inclusivity:

Diverse Job Boards: Proactively posting job ads on platforms frequented by underrepresented groups.
Mentorship Programs: Establishing mentorship and sponsorship programs to support diverse employees' career advancement.
Inclusive Policies: Implementing policies that accommodate a wide range of life experiences, such as flexible working hours for parents.

Empathy and Leadership

Strong leadership in an inclusive environment also requires empathy and understanding. This involves actively listening to employees, recognizing their unique challenges, and providing them with the support needed to succeed. Leaders must strive for empathy, not just sympathy, aiming to understand and address the root causes of employees' difficulties.

Balancing Vulnerability with Strength

A recurring theme in Joe's leadership philosophy is the balance between vulnerability and strength. Leaders should show their human side without compromising their authority or the organization's objectives. This can mean admitting when they don't have all the answers and inviting team collaboration to find solutions. It doesn't involve oversharing personal struggles but striking a balance to foster an environment of trust and mutual respect.

The Future of Leadership

Adapting to Change

The dynamics of leadership are constantly evolving. As younger generations enter the workforce, they bring different expectations and values. Millennials and Gen Z, in particular, prioritize diversity, emotional intelligence, and work-life balance. Leaders need to adapt to these changing expectations to remain relevant and effective.

Implementing Feedback Loops

Joe emphasized the importance of continuous feedback loops in leadership. This not only involves soliciting feedback from team members but also acting on it. This approach ensures that leadership remains agile and responsive to the ever-changing work environment and the diverse needs of the team.

Conclusion Avoided

Inspiration and Learning from Unexpected Places

Joe shared a compelling story about an executive he once interviewed, who worked at a major oil corporation like Chevron or Shell for over 25 years. The company faced challenges in meeting its performance targets and relied on contractors for certain operations. Conventionally, executives in such high-stakes environments wouldn't think of consulting their contractors for advice. Yet, one contractor had an impressive safety record that caught her attention.

Seeking Out the Best Ideas

In a bold move, the executive decided to visit the contractor to learn about their successful safety practices. This kind of initiative might seem unremarkable in some contexts, but within the hierarchical confines of a corporate oil giant, it was a significant risk. Fear of judgment from peers who might see consulting a contractor as a sign of weakness or incompetence was high. Nevertheless, the executive's decision paid off as she gleaned innovative ideas that led to better overall performance within her team.

Learning Takeaway: Effective leaders aren't bound by organizational norms. They seek out the best ideas wherever they can be found, demonstrating both humility and a commitment to excellence.

The Generous Leader

Joe Davis's book, The Generous Leader: Seven Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain, underscores this philosophy. Generosity in leadership goes beyond monetary or material resources; it includes being open to new ideas, sharing credit, and fostering a collaborative spirit.

Leveraging Diverse Perspectives

Generous leaders recognize that wisdom exists at all levels of an organization. By encouraging open communication and valuing input from various sources, they create an environment rich in ideas and responsive to change. The executive from the oil company exemplified this by stepping beyond conventional boundaries to seek solutions from an unexpected quarter, thereby driving better safety and performance outcomes.

Integrating Continuous Improvement

In the spirit of continuous improvement, leaders should strive to maintain an ongoing dialogue with their teams. This isn't just about annual reviews or sporadic check-ins, but fostering a consistently communicative culture where feedback loops are integral.

Practical Tips for Continuous Improvement:

Regular Team Meetings: Hold frequent meetings to discuss ongoing projects, challenges, and achievements.
Anonymous Feedback Channels: Establish methods through which team members can provide honest feedback without fear of repercussions.
Actionable Follow-ups: Always follow through on the feedback received; implement changes and communicate these adjustments back to the team.

Balancing Organizational Dynamics

Navigating organizational dynamics requires a delicate balance of strength and vulnerability. Leaders must be confident and decisive yet open to admitting when they don't have all the answers. This balance is crucial in gaining the trust and respect of team members.

The Case for Vulnerability

The story of the executive consulting a contractor illustrates the power of vulnerability in leadership. By acknowledging that expertise might lie outside traditional power structures, she was able to bring innovative solutions to her team. This willingness to be vulnerable can transform leadership from merely transactional to deeply relational and impactful.

Leadership Insight: Vulnerability doesn't undermine a leader's authority; it humanizes them and fosters a culture of mutual trust and continuous learning.

Future Trends in Leadership Development

As the workplace evolves, so do the necessary qualities for effective leadership. Embracing technological advancements, understanding generational shifts in values, and promoting diversity will be key areas for future leaders.

Embracing Technological Change

Leaders must be adept at integrating technology into their workflows to stay competitive. This includes leveraging data analytics for decision-making, using collaboration tools to enhance teamwork, and being open to learning from technological disruptions.

Tech Integration Tips:
- Data-driven Decision Making: Use analytics platforms to gather insights on team performance and market trends.
- Collaboration Tools: Implement project management and communication tools like Slack, Asana, or Microsoft Teams.
- Continuous Learning: Encourage team members to take part in continuous learning programs focused on emerging technologies.

Each of these areas contributes to a more adaptive and forward-thinking leadership style that is crucial in today’s fast-paced work environment.

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