Gone are the days of “old-school” leadership! The vertical kind, that flows invariably from top to bottom, driven by individuals with inflated egos and strong narcissistic tendencies, using management techniques learned in business schools. This approach has been outdated for several years now, especially since COVID, when we realized that a company’s success doesn’t rely solely on specific rules to apply, but also on the profound human qualities of the team.
In difficult times, it’s ultimately empathy, trust, and sincerity that make the difference!
Being humble and sincere.
Today, two qualities are more essential than ever for being a good leader. First, you must demonstrate humility, which means, for example, admitting that you don’t possess all the necessary skills and that sometimes you need to seek them elsewhere. Yet humility is difficult to display—it’s more a matter of perception. Those working directly with you may see you as a humble person, while others might have a different view. In this regard, actions speak louder than words.
Second, you must act and make decisions that align with your personal vision. Being able to adapt to context and evolving practices, being capable of reconsidering your decisions when necessary, while continuing to act in accordance with your own values—this is exactly what Howard Schultz did when Starbucks faced difficulties in 2008. While his shareholders, board of directors, and customers all had conflicting demands, he decided to stay the course and remain true to what he deeply believed in. He chose to find a balance: satisfying shareholders while preserving Starbucks’ values and, most importantly, the significance of customer relationships. As the company had diluted its brand through numerous diversifications (entertainment, music bars, bookstores), Howard Schultz made the bold decision to refocus Starbucks on its core business. A turnaround strategy aimed at returning to the essence of the original mission: making excellent coffee and creating genuine relationships with customers. A leader must know when to step back at critical moments, even at the risk of putting themselves in a difficult position. Staying in office while sacrificing your values and ambitions leads to burnout and ultimately failure.
Radical but necessary decisions.
Howard Schultz made bold decisions to rebuild team spirit and refocus on what made Starbucks’ collective soul, even as financial markets demanded immediate results. Radical but necessary decisions, such as closing hundreds of cafés. Convinced that even in crisis, time must be invested in the company’s collective, he maintained an internal meeting bringing together over 10,000 employees and closed all U.S. Starbucks for one day to perfect espresso mastery across his cafés.
Howard Schultz’s example demonstrates that tomorrow’s manager must be capable of proposing, embodying, and bringing to life a vision that is uniquely their own, right down to their working methods and collaboration with teams. Building connections, listening actively, treating colleagues as partners, and taking their improvement suggestions into account—these are all ways to embody humble and sincere management in the age of hybrid work.