I first became aware of leaders and leadership skills, when I was a kid. Around the time I was in the third or fourth grade in school, as I recall, when I got to spend some time at my dad’s office.
Like many others of his generation, he immigrated to America because of terrible circumstances where he was born. As he was getting his feet on the ground, out in the Midwest, my father had to figure out how he would make a living, and after many fits and starts, over many years, he, and someone he knew, found a way to start a construction business, in the post-World War II era, when infrastructure throughout the country was being upgraded and built up.
As I got older, I became aware of my father’s management style, of his knack for listening to what people had to say… listening to the engineers, construction workers and others who had joined the company, back in the 1950s.
And then, as I was getting my feet on the ground in my corporate career, I was again seeing common threads in senior executives’ leadership style. They appreciated hearing from people, even when questions, doubts and concerns were on the table.
From division managers on up to CEOs, the best of the best inspired confidence, and they mastered one of the most challenging skills of all, in my opinion. They could make people feel at ease in their presence, as they also earned their respect. That’s not easy to do.
With this in mind, and with his four years as the nation’s chief executive drawing to a close, evaluating Donald Trump’s management style is — to say the least — quite intriguing.
You have to wonder how one of those big executive search firms might view Mr. Trump, if he happened to be pursuing an open CEO position at a big corporation. How would he answer a recruiter’s questions, like these, for example:
- How would you describe your leadership objectives?
- How do people relate to you?
- What books have you read, lately?
How would executive recruiters judge his forthrightness? His overall knowledge? His leadership qualities? And his character?
Funnily enough, as the British say, I ran across this headline — “What broke the Republican Party?” — in a Los Angeles Times article, written by Seth Masket, a professor of political science and director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver. He mentions, in the article, present and past leaders in the GOP… Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
And, not surprisingly, Donald Trump’s name comes up in the article, as well.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.