Iacocca on Leadership

Hi! Welcome back.  I have been working with a local church on a project which involves leadership.  As such I have been reviewing materials on the subject to help my client defined just what is leadership and how can we improve those skills in his church.  For the next couple of posts I’d like to delve further into this topic and share with you what I’ve found in the process I hope you share with me your thoughts on the subject. 

Today the thoughts of Lee Iacocca, the man at the helm of Chrysler Corporation when he and the UAW turned that company around with get this—no government bailout money!!!  In future posts I’ll share the thoughts of such people as Billy Graham, Deepak Chopra and Jim Kouzes, but today it’s Lee Iacocca.

Mr. Iacocca in his book “Where Have All The Leaders Gone?” shares his nine (9) C’s of Leadership they include:

·         Curiosity

·         Creativity

·         Communication

·         Character

·         Courage

·         Conviction

·         Charisma

·         Competence

·         Common sense

Lee wrote this book before the 2008 presidential elections but as I listened to it this past month his words and our national political situation haven’t changed.  He talks about many things in the book and if you haven’t read it you might what to pick it up and look through it.

Back to leadership and Lee’s thoughts; I wrote down just the points I thought were pertinent from Lee’s discussion of leadership and I’ll share them with you below:

Curiosity, “listen to the outsiders, read often, step outside your comfort zone.”

Creativity, “Try something different, think outside the box.”

Communicate, “Tell the truth, say it like it is.”

Character, “Know the difference between right and wrong, have the courage to do the right thing.”

Courage, “GET SOME BALLS!!!”

Conviction, “Passion, fire in the belly, wanting to get something done.”

Competence, “You must know what you are doing and surround yourself with people who know what they are doing.”

Mr. Iacocca went on to say that “leaders are made they aren’t born.  Crisis brings out leadership.”

What are your thoughts about Lee Iacocca’s nine C’s of leadership?  Do you agree with him?  How has crisis in your life brought out the leadership skills in you?  Please let me know send a comment and thanks for reading until next time all my best!  Jer

P.S. Looking for more insights from Lee Iacocca here are some more of his quotes.  Have a great day! J