I’ve learned a lot from the Walt Disney Company. They’re a “North Star” in the customer experience world.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, retired on Dec. 31 after 15 years leading the company. Iger is widely respected as one of the great business leaders of his generation, having spent nearly 50 years with the company in various roles, including as president of ABC Television, which was acquired by Disney.
So I was looking forward to reading his book, “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO.” It’s a great book, filled with lessons for business leaders.
But the thing that sticks with me, and what I think underpins the success of any leader, comes in the last few pages. It’s one of the several “Lessons to Lead By” that he took from the preceding pages of his story.
“You have to approach your work and life with a sense of genuine humility. The success I’ve enjoyed has been due in part to my own efforts, but it’s also been due to so much beyond me, the efforts and support and examples of so many people, and to twists of fate beyond my control.”
I find that time and again, successful people that I admire in business, education, faith and public service, come back to the power of humility. So many of the missteps in life are the result of ego. We can’t seem to get out of our own way. We don’t see the bigger picture. Or we can’t accept that what we thought was true, maybe isn’t.
That’s why humility is engrained in our leadership training at FiveFour. We all carry that ego around with us. It’s a protection mechanism that left unchecked can be our undoing. It’s only through regular self-examination that we are able to balance it out with some reality.
If you want to learn more about developing leadership skills for you or your team, book a call and we’ll talk.