Baxters Executive Insights
Crisis Of Passion
BAXTER'S
EXECUTIVE
INSIGHTS
00:00 Lawrence Baxter: I want to talk with you this morning about about my experiences in both the public and the private sector. Like you, I have had the opportunity over my career to spend time in that private sector. I want to speak to you about, particularly, the idea of PASSION in leadership and the leadership that I think that I embrace and that I exhibit and it’s my leadership philosophy if you will.
00:48 Baxter: First off, as a leader, I’m a great believer in change. It’s gonna happen whether you want it or not. It’s better if you’re leading it rather than having to respond to it. So first off, change is good. Secondly, crisis. Crisis from my perspective is opportunity. It accelerates the pace of change. I think of myself as a transformational leader, as a transformational change agent. I think over 40 years, I’ve been by and large successful. I’ve been knocked on my ass several times, but being knocked on my rear end has actually helped me to develop and move along in a stronger way. You have to become the living embodiment of that change. You have to exhibit passion, confidence, optimism, in good times and in bad. And, in fact, in bad times, that’s when leadership is even more essential. The idea of “in crises”, crisis is when leaders really rise to the occasion.
03:58 Baxter: Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men and women to do what he wants done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” That's the idea of empowerment. Surround yourself with smart people. Often times, as I have done with people a lot smarter than me on a lot of subject areas that I did not have sufficient knowledge to basically take advantage of that knowledge, but I could take advantage of people who did have that knowledge. And the idea is team building. Once again, leadership. If you are an army of one, you’re not gonna get anything accomplished unless you can gather around you an army that’s willing to march with you and work with you.