Feature
Light the way
What’s the best way to run a successful organization?
Rick Goings shares his vision: Start with a strong team,
then set priorities, inspire your people, and let them shine.
As chairman and chief executive officer of Tupperware
Brands, Rick Goings has had remarkable success in transforming
Tupperware into a global company that delivers strong
results year over year. In addition to his role at Tupperware,
Rick also serves as chairman of the board of Boys & Girls
Clubs of America. Whether he’s building the Tupperware
brand or raising the profile of Boys & Girls Clubs, Goings
is relentless in his pursuit of excellence. He spoke to the delegates
of the Kiwanis International Convention earlier this
year while announcing a new partnership between Kiwanis
and Boys & Girls Clubs. Rob Parker, Kiwanis International
CEO, recently spoke with Rick about his thoughts on leadership
in the public and private sectors.
Rob Parker: How would you
describe your leadership style?
Rick Goings: “Collaborative command
and control.” Leaders certainly need
to lead and make the hard calls, but it
works best through collaboration with
your people. There are three things
we do to make this work: (1) recruit
and develop great people, (2) agree on
strategies and tactics together, and (3)
empower them. I’m not a day-to-day
micromanager. If someone requires that
style of management, I don’t adapt my
style. I change the people.
RP: What part of “collaborative
command and control” is most
critical?
RG: Underline “collaborative.” If people
lead primarily through command and
control, it’s because they haven’t got the
buy-in. People are energy stations and
repeater stations. They regenerate energy
when they buy into the mission and
believe it. When there’s free will, people
choose to engage. Attention needs to be
paid to creating an environment where
people work shoulder to shoulder and
where the mission is always clear.
RP: What experiences helped shape
your leadership style?
RG: When I joined the Navy, I observed
the habits of the better leaders. This
gave me a chance to see many leaders
in action. What I noticed was that some
led because they had more stripes on
their shoulders. Others led because they
had the relationships and the influence.
Even though the relational leaders also
had the power, the great ones didn’t
need to use it. They treated people
really well and got great results. In fact,
it has been my experience that the farther
you go up the leadership ladder,
the nicer the people are. Despite what
you might hear, nice people do make it
to the top.
Another formative experience came
during my early days at Avon. (Before
joining Tupperware, Goings was a
senior officer at Avon Corporation.) I
was immediately sent overseas to be
the president of operations in Germany
and Austria. A few years later I was
transferred to Hong Kong as the senior
operating officer for the Pacific Rim.
These assignments reshaped my world
view and helped me understand that I
was part of something much bigger. My
passport says I’m an American and I’m
proud of that, but firstly, I’m a global
citizen. That’s really important to me.
RP: How do you select your key
people?
RG: We place very little value on résumés and initial interviews. We look for
individuals with the right attitude and
the right personal attributes. We want
people who are open-minded, flexible,
and interested in accomplishing something.
The people we want are mission-driven—and the money never becomes
the mission. Don’t get me wrong, our
people make a good living, but that’s not
what drives them to perform. People
will work for money, but they’ll die for
a cause. We’re looking for people who
connect on that level.
I also look at how people treat others
who are not higher on the organizational
chart. We regularly check with our airport
drivers and other service personnel
to see what they think of the people
we’re considering hiring. You can learn
a lot by observing how people treat
those who are serving. In fact, I wish I
could follow our candidates through the
airport to see if they’re the ones on the
right side of the moving sidewalk who
are just standing and resting or the ones
on the left side, always moving forward
a little faster than the rest of the pack.
RP: How do you know if you have
the right people on your team?
RG: Although we’re very interested in
results at Tupperware, we also care
about how people do their job. We
focus heavily on 360-degree performance
appraisals two times a year. We
want to know how the people around
our leaders feel about them. We have
identified the key ingredients we think
are important and we make sure that’s
how our people lead—mission-driven
with passion, student-minded with intelligence,
an attitude of humility and not
arrogance, and treating others with
respect. These qualities empower people
to perform. They’re critical to our
corporate success.
RP: You’ve met a lot of famous
leaders. Tell us who impressed you
most.
RG: I have a lot of respect for the
elder George Bush. George Herbert
Walker Bush is one of the class acts of
the world. He’s a great supporter of
Boys & Girls Clubs and a gracious man.
He’s a testament to “the higher you go,
the nicer you should be.” He also led
through collaborative command and
control—gaining as much consensus as
possible and then taking decisive action.
I was also impressed with Archbishop
Desmond Tutu. In a recent meeting
he said something that has stuck with
me—“there is no such thing as ordinary
people.”
RP: Could we cut this if we’re tight
on space?
RG: There are many more, including
actor Denzel Washington, but I’d
be remiss if I didn’t mention former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin
Powell. He’s humble, self-effacing,
grounded, and critical of himself, but
has a wonderful sense of humor. He
talks about what he did right and what
he did wrong. I’ve been with him on
numerous speaking engagements and
he is a genuine person who’s incredibly
student-minded.
RP: How important is priority setting
in leadership?
RG: It’s absolutely critical. I have some
people who work for me who are very
book smart—certainly smarter than I
am. One of the reasons I’m the CEO is
because many of them look at a list of
10 things on a to-do list and make plans
to do all 10. In contrast, I focus on the
top three items that matter most and
let the other things go. I have a four-box
matrix. On the one side is impact from
low to high and on the bottom is easement
of implementation from easy to
hard. I never do low-impact, hard-to-do
things. We may pick one or two things
out of the high-impact, hard-to-do box.
But I spend most of my time in the high impact,
easy-to-do box.
RP: In both the business community
and the nonprofit world, there’s
increasing concern about a looming
leadership gap with the next
generation. How are you avoiding a
leadership gap at Tupperware and
Boys & Girls Clubs?
RG: The concept of mentoring is critical
in an organization. I’ve got 12 young
guys and gals in their 30s and 40s, and
we talk about everything. There just
isn’t enough focus on mentoring. The
best thing that I can do is invest in
people. My job and your job is to keep
passing on what we’ve learned.
RP: Like your company’s DNA?
RG: Exactly. This year, I’ve spent 70
percent of my time on chairman’s
retreats of around 25 people. We pick
the company apart and put it back
together. The legacy I can leave is how
to take this company to the next place.
I’m trying to share the mission side but
also the logic side.
RP: What are the differences
between leading a public company
and being the chairman of a
nonprofit?
RG: Leadership in the not-for-profit
world is no different than the public.
It all comes down to relationships
with people. If you stay focused on
the relationships and the mission, you
can’t miss. Just because I have a title at
Tupperware does not mean I don’t have
to build relationships and inspire and
motivate people.
RP: What books would I find on
your night stand?
RG: Well, I just got back in town from
a 31-day trip, and there are nine books
piled on my desk. I just finished a book
from Carol Dweck called Mindset: The
New Psychology of Success that debunks the myth of IQ. Others on my list would
include Power of One: A Novel by Bryce
Courtenay, The Future of Management
by Bill Bream and Gary Hamel, and
Leading with Kindness: How Good People
Consistently Get Superior Results by
William F. Baker, Michael O’Malley, and
Glen Hubbard.
RP: Based on what you know about
Kiwanis, how would you encourage
our Kiwanis leaders?
RG: Kiwanis has a great legacy, a rich
set of traditions, and a strong sense of
power. Everything I’ve heard and seen
tells me you have the right leadership
and are heading in the right direction.
Continue to focus on strengthening
your core while you heighten both your
alignment and your external awareness.
Like the old lamplighter on the streets
of London, you’ll always be able to tell
where Kiwanis has been by the light you
leave behind. Continue to light the way
and never, ever give up.
Learn more about the Kiwanis/BGCA partnership.
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