- Just ahead on our WTVP 50 Years of Leadership series, we're talking about presidential leadership.

Tonight's critical conversation brings us a discussion from three more great central Illinois leaders, and it all starts right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us, I'm Amy Burkett.

Are you ready to talk about presidential leadership?

I am.

So let's meet our panelists and get started right away.

I'd like each of you to share your favorite leadership lesson from a president.

Now let's begin with Dr. Jamel Wright, president of Eureka College.

Dr. Wright, thanks for your time.

Tell us a little about your college and give us that favorite presidential leadership quote.

- Absolutely.

So thank you so much for having me.

This is a very important and wonderful topic, so glad to be here.

Eureka College nestled amidst the corn and soy fields here in central Illinois, a hidden jewel that we need to not make so hidden, but our most famous alumnus, President Ronald Reagan, our 40th, graduated from Eureka College in 1939.

We are a liberal arts college that prides itself on producing great leaders, not just of central Illinois, but great leaders who go on and do wonderful things in the nation and indeed the world as President Ronald Reagan did many years ago.

And my most favorite quote actually comes from Ronald Reagan.

- I knew it.

- Surprise, surprise.

But honestly, this is something that I live by that I try and communicate to the team all the time.

And I think it's really important for every strong leader, which is "There is no limit to the good and great things we can do if we don't care who gets the credit."

Ronald Reagan said that and I believe that to be true today and it will be true always for great leaders.

Dr. Wright, thank you so much.

- [Dr. Wright] Thank you so much.

- Next up, Tim Erickson, president of Core Construction.

Tim, tell us a little about your company and your favorite presidential quote.

- Thanks for having me.

I'm with Core Construction, we're founded here in central Illinois 86 years ago, and we've grown to a national company.

I'm in charge of our Midwest region for the last five years.

and previously spent time in our Dallas office as well.

Leadership to me, my favorite part of leadership is getting your team together where they're almost afraid to disappoint you, where they all don't want to let you down, they don't want you to bring you the bad news.

To me, that's where they're looking out and trying to protect me and I think that's when I believe you've really achieved what you're trying to do by leading them and not just managing them.

- Ooh, that's good.

- Jessica Young, president of Advanced Correctional Healthcare.

Give us a little bit about your company and your favorite leadership tip or quote.

- Sure, Advanced Correctional Healthcare is the nation's largest jail health care provider.

So on a given day, we treat about 33,000 incarcerated people across 15 states.

So it's very important work, a very underserved population, especially with the opioid epidemic, the suicide epidemic, and COVID hasn't helped that.

So we're doing the best we can and we have some of the most amazing frontline healthcare workers and correctional healthcare partners.

Interesting times.

And my favorite leadership quote would probably be within our own organization we are constantly reminded that we are dealing with humans.

So we can have the most perfect strategic plan laid out but we are dealing with humans at the end of the day and we have to take that into consideration because everybody has their own personal things going on in their lives and our goal is to be there to support those people so that they're okay and we can still pull off that strategic plan.

- Okay.

So of course I have another quote from Ronald Reagan.

He said, "The greatest leader isn't necessarily the one who does the greatest things.

He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things."

So let's talk about that right now.

Tim, how do you get your people to do the greatest things?

- I think you've got to lead by example.

You've got to get them to buy into what you're talking about and get them to understand that you're there for them, you're there with them.

There's no better feeling than when you have that right leadership team, because you can tell, internally you know when you've got the people, you can release the responsibilities to them, you can entrust them to get it done and you know you don't have to worry about it because of this.

So giving them the ability to take ownership in things and giving them the ability to go out and do things and trust them to do it, I think that really proves a lot to them and it gets them to back you.

- Great.

Dr. Wright, how do you get those people to do those great things?

- Well, given the fact that at Eureka College we've been doing a lot of amazing and great things over the last several years to move us forward, I will tell you that the key for me is empowerment.

It's empowering the team to bring their creativity and their thoughtfulness and their innovative ideas to the table.

It's encouraging people and allowing that free flow of information and conversation or those great brainstorming sessions where you just have a creative synergy that develops amongst the team.

And it's also reminding people that the team is not only the president or the senior leaders in the company or the organization or in our case on the college campus, but the team is every person because every person brings with them some ideas that could be very instrumental to moving the institution forward.

- Jessica, what's your technique for getting the team to do the great things that they're capable of?

- We make sure our people have challenging work and then we give them the autonomy to solve those problems with a team around them, but we're going to support the way that they want to solve those problems, they're the subject matter expert, we empower them to do that.

And then on the other end, recognition.

So once they've done a good thing, they have to be recognized in the organization, we have to acknowledge the good work they've done to encourage them to keep doing that.

- So while we're talking presidential leadership and we often think of United States presidents, each of you is a president.

And so I want to just kind of learn your techniques, your own personal presidential leadership techniques.

And we're going to start with Tim.

- So really, we practice in really wanting people to understand servant leadership.

That's the most important thing to us is getting with your team and letting them know you're there with them.

How can you help them?

What do they need?

What tools do they need to get the job done?

And we literally try and ask every single conversation that we have with somebody is letting them know how do we help you do your job and getting them to do that?

So I think that's one of the most important things is to show them you're there to help them, not just tell them what to do, but you're there to serve them, and then it comes back both ways.

- Dr. Wright, your personal leadership strategy?

- Well, every great leader has to have a great sense of humor.

So one of the biggest things that I remind people is the work is tough, the decisions are tough that we have to make off times, and we have to have a sense of humor.

So in those moments, when we're able to lighten the mood, in those times when we don't have to be as task-oriented, but we can spend a few minutes laughing about something, that's very important and making sure that people know that you're not just laughing about what's out there, but we're laughing at ourselves.

I think that's very important.

And also it is that it's okay to make a mistake.

I don't know any great leader who is great without the building upon some type of failure.

There are gonna be failures, there are gonna be calculated risks that may not pan out to the extent that we'd like in terms of the return on the investment.

And that shouldn't shut you down from taking a calculated risk sometime down the road.

So for me, it's about humor, it's about taking those calculated risks when you can and knowing that sometimes there are going to be some failures but that shouldn't stop you from pressing ahead.

So those are some of the personal things that I like to pass along to my team and embody that myself.

I like to have fun.

- It's good to have fun and failures aren't always setbacks.

They're often set ups.

- That's right.

They're set ups, that's right.

- For the next step- - For you to build, that's right, to build upon.

- Jessica, we want to learn from you as well.

What is your favorite leadership strategies?

- One of my favorite strategies is working on the emotional intelligence of our leadership team.

So for a lot of people, we focus on self-control, personally and among the team.

We all encounter those challenging situations where maybe you want to get up out of your seat and talk about something.

And we talk about the seatbelt theory, you've got to keep your self-control, you've got to keep your seatbelt on and we will handle this professionally.

We also work on constant self-reflection, constant self-improvement, and we do this by coaching our people up.

So everybody gets quarterly coaching sessions where we not only talk about how they're doing in their specific role but what do they want to be when they grow up?

Where do they want to be in five years?

And how can we help them get there?

So we've taken for example, a nurse into an IT role because that's where she wanted to be.

And it's exciting to watch those people grow.

- It's great to see passion and tapping into people's passion.

Lots of times they can do things we never dreamed possible when they're in that sweet spot.

Well, presidential author Doris Kearns Goodwin shares these five leadership lessons from the White House over the years, and we're not gonna hit them all at once, we're going to dissect them one at a time and talk to our panelists about them.

"Leaders grow through adversity, humility, and empathy."

Now that's from our buddy Abe Lincoln and his family often thought he was lazy because he wanted to read books.

And as a politician, he lost more races than he won.

So let's talk about that sort of humility aspect of leadership, my friends.

Dr. Wright, you want to go first?

- Well, why not?

Sure.

So I always say that I'm never the smartest person around the table.

I know a lot of stuff, you know, a little bit about a lot of stuff and I should, and I'm always learning and on the continuum of growth as well.

But it's always important to remind everybody around the table that I bring them, that one of the jobs of a leader is to bring the people who do have the answers, who are, and I think Jessica earlier talked about, content experts, You know, I like to have experts around the table and that keeps me humble because it also keeps me remembering that I have to continue to be a lifelong learner which I am a lifelong learner.

And that's very important to maintain that level of humility so that you never feel like there's some job that is too big or too small for you to do.

So also I think that humility is shown through rolling up your sleeves and if it's something on the floor that needs to be swept up or preparing for an event, even as president of the college, I'm willing to do that.

And those are the things I think that keep us humble and those are also the things I think that inspire people to work for and with us.

- Jessica, talk to us about how you're able to show humility.

- Absolutely.

I think humility is in part knowing what you don't know and not being embarrassed to say I don't know and then ask the 100 questions that it takes to get up to speed on something.

So I agree, you should hire people that are smarter than you, ask a lot of questions, but not be afraid to say I don't know and then reach out for help.

- Tim, my humble friend, share how you're able to do that from a leadership position.

- I think that one of the things that I find as a leader and we kind of joke about it sometimes, there's two different kinds of leaders.

There's those that become a leader and think they've made it and they're the leader, but then there's the other group that are the leaders and they're always looking over their back wondering when everybody's going to figure out that they don't know everything and that we don't understand everything and I think those are the best kind, because they're always challenging themselves to find somebody that can help them, help advise them, they're listening to people and such.

So, you know, I think understanding that when am I going to be found out that I don't know everything keeps you pushing harder to succeed as a leader.

- Awesome information.

Well, here's another one of those tips from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

"Leaders have the self-confidence to surround themselves with strong-minded people."

Now, Eleanor Roosevelt, often held a different view than her hubby FDR, and he referred to her as a welcome thorn.

She held press conferences where sometimes she would only allow women reporters to attend, prompting newspapers to hire their very first female reporters.

Now I'm going to go back to Jessica for a second, and let's talk about that strong-minded person that's in our organization that can be a little bit of that thorn in our side.

But how do they play an important role?

- They play an important role because they usually ask a really good question.

And I think the trick is to not focus so much on the way they're saying it, but what is the root of the question that they have or the point that they're making because there's usually a kernel of truth there and there usually is a problem we need to solve and their approach just might not be quite right.

So there is value and it's definitely worth listening to those people and taking as long as it takes to talk it through and figure out what's really going on.

- Figuring out what's really going on is often easier said than done.

Here's another one of those facts from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

"Leaders can inspire and motivate others, creating a culture of respect."

Now back to our friend, Abe Lincoln, he had papers and they're filled with notes complimenting others, and FDR's ability to cheer people up during the depression allowed his team to forge ahead.

So that brings us back to Tim.

I want to know how do you encourage your team?

- Well, I think, one of the things that I've found and we've seen it now with the pandemic is I try and stay very connected to my team.

Every day, I'm going out, first thing I do in the morning is make the rounds through the office and talk to everybody, say hi, let them know I appreciate them as a person.

One of the things we're finding through the pandemic is the feedback I'm getting is we don't get to communicate anymore.

So I think it's the day-to-day touches, the understanding their family and what's going on in their lives.

They're not just here to work for you that day, they're spending the majority of their life with you at work so you need to be involved and understand what's going on with them and staying connected to them.

And they're going to to believe more in you that you care for them and support you.

- So let's go back to another one of those tips from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

She says "Leaders communicate simply and through the media."

John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan mastered television and Trump, more than any other candidate, dominated Twitter.

Dr. Wright, talk to us about presidential leadership and even your own leadership, how do you master the media of the day?

- Oh, that's a great question.

So, you know, Ronald Reagan of course was known as the great communicator for the very reason that you stated of being able to master the media of the day.

I think that's very important and the way you really go about doing that is still understanding that even if it's a medium, whether it's a hot or cool medium, that you still have to make sure that you're focused on people, right?

It's always about interpersonal relationships, it's always about trying to figure out a way to connect with people.

So you want to make sure that you say things that you are genuine, that you bring integrity to the table, that you bring your genuine self to whatever that media may be in which you're communicating through and you utilize that in a way that still speaks to all of the respective constituencies who you need to speak to.

And so that audience analysis piece, knowing who you're talking to, knowing what they need to hear, knowing what they expect to hear, and figuring out the best way for you to communicate that to them, those messages to them, is critically important in mastering the media of the day.

- You know, you hit on something really exciting, genuine communications.

- Absolutely.

- I'm gonna go back to Jessica and say how do you be your most authentic self when communicating as the head of an organization?

- It's difficult because it's critical to be honest but you also don't want to say anything that could be used against you or the organization.

So it is a little tricky sometimes, but when in doubt, I think honesty is what prevails.

So you just have to tell the truth and the rest will figure itself out.

- Tim, talk to us about that authentic communication that you like to use.

- Well, I think a lot of people look at me, I'm a very direct person and it is, it's just the truth, and trying to present it in a way where it's not coming across as chastising somebody, it's a fact that they do it and follow up with a soft comment trying to explain why you do it Try and relate it into your life, why you're explaining this to them so that there's a lesson behind how you're getting them to understand what you're trying to say.

But I think absolutely you gotta be upfront and factual and not beat around the bush, you have to be confident with your answer or they start the waiver and not really follow what you're saying.

- Well, here's our final observation from Doris Kearns Goodwin.

"Leaders transform ambition for self into ambition for the greater good."

Back to our friend, Abe Lincoln, he praised the soldiers, not himself for the emancipation, "With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed."

How do we actually put that into practice, friends?

I'm gonna let you be first, Tim, you're going to get the first word.

How do you put that into practice?

It seems easier said than done, don't you think, that ambition is not about self, it's about others.

- It's trying to make everybody understand that you've got to make a decision, you've got to do things in business looking for the greater good.

Sometimes looking out for the whole team and having the whole team be involved in the decision and getting the buy-in is important to do it but making them understand that they're just one of the team and it's not an individual thought.

You've got to look at the big picture all the time.

- Dr. Wright, ambition for the greater good.

How do we do that?

Because we know sometimes people who are on our teams, some are a little young and immature and they're realizing they're trying to make a name for themselves and trying to prove that they can do better for more opportunities but they get a little misguided sometimes.

- Sure.

So I think this is probably one of those central questions that leaders always face, is you have people on your team who are all along that continuum of growth, everyone from, as you mentioned, early career to people who may have a foot out the door for retirement who still should be somewhere on that continuum.

And it's really trying to figure out how to collectively get people to focus on a particular vision, a particular goal for the organization.

And I also think the important thing that as leaders we have to do is tap into what those talents are that individuals have or possess at a given point in time and really saying, you're really good at this and I know you want to be here you want to be three or four steps down the road.

You're really good at this and we need you to do this, we need you to be good at this right now.

And here's how we can leverage where you are right now and also helping you to get to where you want to be down the road.

So I think letting people know that you have that faith in them, that you are putting a level of trust in them and that you need them in order to ensure the success of the organization no matter where they are on that continuum of growth.

- Such great advice.

Jessica, you get the final word on this.

How do we handle their ambition?

- We call it pulling the pig in the right direction.

- Pulling the pig in the right direction?

I have never heard that one before.

I can't wait to hear details.

- So if you have a pig and we all need to get that pig from point A to point B and we're all pulling a different leg in a different direction, we're never gonna get there.

We have all got to pull that pig in the right direction to get it there, that's how we accomplish our goal.

And so that leads to our purpose statement and the company's purpose statement is to solve problems and make lives easier.

And that's what we ask people to do.

If you're not sure, then how do you solve the problem, make lives easier, that should guide your decision-making.

For the frontline incarcerated people that we serve, how can we make the management of those mental health issues, of those medical issues easier for when they return to the community?

So pulling the pig in the right direction and being guided by our purpose statement.

- Okay, I will never forget that.

I'm gonna practice that, pulling the pig in the right direction.

Well, Abe Lincoln said, "I would rather be a little nobody than an evil somebody."

So I want to talk about that before we run out of time.

And I want to hear from each of you and we're going to start with Tim.

What's that mean from a leadership standpoint, than being an evil somebody?

- Well, I think, everybody is judged on themselves and throughout.

And one of the lessons I teach our younger people is it's about integrity, always about integrity.

Because when you're out there, if you do something that challenges your integrity with a company, the chances are you're on your own.

So you need to understand that you need to think for yourself and do the right thing every time and do what's right in your mind and never challenge that integrity 'cause down the road it will get you.

So I think that's the idea I've got is making sure you're the little nobody but making sure you're doing the right thing every time because it will pay off in the long run.

- Dr. Wright, your thoughts on the statement?

- Well, you know, so I'll add, what Abe Lincoln said also reminds me of a Martin Luther king Jr. quote, that was "The ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where he or she stands at moments of calm and comfort and convenience, but where he or she stands at times of controversy and challenge."

And I'd rather be a little nobody who during a time of challenge and controversy, as Tim said, did the right thing with integrity and exhibited extreme courage in making a decision even if it's an unpopular one.

So I'd rather be that little nobody than anything else that people may be because, ultimately, we are all as leaders, as presidents, going to be measured up against that standard.

And it's going to be the standard of when things were tough, when things were challenging, when you could have gone a different direction, that you showed that integrity, that you maintained that sense of purpose and that honesty and that authenticity that we talked about earlier.

So that's how I see that and that's what I think about.

Oh, one more thing, I do think about, I will tell you, Eureka College was founded by abolitionists.

We were the first in the state and third in the nation to admit men and women on an equal basis.

And again, when you think about that little nobody, I'm sure our founders all were little nobodies to themselves, but that's the type of courage that I want to embody and that's the type of courage that I hope everyone around me and everyone, whether you're leading your home, whether you're leading a business, whatever it is, that that's the type of courage that you would embody.

- So my final question for each of the panelists, and I'm hoping we can keep these answers to about 15 seconds a piece, I want to give you a chance to share just advice.

What didn't I give you a chance to talk about that you want people to know?

We'll start with Jessica.

- Oh, sure.

What comes to mind is a plaque that I got from a sheriff who is very special to me.

And it says there is no limit to where a man can go or what a man can do if he doesn't mind who gets the credit.

And I think that's very important.

We are a team and when the team succeeds, we all succeed, and we don't need one person taking all the credit.

And so that is my answer.

- Tim, your leadership advice for all of us.

- I think it evolves around trust.

We talk a lot about team and trust in our organization.

And as a leader, I need to trust my team and I need to give them the ability to trust in me.

Sometimes they have to come and share bad news with you but they have to trust that you're there to help them work with you and vice versa.

So everything is built around the trust, it starts there, and without trust, leadership doesn't succeed.

- Dr. Wright, we look forward to your advice.

- Well, my advice is very simple but often forgotten or people are in fear of using, ask for help.

As leaders, as presidents, we can't forget that it's okay for us to ask for help and that actually is a sign of strength and not one of weakness.

- Oh, unfortunately, that's all we have time for this evening.

It's been my great pleasure to share leadership lessons and to learn from some of central Illinois great leaders.

Remember, each of us is a leader and has the power to make a positive impact on those we influence.

Thanks so much for joining us, we appreciate your time.

Good night, my friends.

(upbeat music)