Takeaways
- The Bower Forum is an innovative leadership program focused on empowering leaders to prioritize relationships and be open-minded towards collaboration and criticism.
- To be a better leader, one must look inward and build empathy, humility, and resilience to inspire and support their teams authentically.
- The traditional business leader is being replaced with those who rely on the expertise of others, encourage team input, and embrace a collaborative, people-first approach to leadership.
On Oct. 28, the Detroit Regional Chamber hosted Hans-Werner Kaas, author and co-dean of the CEO leadership program “The Bower Forum” from McKinsey & Co. He, along with book contributors Mark Fields, formerly of Ford Motor Company, and former Admiral Eric T. Olson, discussed purposeful leadership in a conversation moderated by Tim Carter of McKinsey & Co. Kaas began the evening with a brief introduction to The Bower Forum program and its focus on a human-centric approach to leadership growth, with the book contributors reinforcing how this program resonates with leaders.
The Importance of Self-Reflection
While discussing what motivated Kaas and his co-authors to write this leadership book, Kaas noted that it was because they saw a gap in resources that address leadership from this “inside-out” perspective. Rather than solely offering techniques and “how-to,” The Bower Forum encourages leaders to start with introspection, focusing on “leading oneself” through self-awareness and character development. It also upholds a philosophy that beyond technical skills, the most effective leaders prioritize human qualities—such as empathy, humility, resilience, and versatility—which empower them to inspire, support, and energize others authentically.
This foundation, he argued, is essential for effectively leading others; true leadership begins with a deep understanding of oneself.
“When you become CEO, there’s that old saying, ‘it’s lonely at the top,’ and there’s nobody to talk to,” Fields said. “That’s really true for those of you that have run organizations—you can’t talk to your board about some things; you can’t talk to other [employees].”
He also said that by facing your “own psyche of where [you] have good days and bad days,” it’s important to be aware of your environment and trust in yourself to take action instead of getting stuck in a place where you doubt yourself or get lost in expectations.
Why A Human-centric Approach Works
Olson shared that a human-centric leadership approach resonates deeply with leaders because it emphasizes the essential aspect of leadership—a genuine focus on people.
By focusing on the importance of team members beyond their resumes, and an individual’s true character, particularly under pressure, is crucial for placing people in the right roles where they can thrive. He noted that lasting success relies on building small, high-performing teams—groups in which members recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses and support each other intuitively.
For Olsen, the principles of effective team building remain constant, whether at a tactical level or among senior leadership, and the book’s focus on this people-first approach aligns with what leaders naturally seek.
From this team building, Olson said, “Everybody has to trust each other to have the best interest of the team above their selfish best interest, and when that occurs, then the team becomes unstoppable.”
The Next Generation of Leadership
Kaas rounded out the discussion by saying, “The age of the imperial CEO is over,” highlighting the evolving expectations and level of accountability for modern chief executive officers. The all-knowing, authoritative figure is a thing of the past. Instead, modern chief executive officers need to embrace versatility, recognize they are not the “smartest in the room,” and rely on the expertise of their teams to succeed. This new dynamic requires leaders to be collaborative and strategic as there is more weight to fostering relationships with teams more than ever before.