Intentional Power

3Be Humble: “Lead from Behind”

Advertising CEO Ian Sohn wasn't looking to get on national television, be covered in international news, or have his social media post go viral reaching millions of people around the world. But that's what happened in May 2019 when he wrote a treatise to his employees on LinkedIn.

Here's the backstory: Ian's a single dad who co‐parents with his ex‐wife. He'd been traveling nonstop for over three weeks and was finally home for one weekend before he was supposed to head out on yet another business trip. It was Saturday morning, and he was looking forward to an excursion with his two boys when he received an email from a colleague asking if he could “just grab a quick call” to discuss a client issue. Ian spent over an hour composing a response for why he couldn't talk that day. Then, Ian had an epiphany. He didn't want to have to apologize for having a life and didn't want his employees to feel that way either. So Ian emailed his coworker, “You know what, Bill? I'll talk to you on Monday.” The response? “Great, fine. Talk to you on Monday. No big deal.”

Later that day, Ian wrote his now famous LinkedIn post broadcasting his leadership philosophy, which he summarizes as, “You don't need to explain yourself to me. If you are accountable to your teams and to your clients, and you get the job done. I don't care how you do it, where you do it, or when you do it. As a boss, my vow to you is: I will never treat you like a child. I will do my best to help ...