Leadership Lessons: Truth, Lies and Humor?

Jul 18, 2018

I just finished reading  A Higher Loyalty – Truth, Lies, and Leadership, by former FBI Director James Comey.  If you can set your personal political beliefs aside (as Comey points out, he managed to seriously irk both sides of the political hedge),  then I highly recommend his book for the leadership lessons buried throughout.  This was a man, after all, who faced incredibly challenging decisions and circumstances throughout his storied career in numerous positions.

Here are nine leadership lessons that jumped out from the book for me:

1. Humor matters, more than you might think.  Comey repeatedly references the importance of having a sense of humor as a leader. He speaks of the importance of laughter,  how humor is a key “tell” about someone’s ego, and how a sense of humor reflects a high level of confidence and humility.

2. It’s important to be tough and kind, often at the same time.

3. Small things matter: To send a message about tone and culture, Comey gave careful thought to what color shirt he was going to wear on his first day on the job when he addressed all the FBI employees. It may sound like a small matter, but Comey recognized that small things can often send deeper, more powerful messages. So, to contrast the former director’s style of always wearing a white shirt and tie, Comey chose a blue shirt and jacket, with no tie. He was also conscious about how he walked – making sure he walked with a bounce in his step and a ready smile to send a message of confidence. He always got his own coffee at the cafeteria, and no matter busy he was, never, ever cut in line.  These are small things, but they all add up to send deeper messages and serve to build trust and confidence.

4. As any effective leader needs to do, Comey laid out his expectations for all the employees, including, notably, that they they should find joy in their work and that they need to take care of their loved ones and not let their jobs consume their personal lives.

5. Comey confesses that he was a selfish leader in the past when he failed to give accurate feedback to employees – selfish because by withholding the feedback employees needed, he was depriving them of the opportunity to grow. If you care about your people, you need to care about being honest with them or you are helping no one.

6. Comey ordered a revamping of the training within the FBI, to ensure employees were getting in-depth training on some of the bureau’s failures and shortcoming in their past history, particularly as it related to how they dealt with the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Great cultures and inspiring leaders don’t bury their mistakes or hide from past behavior – they talk openly about it as a way to learn from the past and build a better future.

7. Listening matters, a lot! Comey repeatedly emphasizes the need for effective leaders to be effective listeners.

8. He spoke of the importance of “speaking uphill”  – being confident enough to speak truth to power and encourage an environment where people speak up, no matter who is in the room and how difficult the topic may be.

9. Finally, Comey writes about the importance of building an atmosphere of trust by encouraging leaders in meetings to share personal truths about themselves.

Michael Kerr, July 2018. Michael Kerr is an international Hall of Fame business speaker, trainer, and the author of seven books, including “The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank.