The Power Of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World

Mulally is a former CEO of Ford who turned the corporation around; the company went from losing billions in 2006 to seeing profits by 2009. Gordon attributes this to Mulally’s “One Ford” culture, in which everyone committed to a single vision, as well as to Mulally’s management system broadly: In addition to fostering a culture of “unity, teamwork, appreciation, transparency, safety, and even joy” (17), Mulally serves as an example of a leader who combined love and respect for his employees with accountability. He continued to believe in his team and his vision despite a recession that threatened to destroy all his work, and he transformed Ford because he gave his employees a greater purpose, drawing on Henry Ford’s vision to “open the highways to all mankind” (152). Gordon shares Mulally’s principles, philosophies, behaviors, and processes throughout the book, calling Mulally one of history’s best examples of positive leadership.

Hendrick is the founder of the largest privately owned car dealership in the United States and owner of Hendrick Motorsports, the “winningest” racing organization in NASCAR. He is one of Gordon’s top examples of a leader who understands the importance of building a positive culture. His employees are “humble, hungry, thankful, kind, and appreciative” and show that culture not only supersedes strategy but also drives it (18).

Gordon particularly uses Hendrick to exemplify his point that to start building an organizational culture, leaders must answer two questions: “1) What do we stand for? And 2) What do we want to be known for?” (19). Hendrick’s leaders all say that they stand for “servant leadership,” led by Hendrick’s personal example. They exemplify teamwork through trust and respect, one of Hendrick’s core organizational values.