How important are excellent leaders to organizations? A company has to cultivate leaders who have the skills and abilities to help it survive and thrive. 3M has its own farm system, except its farm system is designed to develop company leaders. 3M’s leadership development program is so effective that in 2009 Chief Executive magazine and Hay Consulting Group named the company the best at developing future leaders. Former CEO Jim McNerney, agreed on six “leadership attributes” that they believed were essential for the company to become skilled at executing strategy and being accountable. Those six attributes included: the ability to “chart the course; energize and inspire others; demonstrate ethics, integrity, and compliance; deliver results; raise the bar; and innovate resourcefully.

Buckley said that he believes there is a difference between leaders and managers. “A leader is as much about inspiration as anything else. A manager is more about process.” He believes that the key to developing leaders is to focus on those things that can be developed— like strategic thinking.

Finally, when asked about his own leadership style. Buckley responded that, “The absolutely best way for me to be successful is to have people working for me who are better. Having that kind of emotional self-confidence is vital to leaders. You build respect in those people because you admire what they do. Having built respect, you build trust.

1. What do you think about Buckley’s statement that leaders and managers differ? Do you agree? Why or why not?

2. What leadership models/theories/issues do you see in this case? List and describe.

3. Take each of the six leadership attributes that the company feels is important. Explain what you think each one involves. Then discuss how those attributes might be developed and measured.

4. What did this case teach you about leadership?