Successful leaders embody three traits: They’re innovative thinkers, they lean into their strengths, and they’re masterful storytellers. That’s according to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, who took to the stage at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s May commencement to share leadership and career lessons gathered over his 12 years at the telecom giant.
Starting with what makes for an effective manager, Sievert said the term itself is a misnomer. “The fallacy of management is the name. Managers aren’t here to manage things—at our best, we are here to change things.” Strong supervisors are change agents, able to challenge the status quo and switch strategies when things aren’t panning out. They also have an inventive, growth mindset, are willing to push boundaries, and can influence their teams to do the same. “Good leaders are here to bend the curve, not just manage it,” Sievert said.
Notably, he attributes this state of mind to helping catapult T-Mobile from a $6 billion market cap company to a $195 billion telecommunication juggernaut. His success as a leader, said Sievert, boiled down to consistently looking for new growth avenues, taking a chance on experimental ideas, and brainstorming ways to improve customer experiences. It also required taking smart, calculated risks with the business—and on himself. “It’s a simple formula: Take a chance on yourself, and find someone who will take a chance on you,” he said.
Sievert also told students to lean into what comes to them naturally, focusing on what they’re good at rather than on correcting their weaknesses. “Following your competence” in areas that feel innate makes it easier to expand on relevant skills and augment one’s expertise, leading to stronger contributions to the business. Still, Sievert added, leaders should be open to coaching and mentorship to develop their new and existing abilities. Passion for the job will hopefully follow suitwhen using this strategy, he said.
Along those same lines, good leaders avoid getting bogged down by failures. They center their efforts on the “green”—what drives high return on investment—rather than the red, or what’s not working.
“Most companies are fixated on the red, obsessing over what’s going wrong. I think that’s a big mistake,” Sievert said. “I’m much more focused on the green, what’s working, and how to replicate and grow that success. It’s far more productive and rewarding to stoke successes than to constantly fight fires.” That means feeding into teams’ strengths and wins, investing more in high-reward projects, and expediting smart ventures. In doing so, Sievert said, “Others across the organization start feeling motivated to replicate elements of the winning project’s success formula—and more wins tend to follow.”
Finally, Sievert said that leaders should be strong storytellers. Compelling narratives are the most powerful tool to motivate and build relationships with both employees and consumers while also pushing a business agenda. Whether you’re a recruiter interviewing job candidates, a manager looking to motivate staffers, or a leader guiding a team to create new products, Sievert said, storytelling matters. “Good finance people can maintain great spreadsheets, but the best one can tell the story that those numbers portray.”
The power of a gripping tale shouldn’t be underestimated, he emphasized, pointing to startups that attract investors because of their alluring stories. Within the workplace, storytelling also comes into play when narrating one’s career to hiring managers or making a plea to the CEO or board. Being able to translate and emphasize the “why,” Sievert said, is the most essential skill in business and life.
“You have the power to connect with people’s emotions, inspire actions, disarm people with a laugh, and humanize complex things and make them relatable.”