Illustration by Adam Fitzcharles
Hailed as one of the most dynamic voices in the field of business coaching, David Taylor’s best-selling book, “The Naked Leader” paved the way for a new style of transparent executive leadership that continues to resonate throughout the global corporate community. Having consulted for the likes of Procter & Gamble, BP and Coca-Cola, Taylor possesses business insight respected around the world, and which was the inspiration for this ongoing series of questions we plan to pose to some of the most dynamic leaders in business. He currently holds the position of Honorary Professor of Leadership at Warwick University Business School in England, and a business ambassador for The Prince’s Trust.
01 | JOURNAL: How visible are you to the people in your organization?
DAVID TAYLOR: Hopefully, very. We are a virtual team with a small number at our head office, at the back of our garden in Woking, Surrey, England. That’s not too far to be visible! We have coaches and support teams (web, etc.) around the country and we always make sure we meet up at least once a month.
02 | JOURNAL: What was your most recent, big mistake?
DAVID TAYLOR: I was presenting in Manchester to The Gap Group, and I did not do my homework. I assumed it was The Gap clothing group; it was only two days before I realized it was actually The North of England’s largest hirer of forklift trucks! I learned a lot, very fast, about forklift trucks, and vowed never to shortcut my preparation process again.
03 | JOURNAL: What percentage of decisions do you base more on logic than emotion?
DAVID TAYLOR: None. All of my decisions are made more on the basis of emotion first, and then I stack up the logic to support that first decision. In this 100 percent decision by emotion, I am exactly the same as everyone else in the world – everyone makes every decision on the basis of one or two emotional factors – will it move them away from pain (the biggest driver) or closer to pleasure.
04 | JOURNAL: When you are away from your office, do you ever worry what is happening in your absence?
DAVID TAYLOR: No. My wife and business partner runs the company and in my absence. She runs it far better than when I am interfering! I trust her to make whatever decisions need to be made, when they need to be made.
05 | JOURNAL: What are your top three strengths?
DAVID TAYLOR: 1. Passion for what I do. 2. Speaking. 3. A very fast sense of humor
06 | JOURNAL: Do you take personal responsibility for anything and everything that happens to you?
DAVID TAYLOR: Yes, at all times, and following on from question 5, I have made many, many mistakes – not the least of which, embarrassing my daughter at her school recently when I threw sweets into the audience.
07 | JOURNAL: If you were stripped of your job title and traits of office, would you still be able to get the best from your people?
DAVID TAYLOR: I hope and believe so – to me that is the acid test of leadership. So, if I couldn’t, I would have no credibility whatsoever.
David Taylor’s The Naked Leader book is a bible in my company. I buy a copy for every new manager coming up through the business. The book is available in both English and Japanese (from PHP). My Japanese staff tell me that the Japanese version reads well.
The Naked Leader is a leadership cookbook, making it ideal for new managers and for those who have been knocked around a bit and need some review work. First half of the book is about what you need to do in order to set goals and achieve them for yourself, and the second half is how to do the same thing for your team members.
Available from Amazon.com.
Terrie