I heard Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, say this today, when asked what he had achieved as boss of that organization. “It’s a popular thing to talk about legacy now; what your legacy is. I just wanted people to be happier than they were before I arrived at the BBC.”
Which reminded me of this story that I heard Nigel Paine, Head of People Development at the BBC, tell:
When Dyke resigned suddenly, eight thousand BBC employees massed in the street outside his office. It was spontaneous. “When he came back into the offices after going out to thank them, he didn’t realise that half his face was plastered with lipstick. He looked like a circus clown. These people just wanted to thank him for inspiring them”, said Nigel Paine. “It was an extraordinary, spontaneous outburst.”
Sounds like he achieved it. Would people take to the streets in protest when you leave? Of course leadership isn’t a popularity contest. But, this was about inspiring people and reconnecting them with the reasons they joined the BBC in the first place. That’s what they were showing appreciation for.
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