Balancing Leadership Styles

Speaker 3
You were also the co-CEO of Markle Corporation for six years before becoming the sole CEO at the very beginning of this year. So it strikes me there's probably not a better person to talk to about the pros and cons of co-management. So to start with that, what do you believe are the ingredients for success of co-management and what are the drawbacks?
Speaker 1
Well, even people who are CEOs, as I am at this point, just a CEO in a sole role, what you're doing is you're running a team and there's no CEO, there's no quarterback, there's no coach, there's no point guard, there's no center of any functioning team that doesn't have teammates around them. And the best teams have heads of those teams who have recruited the people around them with some care. And part of that care is not just the skill that those people have, but the willingness to listen to them and involve them in your own thought process and make sure that you're taking advantage of all of the intellectual capital that you surround yourself with on the field of play. So I think the number one formula for a co-structure to work, whether it's formally identified as a co-structure or whether just as a matter of practical reality is the way the world works is respect for the people that are on your team and listening to them and taking their advice and counsel and different points of view and experience into place as you make decisions. Now, that said, one of the things that might be something of an advantage to the sole CEO type structure or the head coach or the starting quarterback or the point guard is there are oftentimes decisions which need to be made instantaneously. So you should have done your homework. You should have every bit of background information you possibly can have. But sometimes everybody on the team is going to look at somebody and say, what do we do? And for somebody to say, this is what we're going to do and to choose the path, even if that's not a perfect decision, sometimes that's what's called for in the moment. So pluses and minuses to both structures. And
Speaker 3
do you think it's interesting to hear you talk about that? Because you can make quicker decisions, certainly if you're the sole CEO, but you still have that team as well. And it sounds like actually what you're saying is there isn't a huge difference between the mindset of being a co-CEO versus being a CEO. Is that fair? Yes,
Speaker 1
I think that's correct, because I think the important thing is there's a label that seems rather binary. You're either the sole CEO or you're a co-CEO. And the reality is that if you're the sole CEO, you would be foolish not to have co-opted and have a circumstance of cooperation with the people that you've surrounded yourself with to take full advantage of the wisdom that they bring to the table. So it's not as much the end of the spectrum as the labels might imply. Sure. Thank you.
Speaker 2
Tom, how does a business culture and narrative impact decision making, especially over a 33-year period? Well,
Speaker 1
I think that's really the secret sauce of Markel is the culture that's here. 1986, when, as a matter of fact, we might have had technically the label of one CEO, but as a practical matters, it was like ancient Rome where there was a tribunal or triad, the three co-consuls in the form of Alan Kirshner, Steve Markell and Tony Markell, who effectively were the three CEOs of the business. And as part of the IPO process and going public, they explicitly wrote down our creedal statement, which they called the Markell style. And in that effort, what they were really trying to do is recognize there would be a time when none of the three of them would be here. But they wanted Markel to still be here and the company to still carry on. So they wrote down a series of guidelines, principles, cultural values, the creed, if you will, of Markel, such that for those that came after those three, like Richie and now myself, we would understand the culture and the values of Markel. And frankly, that informs every single decision and action we make from the top to the bottom of the company. And I don't think there's anybody of the 20-some thousand people who work for Markel who don't have some exposure and some awareness and some understanding of what the Markel style is all about and the values and the way in which we do things and hold ourselves accountable for. And fortunately, someone in my position and someone who's been here 33 years, those roots are deep. For someone who just started this morning, it might not be quite as deep. There's no way it could be. But over time, those lines should converge.

The Value Perspective with Tom Gayner

The Value Perspective

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