Bob Iger is back as Disney’s CEO: Here are six ways to lead like Bob, in his own words

Bob Iger has taken the reins once again at Walt Disney Co, less than 12 months after he retired from the company he worked at for four decades, including 15 years as chief executive officer.

Iger, who served as the CEO of Disney between 2005 and 2020 before moving into an executive chairman role, will replace Bob Chapek in that same role, effectively immediately. Chapek was appointed as CEO in early 2020 but has chosen to step down from the position, according to a statement from Disney.

Well-regarded for his leadership instincts and insights, Iger presided over a growth period in Disney’s history, expanding the entertainment company significantly through the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. With Disney’s streaming business now under pressure, Iger has been tasked with “a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the board in developing a successor to lead the company at the completion of his term”.

Iger’s also used those instincts to personally invest in a number of other high-growth companies, including Australian graphic design unicorn Canva.

SmartCompany Plus has shared numerous insights from Iger, taken mostly from his seminal book The Ride of a Lifetime. Here are six key insights, in Iger’s own words.

On what motivates people

“I’ve been asked a lot over the years about the best way to nurture ambition — both one’s own and that of the people you manage.

“As a leader, you should want those around you to be eager to rise up and take on more responsibility, as long as dreaming about the job they want doesn’t distract them from the job they have. You can’t let ambition get too far ahead of opportunity. I’ve seen a lot of people who had their sights set on a particular job or project, but the opportunity to actually get that thing was so slim. Their focus on the small thing in the distance became a problem. They grew impatient with where they were. They didn’t tend enough to the responsibilities they did have, because they were longing so much for something else, and so their ambition became counterproductive.

“It’s important to know how to find the balance — do the job you have well; be patient; look for opportunities to pitch in and expand and grow; and make yourself one of the people, through attitude and energy and focus, that your bosses feel they have to turn to when an opportunity arises. Conversely, if you’re a boss, these are the people to nurture — not the ones who are clamouring for promotions and complaining about not being utilised enough but the ones who are proving themselves to be indispensable day in and day out.”

On making mistakes

“Take responsibility when you screw up. In work, in life, you’ll be more respected and trusted by the people around you if you own up to your mistakes. It’s impossible to avoid them; but it is possible to acknowledge them, learn from them, and set an example that it’s okay to get things wrong sometimes.”

On selling

“Don’t start negatively, and don’t start small. People will often focus on little details as a way of masking a lack of any clear, coherent, big thoughts. If you start petty, you seem petty.”

On company culture

“A company’s culture is shaped by a lot of things, but this is one of the most important — you have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly.

“If leaders don’t articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don’t know what their own priorities should be. Time and energy and capital get wasted. People in your organization suffer unnecessary anxiety because they don’t know what they should be focused on. Inefficiency sets in, frustration builds up, morale sinks. You can do a lot for the morale of the people around you (and therefore the people around them) just by taking the guesswork out of their day-to-day life. A CEO must provide the company and its senior team with a road map. A lot of work is complex and requires intense amounts of focus and energy, but this kind of messaging is fairly simple: this is where we want to be. This is how we’re going to get there. Once those things are laid out simply, so many decisions become easier to make, and the overall anxiety of an entire organization is lowered.”

On firing people

“There have been several times when I’ve had to deliver bad news to accomplished people, some of whom were friends, and some of whom had been unable to flourish in positions that I had put them in.

“There’s no good playbook for how to fire someone, though I have my own internal set of rules. You have to do it in person, not over the phone and certainly not by email or text. You have to look the person in the eye. You can’t use anyone else as an excuse. This is you making a decision about them — not them as a person but the way they have performed in their job — and they need and deserve to know that it’s coming from you.

“You can’t make small talk once you bring someone in for that conversation. I normally say something along the lines of: ‘I’ve asked you to come in here for a difficult reason.’ And then I try to be as direct about the issue as possible, explaining clearly and concisely what wasn’t working and why I didn’t think it was going to change. I emphasise that it was a tough decision to make, and that I understand that it’s much harder on them.

“There’s a kind of euphemistic corporate language that is often deployed in those situations, and it has always struck me as offensive. There’s no way for the conversation not to be painful, but at least it can be honest, and in being honest there is at least a chance for the person on the receiving end to understand why it’s happening and eventually move on, even if they walk out of the room angry as hell.”

Iger’s 10 principles of leadership