Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson reveals the 4 P’s of great leaders

“Leaders are made, they are not born,” said Vincent Thomas Lombardi, American football coach and executive in the National Football League. This is good news for leaders because it means they can learn how to be a good leader. 

Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton, says great leaders are passionate, persistent, purposeful and make sure to hire and work with great people. According to her, these four P’s of leadership can help them successfully navigate any challenge. 

Using the four principles allows business leaders to make transitions come to life in a way that creates value for their shareholders, customers and employees. With the four P’s in mind, leaders are able to set ambitious goals and then define them with clear results. This helps them focus on the decisions that create impact, on the partnerships that are based on shared success and on the need to make decisions even when faced with uncertainty, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out the four P’s of leadership, according to Jenny Johnson:

People

: Leadership starts with people. Great leaders have courage, and they like to surround themselves with people smarter than themselves. They insist on opposition to their views; they absolutely detest yes-people! 

“As a leader, I’m only as good as the team I put together, and they’re only as good as the team they put together,” expresses Johnson. A remarkable leader can successfully motivate, mentor, coach and facilitate team work. Leaders who show good leadership are usually extremely loyal, have an emotional connection with their employees and exhibit deep traits of empathy for them, which also allows them to navigate change management with ease. 

Purpose

: Johnson says, “As a leader, I talk about what I do in such a way that resonates with my people and that they can rally around.” Purpose can be a mission, a vision, an ideal, a calling or a passion. The best leaders have a very strong sense of purpose, which becomes a North Star, guiding their interactions and actions. 

Passion

: Do what you love and you never work a day in your life. Johnson explains, “If you don’t love what you do, you are never going to be able to compete with somebody who does.” 

Without passion, you can’t be an effective leader. Passionate people love what they do, and their passion brings a sense of engagement, enjoyment and caring in others. They not only infect those around them with energy, they are also the ones who inspire others by personal example. Purpose and passion together make them formidable leaders. These types of leaders have the guts to set bold visions and goals, and they motivate team members to achieve those goals. 

Persistence

: Everyone fails at some point. The difference between great leaders and average ones is how they respond to failure. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he discovered the socket, filament and wiring for the light bulb. Leaders have a never quit attitude; they always find another way, another contact, another path, another point of entry. 

Financial and resource constraints, competing agendas as well as external events are common challenges that even the most passionate and purposeful leaders face. However, the best ones approach these setbacks with fierce determination; they know that nothing that’s worth doing can be accomplished without effort and hard work. In the face of disruption, adversity and technological change, strong leaders keep moving forward.