Great Leadership and a Winning Culture

In this week’s post, I share thoughts from Mike Crowley, a senior executive who leads with his heart. He has high standards and the discipline required to in today’s very competitive business world. What is special about Mike’s leadership is his strong support of his people. He puts his confidence in them, which they realize and do their very best to live up to expectations, and have fun doing their work. Mike’s value of organizational culture, what I like to call organizational spirit, is exemplary. He is a caring and people oriented person himself, and that is a difference maker when it comes to motivation and culture – and results!

I had the good fortune this past week to have a conversation with Mike Crowley, President and COO of Markel, a diverse financial company. Markel is in the final stages of completing a major acquisition, Alterra, a large insurance company. The new Markel will have revenues of 4.4 billion dollars.

Mike shared with me his experiences these past number of months, visiting with a great many Alterra people around the world. Mike has always been a model leader, a motivator of people, and especially effective because he believes in others and trusts them to live up to his shared expectations.

This paper is about just how much organizational culture means and what it looks like to see a winning culture in action. It is the difference maker in the success of a company. And today, too few companies, especially publicly owned companies that are generally driven by financial outcomes, really enjoy the benefits of a winning culture. Here’s a company that is not only driven to achieve outstanding financial results, but is also driven for and by its people.

At Markel, the mission statement sits visibly on people’s desks and on the walls of their offices. While some other companies do this, the difference at Markel is that the people of Markel feel it and are proud of it. They offer their mission statement to all potential hires, emphasizing that their mission statement represents their culture.

The culture is grounded in top-notch service, creativity and innovation, treating their people with respect, and striving for continuous improvement.

Mike discussed that at Markel, it very much matters:

• How we conduct ourselves and our business and how we are viewed by others.
• People matter, greatly. It is critically important that they attract and keep great people, that they encourage and support them and not tolerate poor behavior.
• That there is an unwavering commitment to fair treatment of all of our constituents, our customers, associates, shareholders and vendors.
• In essence, our culture is defined by the small things we do every day.
• It is also measured by the commitment and pride our associates have for Markel.

The Markel Style, its mission statement, was penned many years ago by their Chairman, Alan Kirshner. Mike said the Markel Style was the first thing we shared with our future associates at Alterra. We wanted them to know the core values of the firm they would soon be joining.

Mike’s reasoning is so sound, i.e., that whenever you acquire an organization, most of the people in that acquired organization are joining your firm involuntarily. They did not get a vote on who the company would be sold to or when it would be sold.

Markel’s goal and Mike’s is to have those associates look back a year from now and say, “Wow, aren’t we lucky we ended up here rather than someplace else!”  If every acquiring company acted in this manner, more acquisitions would be successful.

Mike’s philosophy is simple: Treat your associates well. Happy associates take great care of your customers. Happy customers stay with you. Great customer retention makes for happy shareholders.

It all starts with creating the right environment for your people.

About Mike Crowley

Mike Crowley is President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Markel, a diversified financial holding company and a leader in the specialty insurance field. He has been a very effective leader throughout his career in insurance and financial services.