Page 224 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

LEADERS ARE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE AGENTS

thing you can do. The people who are performing well above their peers
are disadvantaged when they get treated the same as the average, and I
would say maybe even more importantly, the people who are not doing
well are not helped by being in a role in which they’re not contributing as
much as they should. They probably should be counseled into some other
role or some other setting, but you basically dumb down the team by treating
everyone the same. It doesn’t mean that it should be based on favoritism.
It should be based on what people understand as the yardstick. That’s the
kind of thing that needed to change if the company was going to have
long-term success.”
Ullman decided that the best way to change the company’s culture was
to start the process in smaller groups. He and his human resources direc-
tor started teaching leadership principles to JCPenney’s 500 upper-level
managers, breaking them into groups of 30 and creating an atmosphere in
which they could participate actively. He then took the same message on
the road and presented it to the store managers. As a result, a new language
was developed within the company that is understood by all the employees
whether they work in a J.C. Penney shoe department in Juneau, Alaska, or
in corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas.
The company has flourished under Ullman’s skillful leadership. Fortune
magazine named J.C. Penney one of America’s Most Admired Companies
in 2007. Despite a progressive neurological disease that probably would
have overwhelmed the average person, Ullman has flourished too. In April
2008, the World Retail Congress named him Outstanding Leader of the
Year. Being named the world’s greatest retail leader doesn’t seem to have
fazed Ullman, though.
“I take what we’re doing very seriously, but I don’t take myself very
seriously,” Ullman said. “I just wanted to do something that made a
difference and rebuild the JCPenney team so it will do better when I’m
gone. That was my objective. As for this disease, everybody has some kind
of adversity to deal with. I just happen to know mine. I’ve had less and
less motor skill, but I’m still able to walk, though it’s not pretty to watch.
I just convinced myself early on after receiving the diagnosis that if I stayed
busy and mentally active, I’d not only do better in terms of my career but
also my health. Continuing to work has been healthier for me because I’ve
got a new business family to watch over now, and I can be a mentor to
some younger people. It’s what they get done that will be the legacy.”

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