Leadership Development

How BNSF Railway Keeps It on Track

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Mike Armour is a featured headliner on C-Suite Radio

Shortly after the turn of the century BNSF Railway initiated a comprehensive leadership development program. Matt Rose, the CEO, spearheaded the effort. Among other things, the program provided an exceptional mentoring structure for emerging leaders across the company.

At the heart of this undertaking was what BNSF calls its Leadership Model. The model revolves around five principles:

  1. Lead More, Manage Less
  2. Cast a Compelling Vision
  3. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
  4. Model the Way
  5. Develop Your People

Over the past two decades BNSF has expanded and enhanced the elements of its leadership development system. But the Leadership Model remains at the core of the system. Any organization and any leader would profit from embracing the model's five principles.

This podcast examines these principles and how they interrelate. It also looks at how BNSF implemented the Leadership Model so that it became embedded in the corporate culture.