Challenge Yourself Frequently: Interview with Tom Finegan, Co-Founder and CEO of Clarkston Consulting

I recently went one on one with Tom Finegan. Tom is the co-founder and CEO of Clarkston Consulting and the author of Amplifiers: How Great Leaders Magnify the Power of Teams, Increase the Impact of Organizations.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your best advice. First things first, though, what do you hope readers take away from your new book?

Tom: Adam, first I’d like to say that I really appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit about my forthcoming book Amplifiers with your audience.  At the highest level, what I hope readers learn from my book is that the secret to sustained performance of great companies does not lie in their leadership capability alone, but in how they integrate leadership and followership. Leadership and followership are not two different ends of a spectrum, but are on two separate vectors entirely.  It’s my view that at the intersection of leadership and followership is an Amplifier. Amplifiers are the engine that makes companies really perform well. There are far more followers in companies than leaders, and it is the followers who carry out a leader’s mission, through the engagement of teams. Most times, Amplifiers have the ability to augment the leader’s message and intent, thereby improving the ultimate outcome for the business. Amplifiers increase the power of teams and magnify corporate performance in a way that “titled executives” cannot.  Like electricity needs both AC and DC current, true leadership needs both leadership and followership.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Tom: The most effective leaders combine elements of followership in their approach, which in fact, enhances their ability to lead. Effective leaders have the ability to do talent scouting within their organization to identify and tap the essential, exemplary followers throughout the organization. Effective leaders have the ability to empower and leverage followers to get work done and amplify their strategy throughout the organization. The best leaders put their followers, and the greater purpose of the organization first, subordinating their own personal agenda in lieu of the greater good.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Tom: Most leaders believe that their leadership is about them. Paradoxically, leadership is defined by their followers, not the other way around. As John Hope Bryant, founder and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE and one of the amplifiers profiled in my book shared with me, if you think you are a leader and you turn around and nobody is following you, you’re just a guy out for a walk. Aspiring leaders need to realize that honing their followership skills can prepare them to be successful in leadership roles and in their ability to influence others.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Tom: First, just because you sit atop your organization, that doesn’t mean you are a leader. Challenge yourself frequently to discern if people are following you because you’re the boss or because you are actually leading them. Second, stay true to the greater purpose of the organization you are leading and subordinate your personal needs to that of your employees and your company. Most people can’t follow a selfish leader.  And, lastly, find out what makes great followers if your organization and adjust performance ratings system to identify these exemplary followers.  Leadership development efforts should incorporate followership training in order for it to be effective.  Talent scout your followers and build a followership development program with as much effort as you do a leadership development program.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Tom: As someone who has founded several businesses and has been an early investor in a great deal more, I have found that growing and scaling a business is all about finding and empowering the human capital and making sure you have the right talent in place. Many companies mistakenly focus their efforts solely on the talent in leadership roles. Scaling effectively means layering effective talent throughout the organization, and scouting out and developing Amplifiers is the best place to start.  

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing and branding? 

Tom: You can apply the core concept of Amplifiers to any function, including sales, marketing and branding activities. Just as titled executives put their needs ahead of the organization to their detriment, companies that focus on their own side of the sales process often miss the mark on how they are perceived by their buyers or target audience.  When companies take a service-oriented approach to sales, they are more effective, especially as buyers prefer to work with people that they trust have their best interest in mind.  The buyer’s buying cycle should be more important than the sales cycle. Business value and the business case is more important than function or feature that you are selling.  

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Tom: My favorite piece of advice was, “God gave you two eyes, two ears, and one mouth for a reason. You should observe and listen twice as much as you talk.” I think of this advice often because listening is a fundamental trait of a true amplifier. True amplifiers are people who are contribution seekers, have an ability to set new standards of excellence, and have the ability to speak truth to power but to be able to do all of these things you need to be open to new ideas and to listen more than you speak.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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