Let’s draw on George E. Yund’s background for a minute.
After years representing employers in labor and employment law, after years of extensive experience in litigation over those same matters, after years working with unions on negotiation and arbitration, Yund has tucked away a few lessons on leadership that he has been able to reference while guiding Frost Brown Todd LLC.
Take, for instance, the employees who are considering unionizing. Yund’s experience shows that his clients who win union elections aren’t going through the process because they necessarily want better pay or benefits. They think about unionizing because of leadership.
“Supervisors who are trusted are consistent in what they expect of their employees,” Yund says. “It’s the supervisor who is a bully or is inconsistent or can’t be trusted who causes people to think that they need a union, not better pay and better benefits. Whether it’s people deciding to unionize or leave and go elsewhere, I think it’s because of good supervision — people are in positions of authority at the company who they can trust, people who are consistent in saying one thing and meaning it, not saying one thing and doing another.”
What does this have to do with how Yund leads his 925 employees as the firm’s managing member? Well, first of all, it’s a lesson in how to retain quality employees and it’s a lesson in the importance of good leadership.
Consistency and trust are also wound into the keys Yund sees as essentials to being a good leader.
Here’s how Yund uses the fundamentals of leadership to guide his employees.
