Making big decisions in glass offices is only one aspect of leadership. Sometimes it’s about grinningly juggling anarchy with a bit of bravery. Let me take Alex Pollock for example. His career has been more like a scribbled map than a straight line, full of forceful curves, challenging climbs, and, sometimes, deliberate leaps into the future.
Looking at Pollock’s early years, it is abundantly evident he never flinched away from difficulty. Pollock took over as president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago from a ship severely damaged by economic storms. Markets were changing as laws proliferated. He flourished rather than merely survived. His key is Adopting ambiguity. He won’t be frozen by a changing scene. Rather, Pollock has said of uncertainty “a chance to ask better questions and listen harder.” Leaders run the danger of ignoring this lesson.
When talking about his flexibility, one narrative jumps out. Colleagues remember his love of open-door brainstorming. Tuesdays became well-known for their “what’s next?” meetings driven by coffee. He appreciated all points of view, from top executives to internships. Half-joking, “If the cleaning staff spots a risk I missed,” Pollock once joked. “I want to know!” His method developed trust and bit at hierarchy.
Still, it was not entirely utopian thinking. Counts counted. Risk was something to be computed, not wished off. Pollock’s staff created scenario models faster than you could say “volatile rates” when the housing market shook. His practicality, balanced with hope, prevented panics. Workers realized the stakes, not just read another message.
The capacity of Pollock to combine perception with memory is maybe most telling. He commissioned “lessons learned” assessments even if the conclusions stung, not rewriting history after the fact. “You only make informed choices if you remember where you stubbed your toe,” he said to board members. That integrity permeated the core of the company.