James J. McGraw, Jr. says leadership is knowing when to participate and not delegate. ItÂ’s about stepping forward and not waiting to be asked. And itÂ’s about making your community a priority, in addition to your organization.
McGraw, a partner with the law firm Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL is also president and chief executive officer of KMK Consulting Company, LLC. As part of that role, McGraw has helped business leaders in more than 85 markets across the country plan and execute economic development strategies.
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Talk to people McGrawÂ’s worked with, and itÂ’s clear why heÂ’s successful. When it comes to leadership, McGraw practices what he preaches.
John Brabson, the chief executive officer of Lykes Insurance Company, got to know McGraw in the mid-90s, when Brabson was chairman of the Tampa Bay Partnership. In the mid-90s, Brabson says, Tampa BayÂ’s business community was not just literally divided by the bay, but also figuratively. BrabsonÂ’s charge was to unify the community through the Tampa Bay Partnership.
“We had competition between the two areas. We needed to bring it together and operate as a region, and have a common voice when we were trying to attract business,” he says. “You can do so much better if you do it together.”
Brabson, who at that time was CEO of Peoples Gas, said while the Tampa Bay Partnership had been formed using McGraw as the architect, it wasnÂ’t yet an established presence. He turned to McGraw for more help. Brabson says McGraw wasnÂ’t above doing the day-to-day heavy lifting in order to help the organizationÂ’s members develop its strategy and action plan.
“He was extremely helpful in helping set up the organization, keeping us on task, fund-raising, and developing the membership.”
But McGraw did more than that, Brabson says. McGraw made himself indispensable to the group, and as a result became part of Tampa BayÂ’s business community.
“He was willing to roll his sleeves up and work with us. He became part of the team, not just a hired consultant,” Brabson says. “Quite frankly, many people didn’t know he wasn’t from this area. That’s just the kind of demeanor he has.”
McGraw says he doesnÂ’t know any other way to operate.
“If you truly dedicate yourself to what you are doing, and the mission you are on, and you make yourself indispensable, then the group, company or community that you are working with embraces you totally as one of their own,” he says.
McGraw is critical of top-tier executives who sometimes delegate key responsibilities that require their personal attention. When a group of high-level executives commits to take on a challenge, McGraw says, that group is essentially agreeing that a certain level of expertise and experience is needed to be successful. If any one of those executives starts delegating, the effort wonÂ’t work.
“There is a gravitational pull,” McGraw says. “If one or two starts to delegate their personal role to a second- or third-level management team exec, it is very difficult to recapture the top-tier leadership. Others tend to follow and you end up with less than the top people. You’ve now created a formula that’s likely to fail, because the original plan was ‘we need the top-tier individuals.’ ”
McGraw is heavily invested locally. The organizations heÂ’s worked with at the professional and community level take up the better part of a page on his resume and include Agenda 360, the Athenaeum of Ohio, Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, and DePaul Cristo Rey High School.
HeÂ’s particularly proud of his work with the University of Notre DameÂ’s South Bend Executive MBA Program, which offers an off-campus classroom in Cincinnati.
Today, Cincinnati students meet at the Arden Education Facility in Blue Ash and interact with their South Bend colleagues through real-time, interactive video technology. In 2001, the first year of the program, Cincinnati students met at KMKÂ’s downtown offices.
McGraw, who has an accounting degree from Notre Dame, secured the space. He didnÂ’t wait to be asked for help when he learned that Notre Dame wanted to start an off-site MBA program in Cincinnati.
“As a student, I was really involved in the athletic program,” McGraw says. “As the years went on, I wanted to get involved again with the inner workings of the university. I was a business lawyer, I deal with a lot of guys with MBAs, and it felt natural to pursue it. I went out and grabbed this opportunity for Cincinnati, and thanks to the support from KMK, it worked out great for Notre Dame and our community, and it gave me a meaningful reconnection the university.”
In 2003, Notre DameÂ’s Executive Education Department in the Mendoza College of Business honored McGraw with its Distinguished Alumni Award, in large part for his efforts with the Executive MBA Program. The annual award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who demonstrates creativity in addressing business-related issues in addition to generosity with ideas, time and other resources.
“He was pivotal in our establishing a presence in Cincinnati,” says Sharon Keane, the director of executive education in the Mendoza College of Business. “He volunteered. Jim values it when people take on challenges without being asked, and he lives that kind of self-starting initiative. He will ask, ‘What can I do for you?’ even though as an executive, Jim isn’t short of things to do. His thoughtfulness and his offers of meaningful support say a lot about his character, the person he is, and the leader he is.”
Know when to participate and when to delegate. Don’t wait to be asked. Make your community your priority, not just your organization. These are McGraw’s keys to effective leadership. And when it comes to the last tenant – community involvement – McGraw is especially proud of this region.
He says the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation is a model for what can happen when top-tier executives contribute their time and energy to a common purpose.
And he happily points out that there are currently 802 local members of the United WayÂ’s Tocqueville Society, the second-highest in the country. Membership is granted annually to individuals who contribute at least $10,000 to a member United Way.
“One of my beliefs is that leadership requires a checkbook, and we’ve had tremendous financial investment in Cincinnati,” he says. “People are engaged, committed. I love to bring leadership from other cities here to inspire them.”
And if you donÂ’t have the money to contribute, McGraw says you still need to be involved.
“There are a plate full of opportunities within your profession and outside your profession,” he says. “We should always be searching for the best places where we can have the biggest relevance or biggest impact.”
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