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Luke Palen, president and co-owner of Spectro Alloys, on a facilitative style of leadership
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Luke Palen, president and co-owner of Spectro Alloys, once learned some key leadership lessons from two tarps and a rope, he tells listeners in this episode of Off the Record.
At an outdoor challenge experience in the Canadian backcountry just before his first year at St. John’s University, Palen’s Outward Bound group realized they didn’t have any tents among their gear — as the rain was beginning to fall.
“We had tarps and rope,” Palen says on the podcast. “We had to figure it out on our own. And it started raining harder and harder. Long story short, it was obviously a miserable first night.”
But the group worked together on the second night to overcome the tent challenge, which ultimately made the trip “a rewarding experience,” according to Palen.
Palen tells hosts Kathy Robideau, president and publisher of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and Dave Faust, president and CEO of Platinum Bank, the experience taught him about that “facilitative style” of leadership. “I try really hard to lead by sharing a vision and asking questions. And I try not to dictate how things go.”
This approach means “ultimately, you’re going to get a better result and more buy-in,” Palen says. “If somebody bought into a vision and it didn’t work, they’re bought in — they’re going to find a way to make it work. And that’s almost more important. In the same way that first night we all got wet in the tent, we found a better way to put the tarp up. Those small failures in business many times lead to even better successes.”
Listen to the episode to hear more about:
- Palen’s early roles with Spectro Alloys — a family business — and how those physically demanding manual jobs are now done by robots.
- How Palen knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur.
- An expert's view of aluminum’s amazing environmental properties and post-consumer opportunities.
- What visitors might see on a tour of Spectro Alloys.
Leaders like Palen understand the value of moving quickly and acting creatively, just like Platinum Bank. Learn more about business banking with a different kind of bank.
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