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The Qualities of a Leader
Moglia was accepted into Merrill Lynch’s prestigious training program. “There were 26 of us: 25 MBAs and one football coach.” Within three years of graduating from the program, Moglia was the company’s top producer. Seventeen years later, he was named CEO of Ameritrade, one of the world’s largest online discount brokerage firms.
Moglia attributes much of his success to his coaching experience. Both jobs are about how well you handle yourself under stress. (In fact, he says, “I’ve not had a job that’s been as stressful as being a coach in season.”) Both are about being able to put together a cohesive strategy that a team can execute against competitors. And both require an ability to “get inside the hearts and minds of your people, having them pull together for a common cause.”
Moglia remains surprisingly modest about his accomplishments. He’s proven Robert L. Dilenschneider’s assertion, in the new book Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed, that it’s possible to be decent and humble and still win in a competitive world.
In both football and business, Joe Moglia found what he loved to do and was good at. “And you know what?” he says. “Success doesn’t get much more complicated than that.”
Getting Ahead with Joe Moglia
What do you value most in an employee?
I want the employees who want to be at TD Ameritrade because they believe in our mission—to help the typical family achieve their financial goals. The average family spends more time planning a vacation than managing their finances. It’s our job to help that family. So I look for the person who believes that’s important, who has an aptitude for it and a passion for wanting to make a difference.
What inspires you?
Competition. I have a pathological need to make sure that I can be the best I can be. And if I’m responsible for others, I have to make sure that my team is the best it can be.
What most impresses you about a person?
Their integrity and ability to laugh and smile and enjoy life. If they’re also adult enough to accept responsibility and do what they believe is right, that’s a wonderful human being.
Are people born leaders?
I think that someone may be born with the potential to be a leader, but a real leader develops over time. They’ve got to be able to go through very, very difficult times—a tough market cycle, the team losing out to a competitor—and come out stronger, better, more effective. Just because somebody happens to have an executive job or title doesn’t make that person a leader.
What’s the most overlooked secret to success?
The evaluation of how well you did when things were not going well.
What are the rules you live by?
First, peace of mind. Knowing yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, doing something you’re good at and that you believe matters. Second, work as hard as you can to be the very best that you can be. Third, have the guts to do what you believe to be right, regardless of the ramifications. And the final thing is the concept of love—to be able to sacrifice for the betterment of others. People who try to live up to these qualities are almost always incredibly happy, incredibly productive and have a far greater impact on the people around them.
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