Business Leadership
Mike Otis, CEBS, SPHR
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Leadership
Key Words??
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Which individuals do you identify as great business leaders??
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Leadership Exercise
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So, what make a leader successful and why?
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1. Steve Jobs 2. Bill Gates 3. Richard Branson 4. Sam Walton 5. Warren Buffet6. Sergey Brin7. Jack Welch
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Source: Fortune Magazine
Know these leaders?
1. Wal-Mart Stores 2. Exxon Mobil 3. Chevron 4. General Motors 5. ConocoPhillips 6. General Electric 7. Ford Motor 8. Citigroup 9. Bank of America 10. AT&T
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Source: Fortune Magazine
America’s Largest Corporations
1. Wal-Mart Stores Michael T Duke2. Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson3. Chevron David O’Reilly4. General Motors Richard Wagoner (oops – not now!)5. ConocoPhillips James Mulva6. General Electric Jeffrey Immelt7. Ford Motor William Clay Ford8. Citigroup Vikrim Pandit9. Bank of America Kenneth Lewis10. AT&T Randall Stephenson
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Source: Fortune Magazine
America’s Largest Corporations
What make a leader successful?
Leadership Branding• Having a cause
• Communicating the cause•Rallying people around the cause
• Celebrating the cause
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Bottom-up Approach to Leadership(Inverted Pyramid)
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Tell the truth Respect the Individual
Be Fair Keep Your Promises
Encourage Intellectual Curiosity
Bedrock
Organizational Fundamentals
Stakeholders
Quality Participation Productivity Flexibility Cash-flow
Employees Investors Customers Suppliers Government Society
All Change Involves Loss - Great Leaders are Resilient
Those who succeed in times of major change (chaos) manage to turn the situation inside out and find some
personal advantage in it.
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Leaders Live the Behavior to Sell the Message
“If a leader doesn’t change his/her behavior, they will get compliance. Compliance is
easy. It’s the commitment they won’t get.” (Richard Teerlink)
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What role does ethics play in business (or politics, or your personal life)?
• Dennis Kozlowski• Kenneth Lay • Joseph Nacchio • Robert Nardelli• Angelo Mozillo• Bernie Madoff• (and we won’t get into political figures!)
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What Happened to These Leaders?
Ethics is a slippery slope •The issue - How important are the consequences in the short-term? Long-term?• Leadership Needs – Are the leader’s needs, or the needs of those higher up, preventing the full understanding of the reality of the issue?• Harm – Is the situation harmful or dangerous to others? Could the outcome damage the reputation of the organization, customers, or the leader?• Outside-In Perspective – If I am the leader and someone else came to me with this issue, how would I advise him/her to handle it?• The Test of Time – Will the action taken stand the test of time? Will the leader be glad they took action (or no action) in the next 6 months, next year, etc.• The Court of Public Opinion – Would the leader be comfortable with the decision if it becomes public knowledge?
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Is There a Balance?
ETHICS
LEADERSHIP
Tension
• When?• For what purpose?• Can acting for the benefit of others still be immoral and
unjustifiable? • Do we forgive unethical actions done for our benefit?• Are we willing to sacrifice rules or morality as long as
leaders “get the job done?”• Do we find ourselves (society) creating more rules/laws
to manage leadership behavior? (Ex: Sarbanes Oxley)
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Are leaders justified in breaking the rules?
Defining Business Leader of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Makes all major decisions; solves team problems; acts as expert
• Controls work flow; responsible for work group’s results
Contemporary Leader
• Shares responsibility with team members; helps team solve problems
• Promotes self-management, responsibility, accountability, and ethical behavior as well as ownership of tasks/processes
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Lays down the rules
• Avoids risk
Contemporary Leader
• Articulates and rallies troops around a vision and set of values – promotes taking ethical approaches to business dealings
• Takes “calculated” risks
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Seeks to eliminate conflict
• Reactive; resists change
Contemporary Leader
• Sees conflict as an opportunity for synergy and enriched decision-making
• Proactive; initiates change; embraces change as necessary for organizational survival
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Focuses on tasks, products, technical skills
• Linear, analytical thinking
Contemporary Leader
• Focuses on processes, people
• Non-linear, holistic thinking
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Seeks functional, specialized expertise
• Concerned only about own area of responsibility
Contemporary Leader
• Seeks cross-functional, cross-cultural expertise
• Concerned about total organization; tries to be good partner with other groups within company
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Fiercely competitive
• Concerned primarily with domestic operations
Contemporary Leader
• Fiercely competitive, but must often partner with competitors, vendors, customers
• Prepared to think on larger, global scale
Defining Business Leaders of the Future
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Traditional Leader
• Thinks of people as interchangeable resources
• Puts organization’s needs before employee’s needs
Contemporary Leader
• Thinks of people as organization’s most valuable resource, knows they are difficult to replace
• Seeks a balance between organization’s and employees’ needs
Questions?
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