business leadership

Business Leadership

Mike Otis, CEBS, SPHR

Employee Benefits3770 Beardshear Hall

Human Resource Services

Leadership

Key Words??



Which individuals do you identify as great business leaders??



Leadership Exercise



So, what make a leader successful and why?



1. Steve Jobs 2. Bill Gates 3. Richard Branson 4. Sam Walton 5. Warren Buffet6. Sergey Brin7. Jack Welch



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




America’s Largest Corporations

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/snapshots/2255.html










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




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



Bottom-up Approach to Leadership(Inverted Pyramid)



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.



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)



http://www.powerpassion.nl/tattoo-and-body-piercing/tattoo-photos/motorcycle/harley



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!)



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?





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)



Are leaders justified in breaking the rules?

Defining Business Leader of the Future



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



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




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




Traditional Leader

• Focuses on tasks, products, technical skills

• Linear, analytical thinking

Contemporary Leader

• Focuses on processes, people

• Non-linear, holistic thinking




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




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




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?



business leadership

Documents

great business leaders

loss great leaders

leader successful

leadership needs

general motors richard

richard branson

leadership branding

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