4Es of and 6 Rules for Successful Leadership

“The day you become a leader, it becomes about them. Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a can of fertilizer in the other hand. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. It’s about building these people. Only you will know the team,” said Welch.

Business + Strategic Competencies = LEADERSHIP

The New Era of Capitalism??

Over 100 years ago, a Scottish businessman, James Wilson, once pointed out that a melancholy reflection “while wealth and capital have been rapidly increasing” and science and art “working the most surprising miracles”, all classes of people were marked “by characters of uncertainty and insecurity”. Wilson’s solution was freedom. He committed his venture to the struggle not just against the protectionist corn laws but against attempts to raise up “barriers to intercourse, jealousies, animosities and heartburnings between individuals and classes in this country, and again between this country and all others.”

The U.S. government has invested over $250 billion into its banks to save this country from going deeper into “depression.” Other governments in Europe, Asia, and Australia are re-regulating their financial systems to prevent this crisis from escalating further or occurring again on same or similar terms. Over the past 100+ years, capitalism has been beneficial for billions of citizens worldwide. The parts of the world where it has done extremely well have prospered; the parts where it has shrunk have suffered. Capitalism has always created crises, and always will due to the leadership style and the above mentioned variables i.e. jealousies, animosities, etc. The world should use the latest financial crisis, devastating though it is, to learn how to manage it better. Sadly another lesson of history will only be talked about for decades unless our leaders step up and lead by example – but what example??

The Race Is On...

On Sunday, Porsche Automobil Holding SE announced it had 74.1% stake in Volkswagen AG and leaving it just 0.9% short of the 75% level needed to log Volkswagen's revenues and assets in its own books. Porsche vowed to continue with its aggressive move to reach the 75% in 2009 and achieve a “domination agreement” despite the disagreement between its family owners who are indecisive whether or not to support such a move. VW’s leadership continued to welcome Porsche’s investment while the VW’s labor unions “fiercely oppose” Porsche efforts because they see a great deal of threat to workers’ rights. I will continue to follow this development and I am excited to find out what is VW’s priority: 1.) Provide adequate levels of leadership and ensure that employee’s right will be guaranteed and will remain the same, if not better or 2.) Ensure maximum profits through any mean and allow the executive board to continue to receive gigantic paychecks. The race is on between the VW Golf GT and the Porsche GT…TBD who the real winner is…

CEOs agree to Pay Cuts

This is probably one of the toughest downturns in economy since the Great Depression. During the times of uncertainty, executives are acknowledging the difficult circumstances their employees are facing and agreeing to pay cuts if their organizations are not performing based on shareholder expectations. For example, Russ Smyth, chief executive of H&R Block Inc. agreed to a pay cut if the company was to hit bad times. Russ says he accepted the new contract provision because “I believe in leadership by example.” Correspondingly, David Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways Corp. and the CEO of First American Corp. also cut their pay. These contract provisions are not very popular among many executives but the number is steadily increasing. Currently, some agree to such contracts while others abandon them.

Managing Change through Innovation – A New Opportunity?

In the beginning of the semester, Dr. Kelley, our HR Leadership professor asked the entire class to participate in HR leadership blogging. I know I am a little late for this introduction but it’s never too late to blog. So let me assure you and express my sincerest interests and desires to keeping up with this blog because I see a lot of values in doing so. However, as you may have noticed, I already missed a blog past Saturday. Not that I am seeking any excuses but I really had to study for my HR in the Global Environment midterm. I’ll make it up…promise :-)

This week has been one of the most challenging weeks in my professional career as I was informed that my position is directly affected by the downturn in economy and that my position is being eliminated effective October 31 leaving me with a two-week advanced notice to look and find another job. What would be your initial reaction? What would you do as a leader? I decided to stay calm and use my professional network of colleagues, classmates, HR societies and LinkedIn. I think I start networking harder than ever before in my life but I knew that with every organizational change and challenge there would be another great opportunity – just need to be patient. Sometimes being patient is easier said than done but the time has come to challenge my competencies in the area of “dealing with ambiguity and composure.” While I should probably still be freaking out about this situation, I decided to take it with ease and write this blog. Wish me luck in my job search and I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the outcome…