Translator: Lirit Fuksman Reviewer: Denise RQ
My students and clients frequently ask me,
"What is a good, successful leader
who is always effective
and who leads his company to success
despite all hardships?"
I tried to answer this question for many years
because I worked in representing an international company,
I was a vice-president.
Presidents were expatriates who came and left
every 2-3 years.
I had the opportunity to see different styles of leadership
and even to access the effectiveness of each one of them.
But one leader, a woman named Ahuva Rozem changed my view
of what is an effective leader.
This woman was a truly superb professional.
No questions about that.
But the way how she worked with us, her colleagues
was worthy of respect and admiration.
This was the person who made us achieve:
less than in two years, we did more than previous leaders made in 10.
Only because we shared the same values.
She was ready to move us forward and say, "Thank you!"
But not only saying "Thank you" nicely, not only giving bonuses and awards.
This is, of course, important, but maybe not very important.
She could invite us home, to office, cook a lunch for us, her workers.
Come to office, bring an electric pan and make us pancakes,
while talking about our success, our happiness and our problems.
And after all that I started to think that maybe there are other criteria,
because we always imagined a leader:
he is right, he knows, he is the greatest.
Ans we, the subordinates, are somewhere there.
This formula doesn't work anymore.
It is impossible.
If you motivate your workers only by paying them a bigger or smaller salary,
carrot or stick approach-yes, great!
But if there is a crisis, and somewhere they are promised a little higher salary,
they will leave you.
They leave you easily.
Crisis is difficult, and we constantly live in crisis.
This is not a matter of economic, financial crisis.
We live in times of constant changes.
Each change leads to conflict. Conflict is a crisis.
How can you save a group of people around you
so it can remain through all the hardships of your company?
I looked for an answer for many years of my career,
I continue to look for it now.
I am happy that I encountered many ideas
that support my ideas on the subject.
So, what are the criteria for a successful leader?
When an organization becomes successful?
Of course, this is a good criteria.
But we know many examples when the leader leaves
and the organization disappears.
Then, maybe, the criterion is
productivity of your group?
Of those people who are around you?
When you obtain the results together.
This is, undoubtedly, important.
This is very important.
But how often the leader takes so much energy
out of you, the workers,
that after you get the result, you don't care anymore.
Not about the company, not about the group.
Because you are tired.
So maybe then you need good relationships
between you, the leader, and your workers?
Of course, this is important.
They are needed, because it is very important.
But there is a thin wall: friendship and familiarity.
So maybe it is the readiness your workers
to go after you not because you deserve it
but because, despite everything,
they share your values with you.
And here I would like to share with you the ideas of Ichak Adizes,
a great professor,
I am blessed to be able to learn from him.
The best guru in management talks about
how companies and people should behave,
what is important; the ideas, which I am talking about,
are about us as people, not only us as leaders.
In our world of constant changes
there is one thing we must never forget- to respect people around us.
But respect-is not only words.
Respect means to recognize the right of another human to have a different opinion.
And I think that this is our biggest problem,
the problem of us, the bosses.
When you are the boss, you think that you know everything, you are right and ideal.
You know how to operate the company.
So what the others can know?
But it is only when you start to understand respect like that,
you can make the right choices
and you can lead your people.
One more idea of Ichak Adizes:
it is better to hire an open-minded person
and then train him and teach him.
All of these hard skills, which I teach and which business-schools teach-
financing, marketing, strategies- it is, of course, important.
It is very important for business, for company.
But you can learn it all.
Instead, if you are not ready to open yourself and others,
if you are not ready to share this happiness,
you will not be a good leader for a long time.
You will solve short-term problems.
You will be successful in short-term goals but not forever.
Crisis will come, and your workers will leave.
Because hard skills are knowledge
which you can get from Internet or from books,
is only a cap of the iceberg.
The iceberg itself is emotional intelligence.
This is what we talk so little about.
Especially in our society.
We talk very little about feelings.
God, boss, and feelings?
Really?
But in reality this is the necessary part of becoming a successful leader,
always and forever.
Because now not only emotional intelligence matters
but also the cultural aspect.
We live in era of globalization.
The ability to recognize not only an opinion of other
but also the existence of different mentality and culture-
it is not that easy.
It is not easy, but if you try, it is possible.
I think that the path of successful leader
who can truly lead his company is easy.
First, you need to know yourself.
Until you don't know yourself: who are you? what are you? how are you?
What are your strengths?
What do you like?
And, most importantly, what are your values?
Until then, don't move forward.
You need to get to know other people.
And not only other people,
but also the world you live in.
You, your organization, your company,
because the context of your actions is very important.
Afterwards you need to create a group.
That group which will supplement you as a leader.
Group which will share you values.
It is very important, it needs to include everyone
and to induce respect.
Only then, when you have respect for your people, for your workers,
you can come to long-term success.
I want to say that working
under that kind of leadership is a blessing.
But, believe me, even a bigger blessing is to become that kind of leader.
And I truly wish that if sometime you would like
to become a leader, not necessarily in a company,
but in a small group, creative group
or even among your friends,
think about the importance
of knowing yourself
and not forgetting about others,
respecting others and recognizing their opinions.
We talked about that the whole evening.
And I hope that those ideas which you heard here
made you think about something: about yourself and about others.
Thank you.
(Applause)