Blog
Neither heroes nor villians, just people.
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010In response to a question posed to me by the Washington Post’s On Leadership Web series, “Where have all the CEO heroes gone?” I responded first with, “The answer lies in part in the question.” For too long now we have glorified CEOs as evidenced by the increasing wealth, power, visibility, and celebrity that we have accorded to the select group of individuals holding the title. Do CEOs have a tremendous amount of responsibility? Absolutely! Do they shoulder an inordinate burden for the lives and livelihood of their employees? Of course! Can they influence the financial, political, and emotional tenor of a nation with their decisions and actions? Clearly! Yet they are still human beings, as imperfect and subject to mistakes and wrongdoing as any of us. Our expectations of CEOs are clearly out of whack. We expect them to live up to impossible standards and are then disappointed, and at times downright angry, when they do not.
Granted, the outrageous acts of indiscretion and impropriety that we witnessed throughout much of this decade are inexcusable. But just as it is inappropriate to say that those CEOs were merely heroes who fell from grace, it is equally inappropriate to suggest that the men and women who are admirably leading corporations are heroes. They are not. (more…)
Preparing the Future: Executive Development for Emerging Women Leaders
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
In October 2010 the Darden Business School will offer a new open-enrollment executive education program called Women Emerging in Leadership. The program has been, shall we say, “in the making” for at least the past decade, and on several occasions during that time period small groups of faculty convened to discuss the possibility and the need for such a program. In the end it was never brought to fruition - until now. I am pleased to not only be heading this new initiative but to be working with an adroit group of faculty colleagues to bring it to life.
Women Emerging in Leadership is designed primarily by women and specifically for women who have or will soon be crossing the threshold into significant positions of leadership. Its goal is to enhance women’s skill set in critical areas that will allow them to be even more effective as they continue to assume increasing positions of power and influence in their organizations. In doing so, not only will they increase the likelihood of their own personal career advancement, but will be better positioned to contribute to the successful performance of their organizations. In the end, both the individual participant and her respective organization will be primed for becoming more competitive. (more…)
The First, The Only…
Thursday, July 1st, 2010Today the U.S. senate will continue the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan. Should Kagan be appointed to the high court it will mark only the fourth time in this country’s history that a woman will be appointed to the Court, and will mark the first time that the Court will simultaneously hold three women judges, representing a third of the Court. This fairly dramatic shift in the demographic make-up of the Court comes on the heels of a number of remarkable accomplishments by women in the public and private sector, including the 15 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Interestingly at least two of those former CEOs, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are poised to enter the public sector themselves as they run for governor and senator, respectively, in California. Regardless of one’s political affiliation, their success, and the success of other women leaders is a cause for celebration! At the same time I am deeply saddened by the fact that we are still at the point where there is a need to call attention to women’s success. That, in and of itself, implies that the achievements of talented women are an anomaly. (more…)
Race to the bottom? Hayward vs Obama
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010As the Washington Post posed the question about who has been least effective in handling the Gulf Coast oil spill, I say It really does not matter whether President Obama or BP CEO Tony Hayward has been the least effective. What matters is that we need both men to demonstrate excellent leadership during this crisis, and unfortunately both have fallen short in that regard. Crises are marked by time constraints, ambiguity, remarkably unusual circumstances, limited or conflicting information, and a need for immediate and decisive action; not to mention anxious stakeholders, naïve observers, and aggressive media who all want information and answers. Given these pressures, the demands of a leader in crisis can be unique and require a different set of abilities than what would typically be expected during non-crisis times. Both President Obama and Mr. Hayward have demonstrated capability in non-crisis situations, but as evidenced by their performance to date, it does not appear that either of them has what it takes to lead under the intense pressure and scrutiny that crises pose.
But, for all the criticism that Obama has received over his lack of emotion over the spill and his inability to stop the flow of oil, let’s keep in mind two things: (more…)
Reality TV no replacement for compassion
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010BP has made numerous missteps in the 5 weeks since the initial explosion that resulted in the massive oil spill. Transparency, or more accurately the perception of inadequate transparency, is one of those missteps. Early on executives from BP and Transocean bungled responses to reporters and others regarding the cause and severity of the explosion and subsequent spill, leaving the public to speculate on both accounts. In the absence of meaningful communication from the sources that are privy to what is happening (in this case BP and Transocean), speculation inevitably led to inaccuracies and exacerbated the blaming game. Lack of transparency also leads to the assumption that the companies are not doing enough, or enough of the right things, to stop the flow of oil. So their communication and strategy up to this point has been fairly dismal.
Generally speaking transparency during a crisis is a good thing—regardless of how ugly the truth is. I do not know what motivated the decision to put the ‘spillcam’ on live feed. Perhaps it was an attempt to change course and become more transparent; or perhaps there were other motivations. Without knowing what prompted this decision I think it may be a stretch to say that the on-going live ‘spillcam’ feed is actually a strategy. Rather it comes across as merely a tactic to try to reclaim some of BP’s reputation by allowing the public to see the top kill maneuver. Doing so merely gives the illusion that they are being more transparent.
Transparency comes in two forms: (more…)