Leadership as the 'Norm, not the Exception'

Today’s reading is an article from the May 11, 2011 issue of Knowledge@Wharton – “Leadership as the ‘Norm, not the Exception’” <http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2771>, a report on a speech at Wharton by Barry Salzberg, who became global CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited on June 1, 2011.

In his remarks, Salzberg identified ten leadership lessons for the next generation of leaders:

1.  Leadership, today, needs to be “flat.”  Gone is the day of command and control.  Gone are the dinosaur-like structures that are slow and lumbering.

2.  The future is about exceptional teams and the leaders within those teams who can out-maneuver, out-manage, and out-innovate the competition.

3.  The leader builds a supportive environment where everyone is expected to contribute.

4.  Organizations need to be structured so people can move up, down, and sideways to meet personal needs without destroying their career.

5.  Leaders, and leadership, are required at all levels of the organization.

6.  The leader creates an environment where people can disagree with the boss and experience NO negative consequences.

7.  Leaders must be transparent.

8.  Leaders don’t like surprises, even good ones.

9.  “No ostriches, no elephants.”  “No burying your head in the sand if there’s a problem, and no ignoring the elephant in the room.”

10.  You need a mentor.  Leaders learn best from other leaders.

Lot of good advice here to think about and act on.   .   .   .    jim