The "foundations of leadership" are unfortunately not instilled in all individuals. I believe some are more attuned to being a great listener or follower of rules, rather than a leader. To successfully lead a large group of people or an organization requires a great skill set. To successfully diversify your leadership position requires even a greater one. Besides the four foundations of leadership - power, vision, traits, and style; I believe one must attain competence/knowledge in the subject matter, un-biased point of views, as well as being an innovator of ideas.
As I mentioned earlier, it requires a very valuable skill set for one to successfully lead an organization in a profitable direction. I feel it is very difficult for that same individual to transfer their knowledge and innovation to a different field. For instance, an Account Executive in Advertising/Marketing requires creative, thoughtful media ideas for clients. Contrarily, a Managing Director on Wall Street requires creative, thoughtful ideas as well, however in the financial market. These two fields vary tremendously and it is extremely difficult for one to be a great leader in both these diverse categories. Basic business management skills are not sufficient to run a corporation effectively and positively. A leader requires expertise in the subject matter.
I feel the re-positioning of roles in an industry is extremely prominent in Banking. CEOs of employees of investment banks use their expertise of the subject and tend to transfer to multiple firms within their careers. This is portrayed in the role of Barclays' Group Finance director, Chris Lucas who was previously employed by PriceWaterHouseCoopers LLP prior to bringing his expertise in financial services of Barclays. "Chris joined the Board on 1 April 2007. Chris came from professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he was UK Head of Financial Services and Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets. Chris has worked across financial services for most of his career, including three years in New York as Head of the US Banking Audit Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP". [Barclays.com]
This is also very prominent among the fashion industry. Leaders in all positions in high end retail seem to be continuously using their skills of expertise in numerous corporations. Such as, Prada's previous CEO of North America only held the title for two years before taking his skills elsewhere. Prior to having control of the corporations decisions in North America, he was the CEO of the Italian high-end jewelry company, Bulgari. Recently however, the fashion house - The Row has hired Mr. Kress as their Chief Operating Officer of the company. "Kress has been at Prada since 2010, having previously served as the CEO and managing director of Bulgari. The selection of such a powerful player from a high-profile brand is a bold move for The Row" [HuffingtonPost.com]
Although, I am sure not all leaders in one organization are unsuccessful when transferring their expertise to a different industry, it is however more often the case. This is portrayed within Samsungs' CEO, Kun-Hee Lee whom was extremely successful within Samsung, but unfortunately lacked success within a different industry. "Samsung’s CEO Kun-Hee Lee was so successful with electronics that he thought he could repeat this success with automobiles. He invested $5 billion in an already over saturated auto market. Why? There was no business case. Lee simply loved cars and had dreamed of being in the auto business." [Forbes.com]
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/the-row-hires-prada-ceo_n_1234310.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/02/the-seven-habits-of-spectacularly-unsuccessful-executives/
While I agree that everyone is not a leader, I don’t believe that everyone does not have potential to be. I believe with the right motivation and commitment coupled with good skill and training, anyone can be an excellent leader.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is difficult to make a drastic career change because of a necessary fundamental knowledge that may be significantly different from such businesses as an accounting firm and management at Wall Street. That doesn’t make it impossible; rather it just requires a stronger commitment to learning and acquiring new knowledge. Leadership is a skill set used in conjunction with knowledge of the business.