Q and As on Leading Without a Title

Q1. You advise the big players of this world on Leadership. What do you teach them first and foremost?

I advise them that the old model of leadership is dead. Look at Wall Street firms that have crumbled, organizations that have fallen and CEOs who were once revered, who have now lost face. The new model of leadership is all about Leading Without a Title. That doesn't mean that titles and positions no longer matter. It simply means that any business that really wants to win in a time of dramatic disruption needs to build the leadership capability of every employee, at all levels. This is Leadership 2.0. and organizations that don't make the leap will end up obsolete.


Q2. Could your teaching also apply to the bosses of small and medium-sized companies?


Absolutely. The game changing idea that the #1 competitive advantage in this time of radical change is building leaders at all levels not only applies to our FORTUNE 500 clients like Microsoft, GE and NIKE but to any business in the marketplace today. In my book "The Leader Who Had No Title" I distill exactly what the best businesspeople and organizations are doing that most don't. These tactics include daily innovation, creating a base of fanatical followers who are your customers, building a Leadership Culture and the importance of transparency.

Q3. What characterizes a leader?


There isn't just one thing that makes an exceptional leader - just like there isn't just one thing that made Mozart exceptional or Picasso great. The best leaders have a bias towards innovation, are ruthlessly focused on just a few things, have remarkable capacity to attract superb talent, have strong resilience in the face of turbulence and are often radically optimistic (while being wildly practical).

Q4. Is management a kind of vocation?


Management is obsolete. Any company that is serious about winning (or even staying alive) should stop thinking about management and start obsessing about leadership - especially the imperative of every employee Leading Without a Title. Just imagine a company where every single employee worked like Roger Federer plays tennis. That's what the whole Lead Without a Title philosophy is about.

Q5. Can we learn what it is necessary to become a good leader?


Absolutely. Exceptional leadership isn't born - it's built. The best leaders have trained and practiced their craft. That's good news for anyone in business today: all that stands between you and world-class is learning the science of leadership and then practicing it every day to mastery.

Q6. Did the economic crisis change the expectations of companies towards leaders?


Of course. Given the behaviors of so many once-respected leaders, stakeholders are now demanding only the highest standards of performance, transparency and ethics of their leaders. In The Leader Who Had No Title, I write: "it could take you 20 years to build a great reputation and 20 seconds to lose it - in one act of bad judgment."

Q7. Which are, according to you, the new important criteria for a Leader?

1.

Leave our egos at the front door and do brilliant work - that adds remarkable value for your customers.


2. Build a phenomenally great team. A mediocre team results in a mediocre company.


3. Innovate and disrupt the way you think and perform daily in hot pursuit of something even better.


4. Build deep relationships.


5. Be authentic and transparent. Winning companies show they are the real deal and live their brand.