What Does It Take To Be A LEADer?
LEAD: The One Mandated Course at the GSB - What is it All About?
Selorm Klaye, '08
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Admit Weekend
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Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a successful CEO? Of course one could simply set up one's own company, appoint oneself CEO, and declare oneself successful. I suspect however that most of you reading this article have ambitions that extend beyond a one-man band. I'm talking about the oceanic expanse of assets, people, products, services, competitors, regulations, decisions, and factors that characterize today's multimillion-dollar enterprise. Have you ever wondered what it takes to navigate these fluid, unpredictable and sometimes very stormy waters.
One might postulate that success depends on how clever a person is. Research however shows that as you get higher up the corporate ladder into upper management, your job becomes less about your spreadsheet skills and technical ability, and more about how good you are at motivating people and influencing outcomes. Put another way, as one's success becomes more dependent on the performance of others, so the need grows to leverage those unique set of skills and qualities otherwise known as leadership.
That is not to say that technical ability is not success factor - on the contrary it is very much so. And the discipline-based approach to learning at the GSB alludes to and emphasizes this. Fortunately, here at the GSB there is a focus on complementing such technical learning with developing effective leadership qualities.
And the rewards of well developed leadership skills are not only limited to the upper echelons of business. Indeed they span all levels of the corporate ladder. From the fresh associate benefiting from some well-executed 'upward management'; to the senior manager who has to deal with investors, clients, press, and technical crises; and finally to the CEO; the ability to inspire, motivate and influence people and situations is critical. It becomes even more vital in instances when one has no direct control over those people or situations. Such circumstances call for good to great leadership, and this is where LEAD comes in!
One might postulate that success depends on how clever a person is. Research however shows that as you get higher up the corporate ladder into upper management, your job becomes less about your spreadsheet skills and technical ability, and more about how good you are at motivating people and influencing outcomes. Put another way, as one's success becomes more dependent on the performance of others, so the need grows to leverage those unique set of skills and qualities otherwise known as leadership.
That is not to say that technical ability is not success factor - on the contrary it is very much so. And the discipline-based approach to learning at the GSB alludes to and emphasizes this. Fortunately, here at the GSB there is a focus on complementing such technical learning with developing effective leadership qualities.
And the rewards of well developed leadership skills are not only limited to the upper echelons of business. Indeed they span all levels of the corporate ladder. From the fresh associate benefiting from some well-executed 'upward management'; to the senior manager who has to deal with investors, clients, press, and technical crises; and finally to the CEO; the ability to inspire, motivate and influence people and situations is critical. It becomes even more vital in instances when one has no direct control over those people or situations. Such circumstances call for good to great leadership, and this is where LEAD comes in!
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