MIT-Leadership from the Boardroom to the Classroom
There is no single style of successful leadership, saysJeffrey Shames, but in fact lots of good ways to approach the job. The key is understanding what type of leader you are. Shames cites six categories of leader described by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: the coercive leader (‘my way or the highway’); democratic leader (‘what do you think?’); the visionary; pacesetter; coach; and happy workplace shaper. Shames counts himself in the final category. He fell into management after being named the head of investment at an “old Boston Brahmin firm” at the callow age of 32. He had never managed anyone before, and was suddenly responsible for 100 people older than himself and for an area of the organization that generated 90% of its revenues. But, he says, “Most CEOs will tell you they learned the most when thrown into a situation they were unqualified for,” and it was true for Shames. He led the company from $100 million in revenues to $1.2 billion, and transformed MFS Investments into one of Fortune Magazine’s top 100 companies to work for. His advice to newly minted MBAs: lose your “negativity bias” and “spread confidence in an organization — communicate that people can accomplish anything.”
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