Ken Chenault over leiderschap

Ken Chenault

Per toeval kwam ik weer een artikel tegen over de voormalige CEO van American Express Ken Chenault. Het bijzondere voor mij is dat hij een van de weinige zwarte managers was van een groot Amerikaans bedrijf. Maar zijn etnische achtergrond valt volledig weg bij zijn visie over leiderschap en hoe je zaken zou kunnen benaderen. Daarom een paar quotes en twee van zijn interviews op YouTube.

Quotes

"The role of a leader is to define reality and give hope. It's a simple definition of leadership, but in every situation it's sometimes difficult to define reality. Because you have a lot of perspectives of what reality is. And you sometimes have to do deep analysis to understand the reality and the questions that don't seem to be answered. Stepping back and leaning forward is critical.

A leader must have the ability to connect the dots. How do thinks interrelate, what are the connections. What are the relevant value drivers for your business. Awareness about what is going on in the world and what are the trends. And you should constantly be saying: what does this development mean for my business and my customers. Because at the end of the day if you want to be market leader and innovate you have come to conclusions that most people don’t. Most people don’t because they take a conventional view on what they are working on."

The concept of constructive confrontation and the role of mentors.

Other people can give you a different perspective. They can't give you a brilliant idea, but they can give you a different way of thinking about an issue that helps you come up with that idea. You may be approaching an issue in one way, but someone can say: this is a different way of approaching it."

Video's