25 Most Influential - Interview with Michael Useem, Professor or Management, Wharton
Friday, October 03, 2003SUSIE GHARIB, NBR ANCHOR: Nightly Business Report will soon mark its 25th year on public television, and to celebrate that distinction we have joined with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to select the most influential business persons of the past 25 years. Our viewers submitted over 700 nominations. Now a panel of Wharton judges will make the final selection, which we will announce early next year. Joining me now to discuss leadership, one of the key elements of the selection criteria, is Michael Useem, professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School. Hi, Mike, nice to have you on the program.
MICHAEL USEEM, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, WHARTON: Hello, Susie. Thanks for having me here.
GHARIB: Well, it's a very interesting time to talk about leadership, given the period that we've gone through with so many corporate scandals and corporate America, disappointments with leadership. Tell us what you think are the key characteristics of being a good leader?
USEEM: Well, Susie, it's helpful to distinguish I think between the universals, those capacities we need pretty much for all times, all companies, maybe all countries. I would just mention three there from those that we need especially now. But to get to the universals first, I think we need to be strategic in thought, persuasive in communication, and decisive in action. And just to put a name with each of those to embed it in people whose careers we have followed, on the strategic and thought, Lou Gerstner's turnaround of IBM (IBM) comes to mind, persuasive in communication, Carly Fiorina of HP (HPQ), especially in her struggle to merge with Compaq. I think we know that story pretty well. She was persuasive indeed. And when it comes to decisive in action, I think we only have to go to Larry Bossidy of Honeywell (HON) Allied Signal and he of course literally has written the book on execution.
GHARIB: Let me toss out a couple of other attributes that when we often hear of when we talk about leaders. Creativity, vision, what do you say about things like that?
USEEM: We need a lot of creativity; we need a lot of vision. And would I probably put that in this broader terrain of strategic in thought. Need to see around corners, got to be a visionary of looking five years ahead, have to transcend the present, look to the future, and then of course bring it back to the present. Leaders look to the future and bring the future to the present, helping people understand what they have to do now to get to where they do want to be in the market three to five years out.
GHARIB: Can you be a leader and maybe not be an expert in your field, maybe not be a master, so to speak?
USEEM: You need to be a fast study, and just thinking about Lou Gersner, for example, he did come from RJR (RJR) Nabisco, a food and tobacco maker, to take over at IBM. In a sense, couldn't be more different in the kind of products they made. But through examination of what he was making, what his company was responsible for at IBM as he took the helm there, he in time did master the essence of the content of the products. But of course above all, he needs to be able to animate people, get them focused on an objective, and he certainly brought that. So we need the technical content, don't have to have that necessarily by background. We do need to get it once we arrive in a new position.
GHARIB: Let me go back to what I asked you right from the outset about the whole issue of disappointment of leadership because of the scandals. I mean, to what extent, character and ethics, are they important criteria to have?
USEEM: Well, that gets to this maybe other category of leadership capacities, elements that we really need now didn't maybe think about these as being so paramount five or, say, 15 years ago. Character and integrity right there at the top of the list now for obvious reasons. And just to associate a name or two there, as we think about Warren Buffett and the policies and principles he's followed. Bill George who had headed Medtronic (MDT) for 10 years, he's also written the book on this topic. So character and integrity, I'd put that there now right in with persuasive communications, strategic in thought and decisive action.
GHARIB: All right, a lot of things I'm sure we could keep on talking about this. But you have got us started off on the right food. Thank you very much, Mike, we appreciate you coming on the program.
USEEM: All right, Susie, thank you.
