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FOR ME, THE DEFINITION OF A LEADER IS BEING ABLE TO REACH SOMEONE IN A POSITIVE WAY. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF LEADERS IN THE WORLD, FROM SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TO TEACHERS.
The plan was certainly ambitious. Polman’s aim was to double the size of the business while halving its environmental impact by 2020. So far, it’s working. Sales are up – 3.6% year-on-year in the fi rst quarter of 2014 – and Unilever is meeting its green targets. The company has reduced waste by 66% per tonne of production compared to 2008, and by the end of 2013 it responsibly sourced 48% of raw agricultural materials, up from 10% four years ago.
One of the unexpected consequences of this transformation is that Unilever has become one of the world’s most sought-after employers – it is now the third most-searched-for company on LinkedIn globally, after Google and Apple.
KPMG caught up with Polman in Unilever’s famous HQ in London’s Blackfriars, looking out across the Thames. After 35 years in the FMCG sector – he held senior posts at Procter & Gamble and Nestlé before being asked to lead Unilever – he has the kind of experience needed to initiate cultural and strategic change at a US$68.6bn revenue business which derives 57% of its sales from emerging markets. Yet he brings his own particular worldview to the task. He addresses such august bodies as the United Nations General Assembly on issues such as poverty, biodiversity and the environment – concerns he feels businesses cannot afford to ignore.
You have pushed through massive changes in a short time at Unilever. What are the secrets of good leadership?
I don’t believe in any of these ‘10 tips for leadership’ or ‘how to be a leader in fi ve minutes’. It’s about being yourself and being human. For me, the defi nition of a leader is being able to reach someone in a positive way. There are millions of leaders in the world, from social entrepreneurs to teachers. People talk about certain qualities being inherent in leaders, such as having an introvert or an extrovert personality, or being a good communicator, but they are not that important.
You don’t need to be a good communicator: it helps, but it’s not essential. If you are a sincere and honest communicator, people will notice. And if you are an introvert, it makes it a bit harder – but if you have integrity, a great sense of purpose and mission, it doesn’t matter. Fundamentally, leadership is about authenticity, integrity, values and purpose. Too much emphasis is put on those other things.
© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
UNILEVER
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