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For younger managers, Brown says team building, effective
mentoring and networking are crucial. And he says today
The leadership
executives need to think beyond traditional borders.
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“In my view LINOs don’t really want your For younger managers, Brown says team building, effective mentoring and
opinion, they don’t really want your networking are crucial. And he says today executives need to think beyond
input, they don’t really want you on traditional borders.
CIrClE
their team. They’d like you to go
away and do your job,” he says. On mentoring: “If I think about what have been the most important
business and personal relationships to me, it’s been from people that
But this is a recipe for failure for have mentored me and people I have mentored.”
an organisation.
“I do think that anybody who aspires to be a leader in this generation, or
“There is a failing of CEOs that in the generations to come, needs to focus beyond their own backyard.
surround themselves with people Anyone who says my aspirations are local is setting themselves up to
who aren’t as smart as they are fail,” he said.
and therefore they think they’re
ensuring they’re going to stay in the He encourages the people he mentors to seek out different types of
top spot, but in reality they’re setting work experiences to expand their knowledge and understanding.
themselves and their teams up for
failure.” “I also feel very strongly that a lot of leadership is learned and
a lot of leadership comes through being in a position to get the
This is especially true for global and right experience and being willing to take advantage of the right
regional businesses. Brown tells the story experience,” he says.
of a deal between a Japanese and American
company that went hopelessly wrong because the two On succession: “Real leaders don’t worry about legacies.” Instead,
parties simply didn’t understand each other’s culture. Brown says leaders care about the long-term viability of their companies.
Diversity is ‘a must’ Aspiring executives also should learn to behave like leaders, dressing
and acting appropriately, showing humility, and learning to interact
Success requires diverse teams and Brown says real leaders hire teams with with peers and other team members in a way that builds rapport.
differing skills and backgrounds, give them clear responsibilities, and stay in
close touch with the team at all levels. He says young managers who spend too much time gaining the
perks of power often lose sight of the organisation’s goals and how
On diversity: “Diversity is an absolute necessity for a team, and when I say to achieve them.
diversity, I mean it in every sense of the word: gender, race, religion, nationality,
sexual orientation, culture, personality type (and) area of expertise.” On work-life balance: “If you don’t communicate what your
particular needs or out-of-work situation is, you’re doing yourself
“You’ve got to surround yourself with people that are diverse, have very, very a disservice.”
broad perspectives in terms of educational background, in terms of their
cultural background, in terms of the languages they speak,” he said. Brown devotes a chapter of his book to communications and urges
leaders to listen better to their staff, other managers, competitors
He points to Europe and says the male-dominated and age-hierarchical and customers, especially in a transcultural setting. LINOs, he
nature of management doesn’t foster the effective mentoring that brings says, often act as though listening to customers and rank and file
out the best managers. For transcultural companies to succeed, managers employees is a burden.
have to be very focused on finding the best person for the job regardless
or age or gender, he adds. “By investing the time to listen and learn you’ve created a much higher
probability that the actions you undertake together are going to be
When executives say that building a diverse team is much more difficult, successful and are going to be accepted.” ■
he tells them that a homogeneous team of white, Anglo-Saxon males won’t
be as successful as a diverse team. They share values, resist challenging
conventional thinking and are more political.
Biography
J. Frank Brown is the Dean of INSEAD.
He writes: “In the international marketplace, a diverse team is a must.”
28 | CEO
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