What makes a Leader?

[tycal]

My question is in corporate business, should leaders identify and meet the needs of their people, serve them (the employee) or meet the wants of their people (the employee)? Seems with the reduction of work force in big business, coporate america has gotten away from what got them Their in the first place the people, nothing wrong with making a profit. but people dont forget, home base business are on the rise.

[RedGlitter]

HI.
Could you expand a little on what you are asking? Maybe an example?

[guppy]

in todays world you better be able to balance the needs of the employees and be able to answer to the needs of your clients. we live in a "I want it now world" you treat every client like they are the most important one you've got. and make your employees feel like a valuable part of the team......

[Bez]

My observations for what they're worth....

At the highest level, the 'leader' has to to have a long term vision for the business for it to survive. There may be 'unpleasant' decisions to be made and I guess the remoteness of the 'leader' makes this easier. Most of these decisions will be of a financial nature (relocating part of a business to the far east for example or downsizing etc)

At the same time, the 'leader' must have integrity and in my opinion be 'transparent' in it's dealings with internal and external personell. Obviously there are occasions when secrecy and confidentiality are required.

The 'leader' should never forget that it's most precious 'resource' are it's employees.

The bigger the company and the more remote the bosses the less caring the company appears to be....maybe the exception is the Virgin Group (Richard Branson).

[Bez]

Originally Posted by guppy

in todays world you better be able to balance the needs of the employees and be able to answer to the needs of your clients. we live in a "I want it now world" you treat every client like they are the most important one you've got. and make your employees feel like a valuable part of the team......

I totally agree guppy...

Originally Posted by tycal

My question is in corporate business, should leaders identify and meet the needs of their people, serve them (the employee) or meet the wants of their people (the employee)? Seems with the reduction of work force in big business, coporate america has gotten away from what got them Their in the first place the people, nothing wrong with making a profit. but people dont forget, home base business are on the rise.

You wrote "should". The way corporations (in my country as well as yours) operate people are treated as just another resource. I read and hear much lip-service about "our people". It's all rubbish. Not too many corporations that I know of actually give a rat's about the people that work for them. They "should" but if they don't then there's no adverse outcomes for them.

A good leader should of course balance the interests of the corporation with the interests of the employees but in our system the interests of the corporation come before those of the employees. Concern for the wellbeing of employees stops when it conflicts with the best interests of the corporation.

[Accountable]

It's more economical to give good benefits than good pay. People are loathe to give up their benefits and will put up with alot to keep them.

It's more economical to reduce turnover. People stay where they feel their contribution has value.

It's more economical to hire for "fit" and train for competence. It's impossible to hire competence and change the employee's personality to fit.

It's easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than to convince executives of these economic truths.

Namaste

[koan]

I think you have to keep in mind that "good" is subjective. What you think is good might not match the ideas of the corporation. If you care about advancing your position then you have to align yourself with the corporation's vision. If you work for a company that likes to keep the employees insecure then you must be consistent with that. If your own ideas are important to you then you need to find a corporation to work for that agrees with your vision. The bigger the corporation the less likely they are to negotiate with you over what is considered to be "good". Usually a little compassion for the employees can be worked in even if the company doesn't care one whit about them but usually the employees will see through it if it is not a true reflection of the big picture.

The justification is that by focusing on profits, even if at the expense of the worker, the corporation can provide more jobs thereby helping more people. How you feel about that justification is a personal choice. I'm not particularly fond of the notion of profit over people so I don't fit in with the corporate world. The film world is such a place too. The idea that film is an artistic world is a notion only the newbies can maintain. The crew are actually the cheapest commodity on the set. They pretend to be our friends but they are happy when things are slow and technicians are desperate for work. It will generally save them at least $3 an hour.

There are ways of finding people who feel people are more important than product and, if that's what you want, don't give up the search. They're out there. If you want to transform a place that you think has got it wrong... good luck.

[tycal]

Originally Posted by RedGlitter

HI.
Could you expand a little on what you are asking? Maybe an example?

Yes I can, you see a want and a need are two different things, example a want is simply a wish or a desire without any regard for the physical or psychological consequences. A need, on the orther hand, is a legitimate physical or psychological requirement for the well-being of a human being. again being in leadership should a leader meet the needs of the people? or should they meet the wants?

[guppy]

a leader must meet enough of the needs of the employee to keep the business going. the goal is to make money. you cannot be one of the group. you are not one of your employees buddies. you must always stand on your own and make the tough decisions. it's a balancing act both ways. you cannot get your panties in a wad. take anything personal.....