Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase has been in the news a lot recently because of the loss that JP Morgan suffered in the London Whale trade and in his compensation. He has been the best bank CEO for the past five years as JP Morgan emerged from the Great Recession in a stronger position. He just published an article on leadership on Linkedin, which should be of interest to anyone aspiring to be a leader and for anyone judging whether he is working in the"right" organization or not. This is especially true for Chinese-Americans, who may bear the burden of being stereotyped. You can read his essay at Linkedin. Many of his points echoes what I used to hear from Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE. Few key points, which I find insightful:
"Loyalty, meritocracy and teamwork
"Loyalty, meritocracy and teamwork
While I deeply believe in loyalty, it often is misused. Loyalty should be to the principles for which someone stands and to the institution: Loyalty to an individual frequently is another form of cronyism. Leaders demand a lot from their employees and should be loyal to them – but loyalty and mutual respect are two-way streets. Loyalty to employees does not mean that a manager owes them a particular job. Loyalty to employees means building a healthy, vibrant company; telling them the truth; and giving them meaningful work, training and opportunities. If employees fall down, we should get them the help they need. Meritocracy and teamwork also are critical but frequently misunderstood. Meritocracy means putting the best person in the job, which promotes a sense of justice in the organization rather than the appearance of cynicism: “here they go again, taking care of their friends.” Finally, while teamwork is important and often code for “getting along,” equally important is an individual’s ability to have the courage to stand alone and do the right thing."
If you read carefully, the situation is actually difficult to judge. How do you determine an action is based on merit OR no one taking care of their friends? One answer could be to look at the action of the leader:
"Successful leaders are hard to find
There are examples of individuals who have been thrust, wholly unprepared, into positions of leadership and actually perform well
– I think of President Harry Truman, among others. I would submit, however, that relying on luck is a risky proposition. History shows that bad or inexperienced leaders can produce disastrous results. While there are possibly innate and genetic parts of leadership (perhaps broad intelligence and natural energy), other parts are deeply embedded in the internal values of an individual; for example, work ethic, integrity, knowledge and good judgment. Many leaders have worked their entire lives to get where they are, and while perhaps some achieved their stature through accident or politics, that is not true for most. Anyone on a sports team, in government or in virtually any other endeavor knows when he or she encounters the rare combination of emotional skill, integrity and knowledge that makes a leader."
A questionable example is Obama, who had no demonstrated leadership experience or management track record, except for his ability to inspire the electorate and to organize his followers to win his first Presidential election. Based on my observation at GE I may have some answers and will share them in the future. But it is worthwhile to ponder this question.
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