Jose Ruiz

Forbes.com | Guest post written by Jeffrey S. Sanders

Jeffrey S. Sanders is Vice Chairman and Managing Partner of the North American CEO Practice for Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search and leadership consulting firm.

While we all know stories of legendary CEOs who seem born to the role, most CEOs are not born, they are made. People who aspire to the role have to seize the opportunity and set a path: to manage their career choices and craft their experience to make them a likely CEO candidate.

Interestingly, consulting, at four percent, ranked as the least common early career experience among CEOs. Nevertheless, some highly successful CEOs have come from that world. John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, started as an associate consultant at Bain & Co. and rose to become the firm’s Worldwide Managing Director. DirecTV’s CEO Michael White, after graduating from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies, worked at Andersen Consulting and then spent five years at Bain. Both Jerry Storch, CEO of Toys ‘R’ Us, and Russ Fradin, CEO of SunGard, worked at McKinsey, and Indra Nooyi spent six years at The Boston Consulting Group in the beginning of her career (she was eventually appointed CEO from the CFO position).

Settle In – Eventually – and Climb the Ladder

More than three-fourths of today’s top leaders were appointed internally. When evaluating CEO candidates, companies tend to favor internal appointments, as opposed to external appointments, because internal candidates understand the company culture, are familiar with the key stakeholders, and are known to the board members and other members of the executive team. Given that internal executives know and are well-known to the company, promoting the internal executive often poses less of a risk than hiring someone from the outside.

However, while more than three-fourths of today’s top leaders were appointed internally, less than a third of CEOs were “lifers” (people who spent nearly their entire careers at the company they now lead). The average time to CEO appointment for those who rose through the ranks at
their company is 16 years, but the average age at time of appointment is 50. Therefore, when executives reach their early thirties, they begin to settle in at one particular company to rise through the ranks. While companies value executives who understand the company culture, they also recognize the importance of executives who have spent time at multiple companies. Experience at several companies provides CEOs with an outside perspective and enables them to draw best-in-class practices from a broad range of companies.

Time to CEO Appointment

While the average time to CEO appointment is 16 years, it differs from industry to industry. Not surprisingly, technology appears to offer the fastest path to the CEO chair, while industrial companies appear to offer the slowest. Technology companies make up about 10 percent of the Fortune 500, but comprise 15 percent of the CEOs appointed before age 50. Industrial companies, making up about 37 percent of the Fortune 500, have only 30 percent of the under-50 appointments. Similarly, average time to CEO appointment for internal appointments at technology companies is close to 14 years, whereas average time to CEO appointment for internal appointments at industrial companies is closer to 18 years. Also of note is the fact that technology companies appoint almost 20 percent more external CEOs than industrial companies.

Board Experience

About 45 percent of CEOs served as non-executive directors on public company boards before being named chief executive of the Fortune 500 companies they lead today. Executives typically look to join boards before becoming CEO because they view board experience as a form of professional development. Serving on a board provides them with the opportunity to learn from other high-caliber executives, see the CEO role through the board’s lens, and gain corporate governance experience. While serving on a board can often help with an executive’s professional development, there is also an opportunity cost associated with joining a board given the time commitment required. Executives who would like to become CEOs should be mindful of this and should join a high quality board where they can develop their experience, exposure to corporate governance, and visibility.

While this portrait of a CEO could shift in the coming years, most of the attributes reflected in our findings are likely to become only more pronounced with the passage of time: financial acumen will continue to be important in an increasingly globalized and economically interdependent world, companies will place a high value on organizational and cultural knowledge, and an increasing number of executives will look to board service as a way of gaining a broader perspective prior to becoming CEO.

What does that path look like? To find out, the CEO & Board Practice at Heidrick & Struggles analyzed the careers of all current Fortune 500 CEOs.

Here’s some of what the study discovered:

Develop Financial Acumen

About 30 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs spent the first few years of their careers developing a strong foundation in finance. This is by far the most common early experience of today’s CEOs. As the second-largest constituent, CEOs who started out in sales and marketing roles account for only about 20 percent of the current big company CEO population.

The prevalence of CEOs with a strong financial background points to the fact that large companies prefer CEOs who can create value for the company and who understand the company’s financial drivers. Typically, companies are looking for CEOs who can develop a strategy and understand the financial ramifications of business decisions.

A foundation in finance is an important building block for a career. However, only about five percent of these CEOs were promoted directly from the role of CFO – more than half were appointed from the role of COO or President. Though the prevalence of Fortune 500 CEOs with strong financial backgrounds underlines the importance of developing financial acumen, above all, companies value a strong operator.

For example, while Oshkosh’s Charles Szews spent the majority of his career in a variety of finance roles, prior to his appointment as CEO in 2011, he spent three years as COO. Similarly, Patricia Woertz began her career as an accountant, and then rose through the ranks in the finance departments at Gulf Oil and Chevron before she was rotated into broader operating roles and eventually appointed CEO of Archer-Daniels-Midland in 2006. At the other end of the spectrum, the CEO of Pfizer, Ian Read, began his career in the finance department, but transitioned into general management after a comparatively short 10 years in finance roles.

With a few notable exceptions, such as Marcel Smits at Sara Lee and Bill Delaney at Sysco, executives very rarely move directly from a finance role to the CEO position. Rather, over three quarters of these CEOs came from an operating role. Though they often began their careers in finance, the executives who have made it to the top are those who have successfully used their financial expertise to become excellent operators.

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The ultimate purpose is to not just focus on the finish line but also understand the best method to get there and not hope or expect, but drive to achieve our career goals in the desired time. 

If you are reading this you must have an interest in business, management, leadership and your own role in an organization. As students of these disciplines we constantly seek and find stories of success as defined by academics and executives that we identify as examples of who we want to be and what we want to achieve. 

In many cases we follow those leaders of industry, who constantly grace the cover of magazines, are in the headlines of newspapers, and become the center of discussion in academic case studies to gain from their insight and experience. You could say we are obsessed with being amazed by their success stories, as well as documented failures, going through their experiences in an attempt to learn and duplicate their success, and avoid their mistakes in our own lives and careers. We cherish those experiences and they provide us with inspiration as we attempt to climb the corporate ladder and create our own success stories.  

I remember reading about Lee Iacocca and his resurrection of Chrysler. About Roger Enricco and how he took on Coca-Cola as CEO of PepsiCo proclaiming victory in the cola wars. The magic of Michael Eisner in turning Disney into an entertainment power house. The constant feed of articles and books as Bill Gates, a Harvard drop out, built a software empire while his nemesis Steve Jobs took Apple from an icon of personal computing into a lust driven power house of digital music and iconic consumer electronics. For years I obsessed with how Jack Welsh transformed General Electric and used applied statistics to create one of the most successful operational excellence models in recent history based on Motorola born six-sigma. This week I just can’t stop reading about “Steve on leave” and the impact on Apple.  

Over time the reading has provided me with many aha moments, knowledge, and inspiration.  In many cases, some conscious, some unconscious, I have snuck knowledge tidbits and game plan pieces into more than one strategic plan or business presentation. But in the end, is it just that? Pieces of knowledge and information? Pieces of insight? How can we use that information to plan and drive our own career?  

We know who they are and we can ask ourselves how they got there. In fact, we can read most of their biographies and analyze every step of their careers. Studying their thought processes, their decisions, and the outcome can be very useful and insightful. However, in many cases reading through it can be no different than looking at a collection of solved Sudoku or cross-word puzzles. The result can be obvious and understanding how to achieve it is a challenge but executing it and getting it right is a whole different thing.  

We also tend to be selective observers. As we read through case studies and stories of success we tend to focus on the highlights of the story line, the center character and the end-result. But as Boris Groysberg points out in his book Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance, “No one works alone”. Boris challenges the notion that outstanding performance is simply the result of a combination of innate talent and good educational preparation. His research points towards additional key factors for success that are typically taken for granted as we admire profiled executives and their success stories. Groysberg identifies outstanding performance as heavily dependent on an organization’s culture, resources, networks and colleagues. In the end, tell me where you work and I’ll tell you who you are.  

As an Executive Search Consultant (as we call ourselves), or headhunter (as most people call us), I speak to hundreds of senior executives every year.  By the time we speak most executives are at a point where they are willing to consider a move or are faced with the need to find a new position. Very few have a clear understanding (or are willing to express) which elements of their achievements can be attributed to their specific experience, individual talent, competences and traits, and which are a product of the organization, the culture, their teams and the specific challenges that they faced. It’s critical in order to predict future success.  

If you have been on a commercial flight lately, and browsed the in-flight magazine you have probably come across the Chester L. Karras ad promoting his seminars to improve negotiation skills. Prominently at the top it reads “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” A bit radical, but somewhat true. While we don’t get a chance to negotiate everything and we don’t get to choose when it comes to the limitations that life throws our way, we do get to choose where we want to be, and we decide if we want to drift or drive to attempt to get there.  

Most executives will tell you that they do have goals and they do know where they want to be. But when they consider career planning most focus on climbing the ladder. Looking for the next step and working hard to perform where they are to achieve key promotions. Career planning tends to be title driven, and most often than not, little attention is paid to how each position contributes to key factors for future success. Those factors include leadership competencies and skills, that as Boris Groysberg identifies in his work on talent portability, fall into one of two categories: Transferable and Company or firm specific. What you do is just as important as when you do it and where you do it.  

Multiple factors influence the success of a career. Starting with the inevitable, ever changing definition of success. We all have one based on our goals, and those tend to change as we grow, mature, face different challenges and define our needs based on our desired work/life balance. A career plan today will likely be different a year from now. They key is to obtain and maintain a heightened awareness of how every step of this career marathon affects its outcome.  

The ultimate purpose is to not just focus on the finish line but also understand the best method to get there and not hope or expect, but drive to achieve our career goals in the desired time.  

Realted Reading: It’s Not You, It’s Not Me, It’s Just Not Meant To Be 

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., (Nasdaq:HSII) is the leadership advisory firm providing senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment and development, talent retention management, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles’ leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

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Portafolio (Colombia – Publicado el 19 de noviembre de 10)

Por Jose Ruiz

Alrededor del mundo, el papel que cumple el presidente de una compañía es determinante para orientar la misma al éxito en cada proceso, y que sus funciones trasciendan en óptimos resultados logrados frente a las demás organizaciones. Tanto en empresas del sector privado como del público, en donde el presidente, por cualquier circunstancia que se presente, deba ser reemplazado, es difícil pensar y determinar quién será su sucesor, debido al alto nivel de exigencia, responsabilidad y diferentes competencias que debe reunir el nuevo candidato para enfrentar los retos estratégicos de la compañía.

Un buen interrogante en cuanto al sector público es, ¿cuál debería ser el papel de un presidente en este entorno? Dicho tema ha despertado gran interés actualmente, ya que la persona que venga a ocupar un cargo con tal visibilidad, necesita tener un amplio grado de conocimiento de la empresa, y habilidades que le permitan manejar situaciones complejas y lograr los resultados esperados. Cuando en un país se presenta esta situación de estar frente a una vacante para la presidencia de una entidad pública, a la ciudadanía le agrada y siente mayor confianza que estos altos cargos se le designen a un ‘peso pesado’ por su trayectoria y experiencia; sin embargo, de acuerdo a una investigación realizada entre 250 presidentes, un poco más de la mitad afirmaron que prefieren promover a un ex CEO que a una persona extraña dentro del gremio.

Por otra parte, se debe tener en cuenta que los ex directores generales no serán siempre la mejor opción, y no todos cuentan con las competencias necesarias para ser presidentes, pues este debe ser una persona visible, que está de cara al público y a los accionistas, mientras que un director general trabaja en la solución de uno o varios problemas; ciertamente, ser muy bueno en esta labor no necesariamente implica serlo en las demás competencias de un presidente, para ser su sucesor.

No se debe dejar de lado que el presidente debe anteponerse a la solución de los problemas, realizando y promocionando estrategias en conjunto con otros ejecutivos de alto nivel y actuando como enlace con los accionistas y la junta directiva, la cual debe tomar un papel cada vez más activo dentro de cualquier organización. En este sentido, unos consideran que el director financiero puede ser el mejor candidato para suceder al presidente, por las competencias que desarrolla en su cargo, por su naturaleza de asesoramiento y por su conocimiento de la compañía y el entorno. Cada vez será más difícil reclutar a los mejores candidatos para cargos de tan alta importancia. Por ende, es creciente la necesidad de que las empresas inviertan en la gestión y el desarrollo del talento interno, estableciendo planes de sucesión bien estructurados, alineados a los objetivos estratégicos de la organización, pero flexibles ante los cambios del ambiente empresarial.

Actualmente, ni los ex presidentes quieren regresar al trabajo, y si lo hacen, no son necesariamente la mejor opción. Conocer bien a sus talentos internos, tener claridad de la dirección estratégica y cumplir con antelación las etapas de los planes de sucesión son las únicas formas de minimizar los riesgos de equivocarse a la hora de elegir el nuevo CEO.

Latin America, Leadership Latin America, Leadership Consulting, Mexico Executive Search, Recruiter, Succession Planning

The term globalization has been thrown around for decades but it has never applied as much as it has in recent years as organizations become more focused and specialized within a specific industry or product, and reach beyond their traditional regions of business. Globalization has evolved from being a commercial exchange to a multifaceted integration of many aspects of the business.  This trend has created a need for strong leaders who can manage a complex environment with a high level of interdependence.

When we looked at background of the top 100 CEOs in Mexico our analysis showed that fifty-four percent of the newest CEOs have performed assignments outside of Mexico and 53 percent hold Master’s degrees from institutions outside of Mexico. But Robert Grosse, Dean of EGADE Business School, cautions: “overseas experience is not the same as overseas business experience…Mexican executives could still benefit from more overseas experience in business activities”.

Executives who have been successful in international assignments have usually excelled in understanding the environment, leading visionary change and results, as well as mastering complex business problems. These competencies, coupled with already acquired industry expertise, translate into a small learning curve and quick results.

According to research performed by William W. Maddux, Adam D. Galinsky, and Carmit T. Tadmor (Harvard Business Review, September 2010, p24) people who have international experience or identify with more than one nationality are better problem solvers and display more creativity. This based on measuring the ability of these managers to see and integrate multiple perspectives on different issues. In these studies bicultural managers scored higher than monoculturals. Their research also suggests that people with international experience are more likely to create new businesses and products and to be promoted.

Senior executives of successful organizations are a more diverse group than ever before and the impact goes beyond the leadership teams. Middle managers and staff members are being exposed to global management techniques, metric-driven environments and matrix organizations that are preparing them to be the next generation of leaders.

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., (Nasdaq:HSII) is the leadership advisory firm providing senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment and development, talent retention management, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles’ leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

Career Development, Drive It (Book), Leadership, Mexico Executive Search Bicultural, Diversity, Drive it, Hispanic, Latino, Mexico Executive Search, Recruiter, Recruiters

Career Development, Economy, Leadership

For many years I wondered what the real difference was between being good and being great. How do you clearly define it? What is it that puts a person or an organization at a different level than the rest? And I did read Jim Collins’ book which addresses the subject but I got my simple answer in a Homer Simpson DUH! moment watching  TV. (How else to you come to a Homer Simpson DUH! moment?) Ironically it was a General Motors commercial that quoted: “Amateurs work until they get it right. Professionals work until they can’t get it wrong” Too bad it was just a commercial and far from being reflective of their company culture. GM would have benefited by putting into practice. It’s just a simple quote that can be considered inspiring but it defines the current competitive environment that all organizations face.

Business is getting tough. Customer are more and more demanding and it’s a simple fact: If you try to get into something that is not your core competence there is a good chance you will fail and it will cost you. You just can’t get it wrong and to achieve that level you need to become an expert in your field, a specialist with great depth and experience that can anticipate challenges and foresee problems.

These days it’s not enough to be smart, quick on your feet or a hard worker. That makes for a great fire fighter and problem solver and if you’re doing that today you are one step behind. It’s the era of the problem avoider not the problem solver.

And with that ladies and gentlemen the generalist is dead. Learning curves are unbearable and the current competitive environment is here to change the way we manage our careers and what is required to be a successful executive.

Let’s start with the root. Let’s start with the companies that hire these executives and how they are being forced to transform. It’s where it starts. Innovative, highly competitive companies need focus but focus has a price. Most of the time focus comes with a smaller sized market and that can mess up volumes and consequently profit margins. As a consequence most companies are seeking product and industry focus while expanding their regional reach to achieve their volume and profit requirements. Enter the global factor and the need for executives with international experience and a high level of expertise within niche products and industries.

This get’s very tricky from a talent and career management perspective. Lady experience makes it complicated because she is high maintenance and requires time. Ask anybody who is on top of their game. It does not happen by chance and it does not happen quickly.

Defining a career path and making career decisions is getting more and more complicated. You can’t iterate as much and a mistake can cost you precious time. Every position, every project, every international assignment (it’s almost a must now) is a building block that creates your personal product offering. Each element defines the depth of your expertise and your value as an executive. If you are thinking about your next position you must be clear on how it fits in the big picture as one of those building blocks.

A great career is no longer defined by getting some steps right you simply can’t afford to get them wrong.

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., (Nasdaq:HSII) is the leadership advisory firm providing senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment and development, talent retention management, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles’ leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

Career Development, Leadership Jose Ruiz, Mexico Executive Search, Mexico Recruiter, Mexico Recruiters

By Jose J. Ruiz

In 1996, Dr Elisabeth Marx conducted a study, analyzing the backgrounds of the CEOs of the FTSE 100 Companies. In 2007, Dr Marx also explored the CEO profiles of the Fortune 100 Index, allowing for the first time a transatlantic comparison of top business leaders. This study provides a compelling snapshot of the top CEO’s in Mexico and compares the results to those obtained by Dr Marx.

These Chief Executives populate the financial and social pages of newspapers and magazines in the country. They make decisions that routinely affect millions of people, influencing economic, social and environmental outcomes. So who are they today and who will they be tomorrow? What are their common characteristics and how are those characteristics changing?

As the country continues to change rapidly, what is already defining the new breed of CEO’s in Mexico?

Two numbers are presented for Mexico’s CEO’s in order to identify current trends. We show the totals and have also isolated the numbers for the newest CEO’s: A group of 47 with 5 years or less on the job.

Broad Market and Industry Trends

In the past few years we have seen dramatic market and economic driven changes in the strategic direction of many organizations. The great recession and the intense competition have forced many companies to focus on vertical industries in order increase their level of innovation as well as product and market expertise. This

has brought consolidation in many industries and a need toincrease global reach in order to achieve the volumes required to provide competitive prices. These changes have shifted the focus from regions to industries demanding executive talent with specific industry and product expertise that can perform across borders. There are already instances o foreign companies in the Expansion 500 that no longer have a country managing director and instead have leaders for specific business units reporting directly into regional or global heads.

Talent Trends

Let’s look at how these broad trends are reflected in the results of the study and how they translate into current and future talent and leadership requirements for executives in Mexico.

Global executives

The term globalization has been thrown around for decades but it has never applied as much as it has in recent years as organizations become more focused and specialized within a specific industry or product and reach beyond their traditional regions of business. Just looking at the numbers can be a bit misleading. One can assume that the increase in foreign nationals running the Expansion 100 companies is a sign of Mexican nationals losing control. However it is clear that the new breed of CEO’s and executives in Mexico are better prepared and better educated in a global environment than ever before. 54% of the newest CEOs have performed assignments outside of Mexico and 53% hold Master’s degrees from institutions outside of Mexico.

Executives who have been successful in international assignments have usually excelled in understanding the environment, leading visionary change, leading results and mastering complex business problems. Competencies that coupled with already acquired industry expertise translate into a small learning curve and quick results.

Senior executives are a more diverse group than ever before and the impact goes beyond the leadership teams. Middle managers and staff members are being exposed to global management techniques, metric driven environments and matrix organizations that are preparing them to be the next generation of leaders in or outside of Mexico.

Increased focus on key industry and market expertise

One of the most surprising trends is an increase of CEOs in Mexico that are being promoted from within the company with great importance given to company culture,  industry specific experience and the leadership skills that are acquired while working abroad. It is important to note that internal promotions don’t necessarily mean internal to Mexico or the region.

The study performed in 2007 by Dr Elisabeth Marx suggests that:

”… the FTSE 100 Companies in the UK and Fortune 100 Companies in the US take a very different approach to CEO selection. Whereas Fortune 100 Companies seem to value wisdom, develop better internal grooming and succession planning and have higher educated CEOs, FTSE 100 Companies put greater focus on international experience, welcome foreign talent and give ‘young guns’ a chance”

Our results suggest that the Expansion 100 companies share a bit of both with a high value on wisdom as evidenced by an average tenure higher than both the Fortune 100 and the FTSE 100 and strong internal grooming and succession planning that begins early and includes elite foreign education and opportunities to gain international experience.

The Expansion 100 companies have more Super CEOs (45 and younger) than both the Fortune 100 and the FTSE 100 put together but they have been well groomed and prepared for succession.

Elite education playing a big role

There is no denying that advanced degrees from foreign institutions play a big role in the development of the new breed of CEO’s. 60% of the newest CEOs hold Master’s degrees or PhDs from foreign universities. The surprising trend is the rise of the PhD educated CEO. All of the CEOs with a PhD are part of the newest CEOs group.

Women on the rise

Perhaps the common trait between the US, England and Mexico is the one that we can brag the least about. A very small number of Women occupy the top job.

In Mexico only Nicole Reich (Scotiabank Inverlat), Carmina Abad (Metlife) and Grace D. Lieblein (General Motors) make the distinguished list in the Expansion 100 but Paula Santilli (PepsiCo Beverages) is not too far behind. Women are on the rise and while the numbers remain very low the trend is positive. All four were internally promoted and all four have extensive international experience with strong ties to Latin America.

Preparing for the future

The motivation behind the research presented in this article is part of our role as a leadership advisory firm providing senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment and development, talent retention management, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide.

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Por Jose J. Ruiz

Portafolio (Colombia)  Publicado el 16-03-10

Cuando se presentan situaciones de riesgo, surgen inquietudes tales como: ¿qué cualidades debe tener un líder a la hora de afrontar una eventualidad de este tipo? Muchos apuntan a decir que es importante tomar una actitud decisiva y de liderazgo, características que sin duda son mencionadas tradicionalmente como rasgos cruciales para ser un gran líder.

Lo mismo pasa con otras como la integridad, la inteligencia, seguridad en sí mismo y el ingenio para los negocios en general, enfocado a un sector específico, pero trasladando la pregunta a un entorno de carácter global, donde se enfrenta a mayores retos, a crisis más profundas.

Sin embargo, algunos directores generales de compañías afirman que existen otros rasgos de liderazgo que con frecuencia son pasados por alto, que capacitan a un líder para pasar la prueba del tiempo, combinados con el poder de toma de decisiones, resultan decisivos en momentos difíciles y prolongados. Un director ejecutivo ejemplar debe ser un alguien que demuestre claridad y sacrificio en vez codicia y pasividad.

La clave es la adaptabilidad, debido a que la gente que se percibe como líder se adapta a los requerimientos que demanda cada circunstancia, para permanecer como una influencia efectiva ante los equipos de trabajo que dirigen. Sería más fácil hablar de encontrar un líder que pueda demostrar empatía, claridad y sacrificio. Contrario a alguien ambicioso y reservado, el gran líder deberá ser capaz de actuar como un destello de valentía y optimismo para los demás cuando se sientan afectados por los efectos de una crisis.

Lo anterior no supone que los empleados se alejen de la verdad, lo que deben hacer es buscar honestidad y transparencia, que se establezca un canal de comunicación directo por parte de su líder en momentos de dificultades financieras y políticas, por lo que muchos concuerdan con que la empatía, la transparencia y otras características generan en los empleados un ambiente de comodidad y estabilidad, cualidades que desean ver siempre en los líderes de hoy.

No obstante, la responsabilidad de un líder va más allá de lo que la gente quiera ahora. Los líderes, deben asimismo soportar la carga de equilibrar las necesidades actuales contra las necesidades futuras, un acto de balance que requiere valor, especialmente en casos de crisis económica.

Finalmente, en momentos de situaciones de riesgo lo que se requiere es un líder con sutil combinación de características, ellos deben transmitir bienestar, estabilidad, demostrar empatía, ser optimistas, proceder con transparencia y sinceridad, todo esto al mismo tiempo que tomar decisiones complejas, emprender acciones agresivas y guiar con decisión a sus equipos. No es una labor fácil, pero hemos visto que grandes líderes lo han logrado una y otra vez con esfuerzo, han sabido sortear las dificultades que se presentan en tiempos de crisis.

“El valor del liderazgo radica en tomar decisiones que sean para beneficio de la organización por encima de uno mismo”, Kevin Kelly, director general de Heidrick & Struggles.

| Read article at portafolio.com.co

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., (Nasdaq:HSII) is the leadership advisory firm providing senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment and development, talent retention management, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles’ leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

Leadership, Mexico Executive Search

For the first time in three year Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world. The top spot in Forbes list is occupied by Carlos Slim and not surprisingly the sentiment in Mexico is negative. People are mad. Why? What is wrong with us?

I know the arguments. The way Telmex was acquired and the fact that it’s a virtual monopoly that has been benefited by the state could be valid. But consider this: Telmex had revenues of 9 billion while America Movil (Telcel) was at 26 billion and Telcel was a late comer in the mobile phone market in Mexico. Yes, Telmex propelled him. But Telmex is not what is keeping him at the top of the Forbes list.

There is great merit to what the guy has done and I’m not defending him. There is probably a valid argument for everyone to be questioned. Nobody’s road to the top of the list is clean. Bill Gates is certainly not exempt. The Walton’s have their share of controversy. Walmart is not considered an icon of social responsibility. Yet we all want to read about them and probe into the details of their business success. Slim? No. Corrupt capitalist pig?

Why the animosity? The anger?

There is a tale told in Mexico of an old man who was walking on the beach with two buckets, one open and the other covered. A young boy approached him as he was walking, looked at his wares and asked, “What’s in the bucket?” The man smiled and responded, “Crabs,” to which the boy said, “I can see that, but what’s in the bucket that’s covered?” The man smiled again and said, “I told you, crabs! Both buckets have live crabs!” The baffled boy wondered why one would be covered while the other one would be open if both carried live crabs, so he asked. The old man’s voice cracked as he let out a deep laugh and replied, “Boy, the crabs in the covered bucket are Japanese crabs. They start climbing on top of each other and help each other out of the bucket. The open bucket, on the other hand, has Mexican crabs. They don’t need the cover. Once one starts climbing trying to escape, the others just pull him back in.”

 I know it rubs some people the wrong way but we really don’t show otherwise.  Don’t kill the messenger.

 About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

 The world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. The firm’s executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com

Economy, Leadership, Mexico Executive Search Carlos Slim, Jose Ruiz, Mexico, Mexico Executive Search, Recruiter

A few years ago I had a conversation about change with Mike Osterling. My lean manufacturing mentor and consultant. The topic revolved around change management and how it became easier as an organization embraced constant change as part of its culture. My theory was that at some point there would be no need for change management if change became part of the culture and the operating environment. Mike respectfully disagreed.

At that point our discussion was focused on organizations that struggled with change and struggled adapting to a changing environment. A place in time where leaders had to nudged the members of their organization to rethink the way things were being done. Leaders pushed to reinvent the business and innovate. This was the period in time that made reengineering popular. The challenge of leadership was to make sure the team kept up with a changing environment.

Times are changing. Leaders beware: your challenge when it comes to change management is about to shift.

The generation that entered the workforce with the mindset of building a life long career with a steady hand in a corporation is at retirement age. Leadership positions are now being filled by the generation that challenged the status quo. A generation of leaders that learned to manage change and developed executive skills to push the previous generation towards innovation is gradually facing the challenge of managing a generation that does not know status quo. The dream of a culture of change has been realized. These coming generations are built on a higher rate of change.

Consider that everything we do is based on intervals. Everything we do is a cycle. From communication to our strategic planning. Those intervals are getting shorter.  Our main form of communication has gone from letters to emails to txt msgs. Our planning horizons are shorter. We are iterating faster. We correct faster.  Which is good right?  The next generation of executives is built on speed, multitasking and bursts. A generation that feels a phone call is restrictive because you can only carry one conversation at a time.

We are at the inflection where the challenge of change managment is going to shift from helping teams transition to keeping teams focused and helping them stay on track.

Am I getting old?

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

 The world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. The firm’s executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com

Leadership Change, Jose Ruiz, Leadership, Manufacturing, Mexico Executive Search, Recruiter, Recruiters