Ask an FEI researcher about leadership.

• Author: Sinnett, William
• Position: Resources - Brief Article

The cover story on leadership in this month's issue explores the idea that there is no one universal leader for all situations, and that companies in different situations may need different kinds of leaders.

Several months ago, a member sent a request to "Ask an FET Researcher":

"I am interested in researching the concept of leadership in the business environment, especially in the finance arena. Our company has begun a master's level program in leadership at a local college, and the main paper for the first course will focus on models or theories of leadership and how they pertain to our business."

Dr. Warren Bennis is Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California, and is internationally known as an expert on leadership. In the past 25 years, he has interviewed 150 of the world's greatest leaders and published more than 25 books.

Bennis made a presentation at an FEI Virtual Chapter meeting in October 2001. In this presentation, he describes "Exemplary Leadership," and distinguishes between "The Leader" and "The Manager." His slide presentation is available on the FEI Web site: www.fei.org/download/defaul.cfm.

Ellen M. Heffes, managing editor of Financial Executive, then interviewed Bennis for an article in the January! February 2002 issue: www.fei.org/magazine/articles/1-2002_Leadership.cfm

In this article, Dr. Bennis lists the five traits that he believes that all leaders must have:

1. Leaders must provide direction and meaning to their staff.

2. Leaders have to convey some sense of optimism and hope.

3. Leaders have to generate and sustain trust.

4. Leaders have to engage followers in shared meaning.

5. Leaders have to show results. In one of his most popular books, On Becoming a Leader (Perseus Publishing, 1994), Bennis shows how individuals develop leadership traits and how organizations encourage or stifle potential leaders. He profiles dynamic individuals from diverse business arenas to demonstrate how all leaders share distinctive characteristics.

   So, how are leadership qualities developed in the finance function? The FEI Research Foundation has published Leverage Competencies: The Key to Financial Leadership Success, by Frederick Militello and Michael Schwalberg. It has recently been reissued as part of the Financial Times Business Book Series, and is available through the Web site: www.fei.org/rf/Researcher/knowledge.cfm.

   This book provides examples of how eight companies from a variety of...