Developing Your Leadership Style as a Marketer ...

Last night, the CBPM second years attended a seminar with center board member Dick Antoine, who is the former global head of HR for P&G. The focus of the session was on leadership development for marketing leaders and covered two key topics: understanding effective leadership and developing personal leadership style.

Dick spoke from his experiences at P&G, where for more than 30 years he led talent development at various levels of the organization, including within production facilities and the supply-chain organization. He helped build systems and frameworks within the company to encourage and develop leaders and has had a lasting impact on the company.

I think that is what was most compelling about the session. Whether it is the illustrative examples, or the big-picture frameworks, Dick really had some good perspectives on what it means to be an effective marketing leader. And it was clear that he is passionate about building leadership in the next generation of brand marketers.

One of Dick's key points was to make the case for leadership being about more than just accomplishing tasks. Speaking of his experiences at P&G working with marketers to develop their leadership skills, he commented, "It always frustrated me when we had the leader of a team, and we asked him or her, 'Who are the least effective people on your team?' And I would always follow up with the question, 'what are you doing?'" His point was that leaders have to be engaged with their team and focusing not only on tasks at hand but on the personal and professional development of those whom they lead.

A key question that Dick posted was whether you are born as a leader or whether you can develop these skills. Second-year CBPM student Jake Abel shared his belief that "[t]here is a common misconception that leaders are born and not made. ... I think everyone has the ability to have those characteristics. The key is forging these characteristics." Dick agreed with this point but added, "I think experiences help shape leaders."





Another of Dick's key point was that there can be a diversity of leadership styles within an organization but that it is incumbent upon leaders to understand their own, unique leadership style. He noted that a number of factors impact leadership style, ranging from relgiopn to role models to experiences and education.

I posed to Dick the question of how an organization such as P&G can balance the goals of having a consistent culture while also having diverse leadership styles. He responded, saying,"I think culture is about shared beliefs. What are the values of an organization?." He continued that he believes the two can coexist. On the subject of culture and unity, he added, "I would argue it's also a focus on sustainable business results."

The session also explored different tools for assessing our individual leadership styles, including the Myers-Briggs, DISC Profile, and the concept of Situational Leadership.

Dick ended the session by talking about the 5-E Leadership Model he had helped to develop at P&G, and he talked about how to apply this model as a marketing leader. "Great leaders are in touch with their organization."

His key point was that leadership requires a complete awareness of one's business. "Make you set aside to understand the various parts of your business, not only the part you are responsible for. ... "You are managing a cross-functional team as a brand manager, and marketing and the agency are not the only elements," said Dick. He also argued for being a proactive leader: "Discipline around your schedule -- say to visit the R&D center or a consumer home twice a month. There aren't many people who have the belief and the dicipline."