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Leadership Deconstructed


Interview with Laura Persky, Graduate Program Director by 

Christina Surrusco M.S Sport Business Management ‘2017.


        CS: What is the makeup of a true leader

LP: Great leaders motivate people to act; to work, to 
give or to play hard and one of the outcomes is that 
they help keep their teamsengaged.  As Jeff Weiner, 
CEO of LinkedIn says “a leader inspires others to do 
great things.” Great leaders are approachable, and 
active in the business by being good communicators 
and demonstrating concern for their employees. 

CS: How essential are these individuals in engaging 
employers and productivity throughout the company?

 LP: Leaders are essential to employee engagement and productivity. Leadership behavior sets the tone for the organization.  An organization needs to have authentic, ethical and positive leadership.   This will set the tone for how others behave.  Positive modeling will be followed as will negative.  For example, when senior leaders interact and say hello to employees, it shows that the employees matter.  Employees need to feel safe to take risks, make suggestions and try new things in order to keep up with the changing consumer needs.    
 
 CS: How does one go about building dynamic culture and continually promoting this desired environment? 

Laura Persky 2nd from left BCW Attraction Factor panel 10-17
LP: Culture can be set by the leadership and exemplified by how they behave.  When leadership sets a tone of collaboration and empathy then it will be followed. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft explains the importance of leadership example when he says “The C in CEO is for Culture.”   Therefore, it is important to follow through and remedy negative situations where the desired behavior is not demonstrated.  Manhattanville School of Business recently hosted a panel discussion on creating culture and one of the speakers, James Giangrande, shared his insight on developing a positive work environment “leave your ego at the door”.   

 CS: How significant is employee retention and if so, what are some areas leaders can adhere to retaining employees? 
LP: Developing and retaining a positive and motivated staff is key to an organization's success because high employee retention helps develop customer relationships and create positive customer service.  Deloitte LLP, suggests that companies should aspire to the achieve the elements in the Simply Irresistible Organization TM model which includes meaningful work, supportive management, positive work environment, growth opportunity and trust in leadership.  
On the flip side, high employee turnover increases expenses and also has a negative effect on company morale.  Leaders should pay close attention to employee turnover numbers and if there is a problem they need to take an honest look at what is driving the issue.  In those cases, ignorance is not bliss.    

    

               Click for more information on the M.S. Business Leadership  or the 

                Advanced Certificate in Business Leadership. 

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