Mr. Brian Ferguson, Chairman--American Chemistry Council and Chairman-Board of Eastman Chemical Company, delivered the keynote speech on "Chemical Industry Leadership Challenges" on June 4, 2010 at 2010 LDC, Kingsport, TN. Brian pointed out that the leader should be a continuous learner and should be courageous. The leader should do things that he or she strongly believes in and should have a clear vision about it. The leader, unlike the manager, gets his or her things done through influencing others rather than through any formal authority. The highlight of his talk is the video of a shirtless dancing guy, footage used by Derek Sivers at a TED conference. Brian highlighted that:
A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. Thus a movement is formed.
On a previous occasion, Brian Ferguson had asked his employees to feel and act like the owner of the company, as pointed out by Dr. Paul Fanning, Chair of East TN AIChE local section. This concept of acting like an owner motivates and engages the employees and volunteers in any organization. Many speakers touched this idea of acting like an owner in their talks in the next two days. If you are an owner, your motivational level is high, you are highly engaged and the burn-out is significantly reduced. Taking charge of the responsibility transforms one into a leader. Be courageous to lead! Be the owner!!
Comments
This is so true. When leadership is poor, the morale and motivation of the whole team suffers, but when team members feel like owners and have a vested interest in the company or organization, they are more likely to step up and do what needs to be done.