The Leading Traits of the Modern Corporate Leader: Comparing Survey Results from 2008 and 2018

This article deals with the evolution of leadership in the corporate business environment by presenting the results of comparative empirical studies conducted in 2008 and 2018. Based on an analysis of empirical research on the 2000 largest global corporations, obtained from the Forbes Global 2000, this work presents the changes that took place over a decade in the characteristics and competencies of contemporary leaders. The results allowed us to identify the desired characteristics, competencies, and character traits of contemporary leaders. In fact, the comparative analysis of these data showed the dynamics of change in the approach of global corporate leaders over the decade. The research results have important implications for the energy sector. Some of the companies participating in the study operate in the energy sector, therefore the opinions of these CEOs indicate significant determinants of modern leadership in this type of enterprise. When analysing the research results on the vision and scope of leadership impact in corporate business, we pointed, among other things, to the assessment of leadership traits, the evolution of leadership activities’ delegation, and the assessment of the importance of managers’ individual action areas and leadership factors.

Towards a Systemic Approach to Business

Ram’s career has spanned over 40 years, during which he has donned multiple avatars: corporate leader (CEO), business builder, government advisor, angel investor and runaway monk internship. He is presently a systemic leadership coach. In this article, he argues that Indian leaders are schizophrenic. On the one hand, they are torn between the inherited cultural values of harmony and family obligations, and on the other hand, a product of imbibed Western B-School concepts of professional management and profit above all else. This dichotomy leads to hypocrisy and duplicity in Indian business. This is evidenced by treating people as means to an end rather than resources, much talked about, but not practised. Unlike their more forthright Western counterparts, who make no bones about profit making, Indian business leaders pretend to be of service to society and the system; yet acting only for personal gains of wealth and power through manipulation and lack of transparency. Ram shares his experiences on Indianness and the Indian business leaders. He explores where the hypocrisy may possibly emanate from, how this behaviour is at odds with changing generational needs and what are the likely fallouts even while pointing to emerging trends of systemic approach moving from diversity to unity, built on people engagement and collaborative teamwork in leadership. Indian companies and leaders, he argues, have what it takes to be far better and greater than they are now.

R. R. Nair Interviews R. Gopalakrishnan

R. Gopalakrishnan a stalwart corporate leader and author truly personifies the successful transmogrified ‘portable’ leader, adept at transitions across functions, intra and inter companies, geographies, and industries, even as he continues to think and write deeply on leadership praxis. Using examples from two companies, Unilever and Tata Sons, in which he spent 48 years, he offers the ‘fruits of labour’ (the manifestations) from deep-seated roots, embedded firmly over the years. The author responds to the changes in the environment as also the cultural kaleidoscope that creates the springboard for leadership action. The author provides lodestones of wisdom fashioned through the anvil of his rich experience, penetrative eye, deep intellect and research, and smart eloquence. Compellingly argued by RG, brilliantly sussed out by Maestro R. R. Nair, this interview will provide rich answers to young practitioners who wish to discover ‘Indianness and the Indian Leader’.

Direct Advocacy by “Super Citizens”

Chapter 4 explores the public pronouncements of SV150+ founders and CEOs. It does this initially by examining how publicly visible our CEOs and founders are. We find that by dint of their public statements, some CEOs and founders are far more publicly visible than others. We ask: Who is most visible? And why are they most visible? From here, Chapter 4 examines the nature and extent of a new form of corporate leader engagement in politics—taking politics public by posting on social media. Examining Twitter posts of SV150+ CEOs and founders specifically, we ask: When CEOs and founders engage politically via social media, do they engage the same issues that their companies do? Or do they “do their own thing,” focusing on issues of interest to them personally? Are CEO and founder tweets partisan and ideological? If so, which way do CEOs and founders lean?

Improving the performance of corporate leaders: Theoretical and practical consideration

Subject. The article evaluates the performance of corporate leaders in today's economy. Objectives. I unfold principles for evaluating the performance of a business leader, and review the substance of corporate governance and distinctions in managerial approaches that exist in a transportation company. Methods. The study relies upon the process-based and systems approaches, economic and mathematical methods, statistical methods for data processing and comparative analysis. Results. I analyzed types of corporate governance and notes that the entity should primarily ensure a growth in the productivity and financial result (profit). Therefore, as for the substance of corporate leader's performance, it seems to ensure the relationship of all management elements. Hence, I review a closed chain of the business leader's governance ensuring the working process and comprising five phases. The article outlines an algorithm for evaluating the performance of managers, illustrating the case of a transportation company. Based on available theoretical data, I determine that the microanalysis seems to be an option to improve the performance of corporate leaders, since it detects challenges at the initial phase, examines the management process and finds methods to eliminate any issues. I analyze how the organizational culture is examined, and conclude that the organizational culture in the transportation company is developing, thus ensuring the effective performance of the company. Conclusions. The substance of management translates into its functions and tasks shaping the specifics of the working process. A corporate leader deals with a big deal of functions, managing the staff, establishing the cooperation between corporate departments, collecting and processing the information for tasks they have to handle. The microanalysis and the implementation of the corporate governance mainly serve for raising the performance of corporate leaders. The findings can prove useful to various entities.

Role of Effective Corporate Governance and Motivational Leadership in Increasing Productivity and Efficiency of Human Resources

Workforce motivation is a concern for the corporate sector. Corporate governance and leaders have a significant role in motivating human resources to increase their productivity and efficiency. This study aims at identifying the impact of effective corporate governance and motivational leadership factors on the productivity and efficiency of human resources. The authors, in this paper, critically discussed determining human resources, elements of effective corporate governance, features of ideal corporate leader, and motivational leadership factors that influence the workforce in organizations. This study is descriptive and conceptual, and used secondary data obtained from different books, journals, and research articles (both theoretical and empirical) in the related field.

Corporate skin: Biosocial relations, tropes, and institutions in prosthetics research and development

Modern orthopaedic prosthetics imitate biological organs or their functions, interacting with the body of amputees, and are designed and manufactured corporately. Thus, prosthetics constitute a privileged vantage point to witness the intermingling of society and nature, as well as how biosocial relations and institutions are understood, negotiated, and constituted. We develop methodologies of apprenticeship with a worldwide corporate leader in the development and manufacture of non-invasive orthopaedics, to explore the biosocial relations, the tropes, and the institutions involved in the research and development of lower-limb prosthetics. The ethnography reveals how understandings of biosocial relations are influenced by and simultaneously permeate corporate institutional practices, constituting specific organic tropes, such as the corporate skin. This trope reflects the continuous negotiation of understandings of what the skin is and what it does, of the biosocial relations associated with it, of the history of the company, its products, and how its institutional practices are being shaped by these understandings.

Firm Motivations for Shareholder Co-creation

The present article, from corporate leader’s points of view, explores and provides a framework for the reasons a firm will engage and co-create with shareholders. Although the practice of firms engaging in value creation with shareholders takes place with regular occurrence, little is known about the motivations behind this co-creation. Gaining an understanding into this behaviour can benefit practitioners who wish to develop a value creation relationship with some of their shareholders. Therefore, reason for this undertaking is to develop a conceptual foundation to understand the relationships firms form with their shareholders, where co-creation of value is concerned. Five corporate leader interviews enlighten the research itinerary. The potential reasons for a firm to engage in the co-creation of organizational goals serve as broad themes by which the study is created, analysis is directed and arguments are formatted. The results of the informant interviews provide a cohesive foundation on which to further explore shareholder brand co-creation.

Reading beyond the lines: themes and cultural values in corporate leaders’ communication

Purpose The unprecedented economic development and increase in the number of global corporations in the Greater China region, comprising the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have led to more emphasis on corporate leader-stakeholder communication. Bilingual web-based messages posted on corporate websites, which aim to strategically cultivate positive relationships between leaders and stakeholders, have emerged as a primary mode of communication for Chinese corporations. However, a research study investigating the prominent themes and underlying cultural values depicted in leaders’ messages intended for different groups of stakeholders is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the themes and cultural values expressed through corporate leaders’ web-based messages in a non-western context. Design/methodology/approach Using an inductive approach, open coding and a categorization system, this study analyzed the web-based messages of leading corporations with WordSmith 6.0. Findings Six prominent themes in leaders’ communication were identified. These themes included, in order of importance: company development, operating philosophy, company profile, business environment, performance, and products and services. It was found that leaders strategically selected certain themes such as focusing on progress and the business environment but omitted others depending on how they wanted to strategically influence their stakeholders’ attitudes. Differences between the cultural values depicted in Chinese and the corresponding English messages could be attributed to leaders’ cultural adaptation of the messages intended for non-domestic stakeholders. Originality/value Since this study provides insights into the major themes preferred by leaders of corporations operating in Greater China, it will enable existing stakeholders to understand the main business focus of leaders and offer leaders more information about commonly accepted themes. These possibilities for enhanced knowledge on the part of stakeholders and business leaders, in turn, may potentially increase academic appreciation of the complexities involved in corporate communication. It also informs stakeholders about the variations in the values reflected in the English and Chinese messages of leaders, and, therefore, has a potential to offer value to academics and practitioners.