Probably the single most important [leadership] quality at the moment
is clarity.(Lorna Walters)

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 THE LEADERSHIP SHOW  In the previous edition of The Leadership Show, host Simon Chadwick chatted with some of industry’s foremost entrepreneurs. Now it’s the turn of three corporate leaders in mega agencies to define their leadership style and imperatives. And while you’d expect a contrast, it’s not always where you’d expect

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 STARRING 

• Bob Skolnick, CEO, Synovate North America
• Lorna Walters, CEO, Research International USA
• Phyllis Macfarlane, Head, GfK NOP Custom
• Simon Chadwick, partner, Cambiar and gravitas (Host)

Timeline [22m37s]
00m00s Intro.
01m21s Most important qualities in large agency leaders.
03m27s The value of passion in corporate leadership.
05m11s Dealing with change - corporate restructuring, being sold.
06m22s The challenge of employee transparency and mission evangelism.
07m00s Decision-making autonomy.
08m03s Leadership skills and development.
09m42s Identifying future leaders.
11m46s Leadership development: grow internally vs. bring in new blood?
12m41s Best growth strategy: organic vs. acquisitions?
15m38s Leadership legacy for each guest.
17m21s Leadership heroes.

Notable Mentions
Adrian Chedore (Synovate).
Ambiguity.
Billie Jean King.
Congressman Maurice Udell.
Eric Salama (Kantar).
Kimberly Till (TNS).
Kit Molloy.
Michael Jordan.
Moses.
Nelson Mandela.
Oliver Cromwell.
Paradox.
Passion in leadership.
Philip Barnard.
Second Life.
Senator Barack Obama.
Social networks.
Synovate Rap video.
Tiger woods.
Tony Cowling (TNS).
TRU (Teenage Research Unlimited).
Warren Buffett.
Web 2.0.
Xerox.

Quotes
Good leadership qualities: “Probably the single most important quality [for leadership] at the moment is clarity. Clarity of vision, clarity of purpose, externally and internally.” (Lorna Walters).

Good leadership qualities: “Being able to deal well with ambiguity and change at an individual level.” (Bob Skolnick).

“Philip Barnard used to say ‘never underestimate the power of ambiguity’!” (Simon Chadwick).

Passion: “Passion can’t exist without purpose.” (Lorna Walters).

Passion: “I’m not being condescending here [towards entrepreneurs] but to be passionate about a single issue is easier than to be passionate about a whole range of things.” (Phyllis Macfarlane).

Transparency with employees: “Any form of being patronising or only giving certain pieces of information or trying to spin and manage is just a nonsense.” (Lorna Walters).

Autonomy: “GfK are a very benign owner…they don’t impose guidelines and so it makes for a much, much easier decision-making process.” (Phyllis Macfarlane).

Identifying future leaders: “That’s a very difficult question…intuition is very important. I think the thing that distinguishes people…is the ability to see the big picture…to see the trends, to pull it together…and it’s surprising how many people don’t see big pictures.” (Phyllis Macfarlane).

Developing leaders: “It is absolutely essential…to demonstrate a career path by cultivating leaders [internally]…I think the US industry particularly did a miserable job of training and developement.” (Bob Skolnick).

Growth challenges: “It’s wrong to assume that large companies don’t have a high growth opportunity.” (Lorna Walters).

Legacy: “One of the nicest leaving cards I had was for one of my guys who I brought in for charting…he said ‘thank you for holding the door of IT open while I slipped in’”. (Phyllis Macfarlane).

Legacy: “I would like people in retrospect to feel like I helped create pathways…and that we had fun building something together.” (Bob Skolnick).

Legacy: “Being open and honest and leaving behind an organisation that is fearless and confident…” (Lorna Walters).

Thanks to KD Consulting for sponsoring this podcast, and to freelance media and marketing journalist Jo Bowman for the use of her dulcet tones for the outro

Music 
Steffen Coonan,
The Blue Mile and Theatrimus from the PMN

Series:Leadership