#90 Professor Michael Useem: An Accomplished Leadership Consultant and Wharton Management Educator
Recently, we were honored to interview Professor Michael Useem, who gave us invaluable insights into the importance of leadership and its prevalence in our daily lives. As the William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management at the Wharton School, his work deals with leadership, decision making, corporate restructuring, and risk management. Professor Useem is also the director for Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management and has consulted in leadership programs at several distinguished organizations such as Google and the United Nations.
Professor Useem credits his work ethic and success in childhood to his parents and to a high school teacher that pushed him to take advanced mathematics courses that were not generally offered. These courses inspired him to major in physics which he would not have done otherwise. In his professional career, Professor Useem says he has been more impacted by simply observing successful leaders in action. For instance, he says that he was greatly impacted by the leadership practices of Nelson Mandela and MLK by internalizing the way they united nationwide movements behind them. He also mentions Alex Gorsky, the chief executive of Johnson and Johnson, who gave a speech in his leadership class. Although his presentations were always exemplary, he always asked how he could improve his delivery for the next class. Overall, Professor Useem emphasized that developing leaders should not be satisfied with coaching from two or three mentors, but instead derive wisdom and inspiration from success they observe around them.
Based on these observations that Useem has amalgamated over his life, he determined the most important qualities of leadership that are fundamental to any leadership position: thinking strategically in regard to your goal, communicating persuasively, and acting decisively. Outside of these characteristics however, Useem stresses that in order to be successful, a leader must consider the differences in the roles between businesses with different purposes, locations, and context. In fact, Professor Useem has done research in China and India to analyze the business practices, leadership norms, and necessary knowledge to run a successful firm in both places. The expertise needed is radically different to what is needed here – a United States senior manager needs to know about large institutional holders and the nuances of a capitalist economy, but in China and India it is much more important to know how to even start a business while dealing with the difficulties of their respective governments. All in all, he emphasizes that even though the fundamentals are the same in leadership, many of the specifics are wildly different and that it is “our calling to be vigilant about these differences” in order to make the most of new opportunities or work with different businesses that address issues that you are passionate about.
For the next generation of leaders, Useem says that leadership comes from everywhere. Professor Useem recalls the mining catastrophe in Chile when 33 miners were trapped underground. They were only able to survive over two months in isolation underground due to leadership that stepped up in the group to keep the situation under control. There was also leadership in the capital that needed to authorize aid and leadership in the rescue team. All of these components working together led to the success of the operation.
Thus, Useem urges all students to examine what they are responsible for and step up to take on a leadership role. It may just be a simple club or sport. Even if you do not get a leadership title, you can still make an enormous difference. By taking on the identity of a change maker, you can begin to make a meaningful difference. However, Professor Useem says to always keep an eye on the long term as well, and to use every opportunity to learn whether it be through a webinar, article, or class. He says to continue to observe other ambitious and passionate professionals to gain insights on their success and leadership strategies. Useem emphasizes that in these uncertain times, it is vital that we all take initiative right now in leading this generation forward by “thinking strategically, communicating persuasively, and acting decisively”.
You can watch the full interview here.
Interviewers: Rahul Kavuru and Sourish Jasti
Author: Nishant Nagururu
Editor: Ayan Lateef
Graphic: Sraavya Penumudi
Video Editing: Chinmay Korapati