Director (emeritus) of McKinsey Indonesia, Dr. Raoul Oberman, believes that leaders need to open up themselves in order to reveal their leadership potentials. Dr. Oberman noted this during his leadership and people development talk in the TK Low Series of Seminar at Jakarta Campus (10/7/2017). The primary reason for the importance of openness for leaders is because leaders should accept their weaknesses, and in that way, keep improving their capacity.
Dr. Oberman took unique approach to deliver his material. He began by asking participants to meditate and contemplate about their past leadership journey. This contemplation includes remembering the best leadership moment and why it was special for participants. Participants were also asked about the difficult moment in their leadership experience and their strategy to overcome the difficulties. This contemplation approach aims to let participants to listen to their inner voice.
Another important take from the lecture is that successful leadership needs to have three elements: alignment, execution, and renewal. “Alignment is a process to adjust our leadership with the strategic direction of the organization. Execution is to establish the cohesiveness within the team, and ensure the interaction within the team. Renewal is to maintain the productive energy in the team,” explained Dr. Oberman
At the end of the lecture, Dr. Oberman discussed the core muscles of leadership, which are the ability to deal with stress and the ability to build trust. These muscles are important to turn negative energy to positive energy. As a prominent leadership coach himself, Dr. Oberman has successfully transferred his positive energy to the participants during the lecture.
