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INTERVIEW
Harry Craemers Leadership is a
journey, not a
Businessman and Professor destination
at the Kellogg School of
Management
Mr. Craemers, you will be one of the people, no matter whether they work
high profile speakers at the prestigious for you, whether they work with you
Macedonia Economic Summit 2015 in or whether they are even your bosses.
Skopje, in mid-November. Let us start I think the best leaders are the people
by defining leadership. One of the defi- who can lead up and who can influence
nitions I like the most is the one given the people above them.
by Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager
of Manchester United soccer club, who You have an impressive business
has said: “My job was to make everyone career portfolio. You were CEO of Bax-
understand that the impossible was ter, a global multi-billion healthcare
possible. That’s the difference between company. What would you point out
leadership and management”. What is as key lessons from the top manager’s
your definition of leadership? perspective?
H. Craemers: I actually very much H. Craemers: Whether I was in a
like Sir Alex Fergusson’s comment. I lower management, a higher manage-
was smiling when I read that because ment position, when I was the CEO
when I think of the definition of lead- and chairman of Baxter International
ership sometimes I start off with what and even today as an executive part-
is not. In other words if you are a ner for Madison Dearborn and Part-
leader in my mind, it is not about, “I ners, where we own twenty companies
have to have people working for me.” around the world and I sit on eight dif-
Some people will say, I would like to be ferent boards, I actually find interest-
a leader but right now I can’t because ing that from a perspective of leader-
I don’t have anybody reporting to me. ship the two most important things, I
And I always tell whether it’s a student think literally, are what I call People
or executive, that leadership has noth- and Communication. What the word
ing to do with titles and organizational People means to me is the idea to be
charts, leadership has everything to do able to attract, recruit, develop and
with influencing people to do things that’s getting open, honest, continu-
they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Тhe chal- ous, feedback and development and
lenge of leadership is to influence peo- retention of the team; and when I say
ple and that is your ability to relate to the word Communication I mean ef-
fective communication so that every
leadership has nothing to do with single person on the team whether
they are summer intern, whether they
titles and organizational charts, are clerical person or an executive
vice president, everybody understands
leadership has everything to do with what we are trying to do, why we are
trying to do it, how they fit in and they
influencing people to do things they are encouraged. Тhe leader is not try-
ing to be right – we are trying to do the
wouldn’t ordinarily do
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