How to be a great leader
We asked the brightest minds in business how they do what they do – and how you can cash in on their advice in the year ahead.
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Pamela Thomas-Graham
Pamela Thomas-Graham
Group President, Liz Claiborne
Let Them See You Sweat
About two months into my tenure as CEO of CNBC, I asked Jack Welch for some feedback on how I was doing. He said I was doing great in terms of outlining a strategy for the network and how we would succeed in a tough economic climate. But he said I needed to let my team "see me sweat." Having been a consultant at McKinsey for 10 years, I was highly analytical, very calm and collected. I was used to having a poker face and never letting anyone see me get rattled, no matter how tough the challenge. Jack's advice was to do the opposite. His point was that, particularly in times of rapid change, people need to visibly see the urgency and passion of their leader if they're going to fully engage. Being analytical and strategic is great, but to get a team motivated during tough times, you also have to show your passion - you have to break a sweat so they understand at an emotional level what's really at stake. It was a vital leadership lesson as I made the transition from consultant to general manager, and I'm using that learning now in trying to turn around the Liz Claiborne apparel business.
 What do you think it will take in 2007 to succeed in business? E-mail the editors here.
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.