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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM COVER STORY PROFILE IN LEADERSHIP PROFILE IN LEADERSHIP The Essential Hallmarks of a Good Leader By Jamie Dimon In a great company, you need to institutionalize and perpetuate a great culture and excellent leaders. To do this, you must do several things well, including the training, the retention of talent, and the creation of a company that is continually learning. You must have a culture of character and integrity. This comes from fostering an open environment, where people speak their minds freely, to treating people with respect—at all levels, from the CEO to clerks in the mailroom—to setting the highest standards combined with recognizing and admitting mistakes. Leadership is an honor, a privilege, and a deep obligation. When leaders make mistakes, a lot of people can get hurt. Being true to oneself and avoiding self-deception are as important to a leader as having people to turn to for thoughtful, unbiased advice. I believe social intelligence and "emotional quotient," or EQ , matter in management. EQ can include empathy, clarity of thought, compassion, and strength of character. Good people want to work for good leaders. Bad leaders can drive out almost anyone who's good because they are corrosive to an organization; and since many are manipulative and deceptive, it often is a challenge to find them and root them out. At many of the best companies throughout history, the constant creation of good leaders is what has enabled the organizations to stand the true test of greatness—the test of time. Look at our great military. We love hiring veterans—more than 5,000 in the past couple years. These veterans are outstanding employees and team members. Below are some essential hallmarks of a good leader that I have written about in my previous letters to shareholders. While we cannot be great at all of these traits—I know I'm not—to be successful, a leader needs to get most of them right. Discipline This means holding regular business reviews, talent reviews, and team meetings and constantly striving for improvement—from having a strong work ethic to making lists and doing real, detailed follow-up. Leadership is like exercise; the effect has to be sustained for it to do any good. Fortitude This attribute often is missing in leaders: they need to have a fierce resolve to act. It means driving change, fighting bureaucracy and politics, and taking ownership and responsibility. High Standards Abraham Lincoln said, "Things may come to those who wait ... but only the things left by those who hustle." Leaders must set high standards of performance all the time, at a detailed level and with a real sense of urgency. Leaders must compare themselves with the best. Huge institutions have a tendency toward slowing things down, which demands that leaders push forward constantly. True leaders must set the highest standards of integrity—those standards are not embedded in the business but require conscious choices. Such standards demand that we treat customers and employees the way we would want to be treated ourselves or the way we would want our own mother to be treated. POINT— COUNTERPOINT O ver the years I have written about the importance of strong leadership in business and the essential qualities a leader must have. These qualities are timeless, and they are especially important when times get tough. In the face of difficult challenges, great leaders do not retrench. Just the opposite—they step up. MARKET PULSE "In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." —Harry S. Truman Ability to Face Facts In a cold-blooded, honest way, leaders emphasize the negatives at management meetings and focus on what can be improved (of course, it's okay to celebrate the successes, too). All reporting must be accurate, and all relevant facts must be reported, with full disclosure and on one set of books. Openness Sharing information all the time is vital— we should debate the issues and alternative approaches, not the facts. The best leaders kill bureaucracy—it can cripple an organization— and watch for signs of politics, like sidebar meetings after the real meeting because people wouldn't speak their mind at the right time. 55

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