How to create avatars of the top leader Part 1

Kyocera management staff are the ones who joined Kyocera at a very early stage. They were well trained by Mr. Inamori and after their retirements, and all of them, with no exception, say that they were very happy, and their career as well as private lives had been very much fulfilled. This time, I would like to highlight the story of Joe, who described how Mr.Inamori had trained him. Mr. Inamori’s motto was making CEO’s avatars as many as possible. Thus, the story implies how to make avatars who understand the CEO’s mind and conduct the leadership on behalf of the top leader.

Let me explain one by one.

1 Interview with God’s eyes.

Joe said as follows.

When I got the interview with Mr. Inamori, I found him to be a very strict person. He asked me tough questions, but I didn’t see any of his intention either to chase me or to put me in a difficult position. I could say that he was judging me whether or not I fundamentally was a good and honest guy or not.

→ I feel that Mr. Inamori was observing Joe with God’s eyes and judging his honesty and obedience from God’s viewpoints. Even though Joe had made mistakes and disappointed God before that interview, Inamori considered Joe reflected on his past and made efforts to be a better person. Therefore, Inamori hired Joe. Top leaders need to observe the nature of potential staff.

2 Have staff believe they are lucky

Joe, in his twenties, had found himself to be well matured as a professional when he spoke with his friends. This is because Mr. Inamori spent a lot of time with his staff and shared his business philosophy. Moreover, Joe, as Kyocera was a venture company, had plenty of experiences to discuss with top management of client companies. Therefore, he was always viewing business from the top leader’s point. On the other hand, his friends remained juniors and complained about their circumstances as employees. The difference is obvious, and Joe believed he was lucky to have such a great opportunity to develop himself as a business leader.  This is very important to train staff in a growing venture company.

3 Communicate top’s anxieties

Inamori , once before, shared what he dreamt on the previous night with young staff including Joe. Inamori said, in his dream, Inamori got bankrupt, looked almost beggar, and entered into his favorite bar. The store owner looked at Inamori as an insane guy, never treating him as a regular customer. Joe said,” I was very surprised with Inamori’s story. He shared that episode with young guys like us, and even though Kyocera had been in very healthy financial  condition, I was astonished that top management was always holding such fear and anxiety. I also admired Inamori’s prudent cautious attitude. ”

Some presidents don’t want to demonstrate their anxiety, and others show their boldness as the business leaders. However, such honest attitude that Mr. Inamori demonstrated helped him to develop a good relation and trust with his staff, as they realized that Inamori is also a human anyway, not the superman. This is important to make leader’s fans among staff as those fans have somehow sympathy towards the leader.

4 Scold a mindset or an attitude, not a staff’s personality itself

→ The proverb said “Condemn the crime rather than the criminal”, so staff understood this direction and Inamori’s intention and therefore, they were able to improve their professional skills and to keep following Inamori. How to scold is a very important attitude that the top leader needs to learn.

5 Create pride and harmony among staff

Each department considers other departments and understands each other, top leader must create such a culture in a company. This is the notable feature that non-Japanese can find n Japanese working environment.

Tips of 6-11 will be explained in the next blog.

Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com

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