Leadership 7th Edition by Andrew DuBrin, Ann Fisher, Andrew DuBrin

Exercise 19

Barry Salzberg has spent his entire thirty-four-year career in one place, climbing the corporate ladder at Deloitte LLP. From his first unsupportive manager at the New York-based professional services firm to the mentors who helped pull him up through the ranks, Salzberg learned to lead and be led. He became the CEO of Deloitte in the United States in 2007, and four years later the global chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
His message for the next generation of leaders is that the old leadership hierarchy no longer works. "Gone is the day of the old command-and-control environment, the climb-the-ladder model, in which the employee kept quiet and didn't say too much beyond what was asked and tasked," Salzberg told his audience at a Wharton Leadership Lecture. "Gone, too, is the densely layered organizational hierarchy and dinosaur-like structures that are too slow and lumbering for today's environment."
Instead, Salzberg said, today's leadership needs to be flat and transparent. And to thrive in an everchanging world, companies must actively commit to cultivating younger leaders throughout the organization, encouraging older leaders to pass on what they know. "No longer is leadership about a few exceptional leaders at the top of the organization. Rather, the future is about exceptional teams and the leaders within those teams who can out-maneuver, out-manage, and out-innovate their competition."
Leaders today must also be transparent, said Salzberg. "In today's social media environment, it's fascinating to see how in ten seconds what you say is spread throughout the organization. There are few hiding places."
As Salzberg grew and matured in the organization, he took on many leadership roles and became a partner in 1985. "Then, as now, you need an advocate to make partner. You need a mentor," he pointed out. "While mentoring was naturally part of the process, it was not a hard-and-fast requirement. Rather, it was something you did if you kind of felt like it. It was optional, and nobody really monitored it. As I look back on it, the old model left too much to chance as far as developing leaders."
Salzberg's new approach to developing leadership is a stand-alone, bricks-and-mortar university where Deloitte professionals can go to teach and learn-a $300 million initiative. The 100-plus acre campus in Westlake, Texas, is dedicated to the idea that leaders must learn from other leaders. "Call it 'apprenticeship' if you will. It's an age-old model for turning the young into the talented, experienced professionals and leaders."
The university gives Deloitte professionals a chance to share their experience and wisdom with the next generation. "The best leaders are generous with their experience, time, and understanding that leadership is a life-long journey that is best made with trusted companions. If you have become a leader, the likelihood is that someone mentored you. Someone helped you. Someone championed your career."
What advice about developing yourself as a leader might you take away from Salzberg's comments?