We all know that reading could help broaden your world. However, having an opportunity to meet gurus, big shots in multi-national corporates and hear them share their insights, opinions and what they have experienced is something you could find from any books.
I happened to have such an opportunity when Adecco Thailand invited me to the event “The Adecco Group Global CEO Meets with Future Leaders in Thailand” on 18 October 2018 to meet and hear insights from the Global CEO of the Adecco Group and the winner of CEO for One Month. There were so many things I believe are very useful for many people. So, I decided to note them down in this blog.
First, let’s get to know what is CEO for 1 Month
The idea of having children or young people playing the role of top management in an organization is now new. On the occasion of Children’s Day, you could see some companies doing so. CEO for One Month is similar to that. Adecco Group’s CEO for One Month is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young talents to have an opportunity to become a CEO, receiving a mentorship from the CEO of Adecco Group, for a month.
CEO for One Month first launched in 2011 and now is activiated in 47 countries with over 200,000 applicants. In Thailand alone, there were over 500 applicants in 2018.
“To prepare young people for the work, we need to provide them with experience. The CEO for One Month provides such an opportunity for young people to experience what kind of work the CEO does,” said Alain Dehaze, Global CEO of Adecco Group.
Lisa Frommhold, the winner of the Global CEO for One Month
From over 204,000 applicants worldwide, Lisa Frommhold, a German, is the winner of this year’s Global CEO for One Month. She won her once-in-a-life-time opportunity to work with Alain Dehaze, Global CEO of Adecco Group, for a month.
Lisa will spend one month time shadowing Alain, attending international business reviews with senior managers, contributing to strategy meetings and offering fresh ideas around the future of work. This will be her invaluable moments to learn how the leader of the global-level corporate works, which will definitely benefit her future work.
Insights from Adecco Group’s Global CEO and the CEO for One Month
Here are some insights I learned from about an hour I spent at the event “The Adecco Group Global CEO Meets with Future Leaders in Thailand”.
Positive impatience is a good thing because it’s a source of engergy.
– Alain Dehaze, Global CEO of Adecco Group
From your perspective as a Global CEO, what do you think are the key factors that make you a leader of international corporate such as Adecco?
- Of course, the first and formost thing is the achievements;
- but what is also as important is your reputation. You need to ask yourself “are you a good person?”;
- and finally is being patient. As a leader you need to be patient over many things. However, positive impatience is a good thing because it’s a source of energy
Lisa, if you can choose, what will be your boss of choice?
- Sharing: The boss should share experience and knowledge to his/her supervisees;
- Trust: Give enough autonomy to supervisees to do their tasks
- A boss that create an environment that enable people to fly (i.e., to develop to their fullest)
How do you cope yourself when you have to decide on something difficult or when you are pressured?
- Look forward: As a CEO, your responsibility is to create sustainability for your organization. So, all decisions made must be based on long-term benefits
- Prioritization: Because life is not easy. Life is like a long marathon. So, you need to learn what’s important and what’s not
What will be your one piece of advice to the young people?
From Alain…
- Know youselves, listen to yourselves, especially what you love to do. You need to find out what you really love to do;
- If you want to be successful in life, you need to do what you love;
- Be curious. You are still young. So, be bold, take risks
From Lisa…
- We need to take ownership of our own lives. We need to take risks, take actions and be responsible for whatever actions we take;
- If we do not take action, we will never be able to pursue our dreams or what we love
