Specific Competency and Skill-building Explo - Essay Example

The qualities and practices that enabled him to reach this pinnacle position are the subject matter of this article. In its broadest sense, leadership is the ability to motivate people to work towards a set of objectives (Unknown, Leadership, about.com, 2008). This implies that personal goals do not interfere with the higher goals of a business on the one hand, and that the goals themselves are in tune with the corporate and ethical policies of that business. As Narayana Murthy says, “A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change” (Murthy NR N, 2005, Essence of leadership, The Smart Manager).

Corporate goals and policies are continuously upgraded by a change-agent, who if successful becomes identified with that business and assumes its leadership. This periodic up-gradation happens in the context of industry-wide changing environment, and expectations of the stakeholders. Moving through various management positions in American Express (AmEx) since joining in 1981, Kenneth Chenault is now its Chairman and CEO. AmEx is a 154 years old institution that is instantly recognized worldwide for its travel and financial services. Like Mr. Barack Obama is the first African American President-elect with ‘change’ as his main theme, Kenneth Chenault is the first African American to head one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average corporations (Mara D H, 2004, Strategy: Power plays, Business Week, p.153) and is a quintessential change-agent himself.

The goals that he set, the policies that he inspired, the changes that he brought about from time to time, and his ability to motivate people across cultural barriers both within the USA and across the globe – all testify the leadership skills of Kenneth Chenault. Hence it is but natural that he is heading AmEx today. When he joined as in-charge of the strategic planning division, AmEx’s main business was premium