| Our Leadership principles |
- Realising our Vision is our objective
Our vision - Value through Innovation - defines our corporate direction and our shared
ambition. It drives all our plans and our actions. It is the basis of our commitment to the future and our
perspective on the world.
Effective leadership will bring our vision to life. Everyone who leads a team, a department or an operating unit
can make a contribution and help us to realise our vision.
Those who lead, at whatever level, must be the champions of our vision. We expect from them complete commitment,
we expect them to walk and talk our vision, to make it real and compelling.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the capacity to interpret and realise our vision.
Realising our vision is our objective.
- Improvement is our ambition
Our world never stands still, nor can we. If we do not constantly improve every aspect of what
we do and how we do it, then we will fall behind our competitors and lose touch with our customers. Leadership is
improvement and improvement is leadership.
Leaders are innovators, they create a climate in which everyone is encouraged to innovate and to improve. Leadership
provides a focus for improvement and a framework for everyone.
Improvement is challenging. It requires the ability to see things as they are - to recognise the strengths an
weaknesses of one's team, one's competitors and oneself - but not to be constrained by them. It demands an imaginative
view of the future - one that is based not simply on what has happened in the past but on what is likely to happen in
the future.
Improvement is about identifying and taking advantage of the opportunities of tomorrow as well as those of today.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the ability to constantly improve what we do and how
we do it.
Improvement is our ambition.
- Teamwork is our task
We are a multicultural and world-wide corporation. We are strengthened and enriched by the
diversity of our people, by their professional skills and by their personal commitment. Effective leadership
recognises and harnesses the skills, knowledge and imagination of employees. It enables them to give of their best and
to take a pride in their work.
Our leaders are committed to building and developing teams that share a common goal. They encourage individual
contributions and they recognise the role of each team member.
Our leaders ensure that their people operate in a clear framework with the skills and support they need to be
successful. They coach rather than control. They recognise team achievements and individual brilliance, and do
everything they can to eliminate the barriers that keep us apart.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the ability to foster teamwork.
Teamwork is our task.
- Persistence is our character
We know that leadership requires individual judgement, experience and imagination. It demands
conviction, confidence and courage. We have the courage to realise our vision and to make our plans a reality.
We know that change is a continuous process. Our markets, our customers, our technology, our competitors continually
change. For us, change is not a threat: it is an opportunity. The challenge of leadership is to seize the
opportunity, to meet the challenge of change.
Leaders take the long-term view, they understand that results can take time. They do not give up at the first hurdle.
They try again. They are professional and persistent.
For us a defining character of leadership is persistence.
Persistence is our character.
- Communication is our key
People are our most important and most valuable resource. Our success depends largely on their
skill, their dedication and their ability to communicate.
Leaders communicate with clarity and conviction. They know that communication is not a one-way process. They know that
effective communication is a two-way process and that they must listen if they are to be heard and respected.
We need to communicate our goals and our objectives. We need to communicate our progress and the results. We need to
communicate success and failure. The failure to communicate is the failure of leadership.
Effective communications are key to our success, they breathe life into everything we do, they make teams more
productive and leaders more powerful.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the ability to communicate effectively.
Communication is our key.
- Delegation is our duty
With leadership comes delegation and with delegation comes trust. We know our strengths and the
capabilities of those around us.
We know that we are not able to do everything ourselves. As individuals we look for support from those around us.
As a company we know that to be successful we have to be one team, worldwide, with one ambition. As a team we must
support each other and create a climate of trust. We know that we must delegate, that we must involve everyone in
one effort in one team.
Individuals that do not delegate, do not lead. Delegation is a principle of leadership. It builds new leaders,
stronger teams, it creates consensus and above all it fosters trust.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the ability to delegate.
Delegation is our duty.
- Delivering results is our goal
The performance ethic is a vital element of leadership. We face many demands from those who have
a stake in our business. Our future depends on our ability to satisfy their needs. Our customers demand better value,
our employees expect better recognition, we demand better returns, society demands safer products and a cleaner
environment and we all want better solutions to the problems that confront us.
Every part of our company, every department, every team has to ensure that it builds a secure base for our future.
Our future depends on our ability to deliver value and create wealth. We all have to show a return on the resources
we use, we have to create real economic value in all we do.
We need to agree and communicate clear goals at every level. We need to review and measure our performance fairly and
accurately. We need to recognise success and failure and act accordingly. Our commitment to the principles of
Management by Objectives will help us to achieve these demanding goals.
Effective leadership demands results. It demands that we are realistic, that we deliver on our promises and only make
promises that we can keep.
For us a defining quality of leadership is the ability to create value and to deliver on our
commitments.
Delivering results is our goal.
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