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News

Shell exec: lead by solid example

Company president speaks to business students on the importance of continuing education and leadership skills

by DANTE EGLIN
The Daily Cougar

Strong leaders should be "servants" to their employees, the president of Shell Oil Co. said Thursday in Melcher Hall. President John Hofmeister also advised students on the importance of continuing educational endeavors after graduation and discussed leadership in the workplace as the 23rd speaker in the Bauer College of Business' Distinguished Leadership Series.

"My job is to be the needle stitching the organization together in a holistic fabric that doesn't come apart," Hofmeister said. "That fabric can be artful, and it can be functional. It can be strong, and if it's torn for some reason, that needle patches it back together again. Leaders are like a needle pulling the thread because they keep the body together and make it stronger by creating connectivity through all the pieces."

Hofmesiter said that being a leader requires constant accountability for one's actions.

"You can try to make up for (your) weaknesses by emphasizing your strengths, but leading is personal," he said. "It's your appearance; it's your tone of voice, your personality; your whole mind, body and soul," he said. "Therefore, you have to recognize that your personage is what's on. You're not some institution -- you're not some machine. You are a person."

Hofmeister also highlighted the importance of learning from non-traditional sources such as fiction books, periodicals and television, as well as the need to absorb information from the workplace and one's social environment.

Erika Guerra, Bauer Office of External Relations executive secretary, helped coordinate the event and agreed with Hofmeister. "You have to continue your education once you graduate, whether it's reading a book, reading a newspaper or other materials," Guerra said. "The education you're able to gain just by being able to learn things from other people is going to really benefit you in the long run because once you've stopped learning, you put yourself in a spot where you can't further yourself. Being able to continually engage in the learning process will put you ahead of others."
 

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