Good morning. The US presidential election this week has kept the topic of leadership at the forefront. A world-renowned leadership and management expert shared critical qualities that are essential to all successful leaders, whether they are politicians or in corporate America.
In a new episode of Wharton’s The Ripple Effect podcast, Michael Useem, professor emeritus of management at the school and faculty director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management. says there is a “mission critical leaders checklist” with five key components. They include: thinking strategically, acting decisively, communicating persuasively and also revealing your character.
“People want to know who you are,” says Useem. And that includes your experience, values and what you bring to the table as a person, he says.
And the fifth critical component is: “Respect the room. It is a phrase of a politician, very applicable at the moment”, says Useem. That means taking the time to communicate with your team, finding commonalities, reminding them of strategic direction and making sure you always show them how important they are, he says.
In the corporate world, all people in senior leadership positions are concerned about employees, supply chains, the communities in which they operate and “pulling those disparate areas together for common cause and purpose,” Useem explains.
For a political candidate, “given the great diversity in our voting public, their big challenge is to bring together people who often have very different points of view,” he says.
Useem believes that the art of leadership is at its core about finding common ground.
“We couldn’t find it in 1861 when the country fell apart because of the Civil War,” says Useem. “A little difficult this year to find him. But I think the great leaders of the moment are the ones who can find common ground, even if it seems like there’s none there.”
Useem is also a prolific author. In one of his books, The Edge: How 10 CEOs Learned to Lead – and the Lessons for Us Allit examines the decision-making of executives in major companies.
In a previous interview with Useem, he told me that the experience of Denise Ramos, former CEO and president of ITT, is a good example of strategic partnership. Ramos was CFO for ITT when the company was being split into three spin-offs, he said. The board chair asked her to become chief executive of one of the three, he said. “She replied, ‘Well, I’m the CFO, I’m not the CEO,'” Useem recalled. The chairman of the board said: ‘But Denise, you were thinking like a CEO.”
Have a nice weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
The following CFO Daily sections were curated by Greg McKenna
Leaderboard
Some notable moves this week:
Dan Swanstrom was named CFO of The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC ), a real estate investment trust, effective Nov. 16. He will succeed current CFO Scott Kingsmore, who will move into a senior advisor role and stay with the company until the end of the year.
Joanne Zach was promoted to CFO of Fathom Holdings (NASDAQ: FTHM ), a real estate services company. She has served as the company’s SVP of Finance since February 2021 and brings over 25 years of public and private sector financing experience.
George Cardoza was named CFO of cloud software company SophiA GENETICS (Nasdaq: SOPH ), which operates in the healthcare space, effective immediately. He will succeed Ross Muken, who was promoted to president of the company.
Vinay Shah was named CFO of Adial Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ADIL), which is focused on therapies for the treatment and prevention of addiction, effective Nov. 16. He will succeed Joseph Truluck, who is resigning from the position to pursue other opportunities, according to the company.
Rachita Sundar was named CFO of software company Qualtrics, a leading online survey tool, effective immediately. She succeeds Rob Bachman, who spent 11 years at the company before leaving in August to take time off with his family, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Deniz Terlemez was promoted to interim CFO of Marti Technologies (NYSEAM: MRT ), a Turkish transportation app, effective immediately. He succeeds former CFO Oguz Erkan, whom the company thanked for his integral contributions after he arrived at the company in May.
Leopoldo Alvear was named CFO of French banking giant Societe Generale (ENXTPA: GLE ), effective Jan. 7, as part of a management shakeup under new CEO Slawomir Krupa. He will succeed Claire Dumas, who will stay at the company until the end of January before leaving to pursue other opportunities, the bank said.
Richard Hallé was named CFO of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE: NGVC), effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Todd Dissinger, who will retire the day before as previously announced.
Big Deal
The value of venture capital funding in October fell nearly 29% globally compared to the same month last year, according to a new REPORT by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Total deal value for the month reached $18.8 billion, up from $20.95 billion in September.
While the technology, media and communications sector remained the biggest beneficiary of investment, the month’s two largest private equity-backed funding rounds were for energy companies. The start of nuclear power Pacific Fusion led the way, raising more than $900 million in a Series A led by General Catalyst Group Management.
Going deeper
Here are four wealth weekend reads:
“Wall Street is foaming at the mouth with all the potential mergers and acquisitions that could happen now with Trump as president,” by Paolo Confino
“Meet the rich Americans fleeing to Portugal, Spain and Italy in fear of a Donald Trump presidency”, by Ryan Hogg
“As celebrities became VCs and VCs became famous”, by Tatiana Koffman
“In the wake of an election that divided the workplace, CEOs must inspire unity,” by Alan Fleischmann
Heard
“Nothing in the economic data suggests the committee needs to rush to get there. We are seeing strong economic activity. We are seeing continued strength in the labor market.”
— Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said interest rates would be gradually cut to a “neutral” stance after the central bank cut the key rate by 25 basis points. Financial Times reported.