What kind of leader are you? Find out at FIU

Ask former FIU President Modesto A. Maidique about some of the biggest business leaders of our time, and you’ll get some unique answers.

Former Sunbeam-Oster CEO Albert Dunlap? A sociopath. Convicted Ponzie Schemer Bernie Madoff? An egotist. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd? An achiever. The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs? A builder. Former Miami Herald Publisher Alvah H. Chapman, Jr.? A transcendent.

For Maidique, now executive director of the Center for Leadership at FIU’s College of Business Administration, a leader falls under one of six levels, depending on the answer to the question “whom do you serve?” His research was recently published by the Harvard Business School. 

His research will be one of several presentations that local business leaders will hear as part of a colloquium entitled “The Evolving Leader in a World Without Borders,” which took place on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at the Graham Center, room 243 on FIU’s Modesto Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th St. in West Miami-Dade County.

“This will be an intimate discussion that could influence the way leaders view their own leadership,” Maidique said. “Good leadership is measured by the quality of decisions you make. You can only make good decisions if you have a deep understanding of who you are as an individual.”

The workshop will range from Maidique’s “Are you a Level-Six leader?” to discussions on executive narcissism (Do CEOs Believe They Are Smarter, More Skilled, and Better Than You?) by FIU Professor Nathan Hiller, and what managers need to know about employee burn out by FIU Professor Meredith Newman.

 “Because good decisions are the defining factor of any leader’s effectiveness, leaders must then bring to bear as many tools, ideas and perspectives as possible on the decision-making process,” Maidique said. “To that end the colloquium brings together faculty from very diverse disciplines to share their research and thoughts on Leadership. By considering diverse perspectives, we inform our own thinking, build a strong awareness of self and are more likely to make effective and ethical  decisions more often.”