Jeff Bezos, the chairman and chief executive of Amazon, is hailed as one of the most prominent captains of industry. Known for his charisma, business prowess and bold and innovative ideas, Mr Bezos’ professional trajectory and key role in the growth of e-commerce are inspirational.
But Amazon employees have discovered that working for Mr Bezos is quite a challenge. He is a typical alpha male – hard-headed, task-orientated and extremely opinionated.
Leader of the pack
Although there are many successful female leaders, they tend to be not as intimidating as the typical alpha, who is generally male. The term derives from the animal world, where the alphas are among the highest-ranked individuals within a given group. Any challenge is dealt with decisively and savagely.
Similarly, in the world of homo sapiens, alphas are only happy when they are in charge. Generally, they are autocratic, intensely competitive and results-orientated achievers. Through courage, confidence, tireless energy and a fighting spirit, they lead others in competitive and crisis situations. But the characteristics that make alphas great can also lead to their downfall.
Hubris is one example. An alpha's exceptional strengths can become a tragic flaw. They often lack emotional intelligence and are not good at considering other perspectives. This single-minded focus, hard-driving competitiveness, interpersonal impatience and difficulties in controlling their anger often endanger their interpersonal relationships.
As pressures increase, an alpha's leadership style can move from constructive to one of intimidation and even abuse. Not surprisingly, companies run by destructive alphas can easily go down the drain.
Interestingly, the closest relative of homo sapiens is not the gorilla but the bonobo, alias the pygmy chimpanzee, which is part of a matriarchal society. Bonobos create, maintain and use social networks to manage stressful conditions.
Can alphas change their attitude?
Alphas find it hard to ask for help. So, rather than condemning alphas for their power-driven, abrasive behaviour, I find it useful to start by focusing on their positive qualities.
Deep down every alpha has a modicum of awareness of his weaknesses, strengths, fears and hopes. To address these it's important to first build a trustful and collaborative relationship.
Once trust is established, have alphas go through a 360-degree feedback exercise. Sometimes, presenting data that illustrates their intimidating style can trigger defensive reactions. With this in mind, the interface has to be a tactful "dance".
There is a place for alpha-like behaviour in organisations that need the drive, competitiveness and commitment of such leaders. However, this should be balanced with models of leadership that connect, build and nurture. Once this has been achieved, organisations such as Amazon will discover that employees who work without fear can be driven to new heights.
Manfred Kets De Vries is the distinguished clinical professor of leadership development and organisational change at Insead.
This article is republished courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
