Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

112 LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
needed to go to the right. The assigned leader and all the other
boys said, no, they had to go left. Eighteen boys went to the left,
whereas Fisker and one other boy went to the right and ended up
finding the treasure. However, because they had split up his group
didn’t win, and Fisker got in trouble for leaving his team. One insight
Fisker learned from this experience was to follow his convictions in
spite of opposition from others. Another powerful result was learning
that leaders can be decisive, but they need followers in order to be
truly successful.
In his first four months as a designer at BMW, Fisker was
working on a car interior with a senior designer, who asked him, “Do
you want to take over this project?” Fisker had a feeling he could
do it and said, “Yes,” confidently, even though he didn’t have a lot
of experience. He saw that each time he took a risk it added to his
confidence.
A role model for Fisker early in his career was Dr. Reitzle, the
Development Chief of BMW, who made big decisions for the direction
of the company in a very fi rm manner. “I saw a leader make a
firm decision and the domino effect was positive. There was a wave
of optimism transmitted down throughout the company.” He saw
that being decisive was a trait that was admired and was something
he emulated.
10 SECRETS & CURRENT PRACTICES OF
HENRIK FISKER—STAR PERFORMER
Read through the strategies and pick one or two to try out.
1. TAKE PRIVATE TIME
Fisker takes an hour and a half at lunchtime to work out and
think through problems. He states that this dedicated period is “a
hundred times more valuable than staying at work” where interruptions
are the norm. He plays things over and over in his mind