Don’t fall for the fashion of the hardcore chief executive
The best leaders should toggle between leadership styles according to the conditions
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In January, Tufan Erginbilgic reached for the dangerous metaphor of the “burning platform” to describe Rolls-Royce’s predicament.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Andrew Hill
Tufan Erginbilgic is barely two months into his job. Yet already the chief executive of aerospace group Rolls-Royce sounds like the incarnation of a style of no-nonsense, emotionless leadership that a combination of purpose and the pandemic seemed to have sent to the scrapheap.
Anonymous comments from former colleagues suggest the one-time BP executive “doesn’t do being woke” and is “not a people person” (Financial Times). Mr Erginbilgic is “not hugely likeable”, and “a really hard taskmaster” but “if you’re a red meat eater that loves driving performance, you’ll think he’s great” (Sunday Times).
