Unit 5 LEADERSHIP

Overview
Vocabulary: Character adjectives
Reading: Leading L’Oreal
Language Review: Relative clauses
Skills: Presenting

A. key to successful leadership today is influence, not authorityˮ (Kenneth Blanchard,

ˮThe
American author and management expert).
B. Discuss the questions.

1. Which modern or historical leaders do you most admire? Which do you admire the
least? Why?
2. What makes a great leader? Write down a list of characteristics. Compare your list
with other groups.
3. Are there differences between men and women as leaders? Why have most great
leaders been men?
4. Do you think great leaders are born or made?
5. Do you think first·born children make the best leaders?
6. What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

C. Match the adjectives in the box to make pairs of contrasting ideas.

cautious casual formal idealistic critical assertive
decisive encouraging realistic

D. Do the same with the adjectives in this box.

dynamic radical ruthless distant conservative approachable principled laid-back

E. Complete the sentences with suitable adjectives from Exercises C and D.

1. She doesn't like to rush into things. She's careful and . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. He's very good at pointing out problems with people and systems in the company. He's
often . . . . . . . . . . . . , but this helps make improvements.
3. He's a serious, . . . . . . . . . . . . person, both in the way he dresses and in his dealings with
people. Everyone knows he's the boss.
4. She has a very clear vision for the long·term future of the company, but many people
think she is too . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. He is a very . . . . . . . . . . . . man. He sacked anyone who got in his way.
6. Our boss is friendly and . . . . . . . . . . . . She's very easy to talk to.
 7. He's very . . . . . . . . . . . . . He doesn't like to try anything new now he's running the company.
8. She's very . . . . . . . . . . . . . She would never approve any policies that were remotely
unethical.
F. Match the phrasal verbs (1-6 to the nouns (a-f).
1 to take on a) a proposal/suggestion
2 to be up to b) the job
3 to put forward c) criticism
4 to deal with d) your resignation
5 to hand in e) responsibility for something
6 to come in for f) a problem

G. Which of the phrasal verbs in Exercise D mean the following:

a) to manage c) to receive e) to be good enough
b) to give d) to accept f) to propose

Discuss the questions.

1 Can you think of any leaders who were not up to the job?
2 When was the last time you took on responsibility for something?
3 What sort of problems do business leaders have to deal with? Give two
examples.
4 Why do leaders hand in their resignations? Can you give any examples?
5 Has any leader (business, political or other) come in for criticism recently in
your
country? Why? What was your opinion?

Reading: LEADING L’OREAL

Father of the feel-good factory

by Jenny Wiggins
Sir Lindsay Owell-Jones does not like being
photographed. ˮDo I have to smile?ˮ he says gruffly. He exudes the
air of a man who has done this many, many times before. Such
expertise derives from the fact that Sir Lindsay is frequently
photographed with models, girls far taller than he is, who wear
lipstick, eyeshadow and nail polish made by L'Oreal, the company
he has worked for since 1969.
For nearly 20 years, he was Chief Executive of L'Oreal, the
world's biggest beauty company and owner of brands such as
Maybelline, Redken, Lancome and Vichy. Although he stepped
back from the day-la-day running of the company two years ago.
handing over the job to Jean-Paul Agon, he remains Chairman.
Sir Lindsay, who turns 62 this month, has spent the better
part of his life trying to convince women and men that buying L'Oreal 's lotions and shampoos will
make them feel good. L'Oreal is a curious destination for a man who had 'no intention' of taking a
job in the consumer goods industry. Yet he was drawn to the beauty company. It was still quite a
small company, but was thought to be going places and was considered a great example of creative
marketing and original advertising campaigns.
ˮCosmetics is a business of intuition. Consumers don't tell you what they need; you've got to
guess.ˮ He credits his predecessor, François Dalle, with teaching him basic business sense while he
was working his way up the ranks of L'Oreal. ˮHe single-handedly ran this company and did every
marketing job for every brand, all at the same time. But he was a genius. I think one of the reasons I
got responsibility so young was that I could interpret the things he said, which often were the
opposite of what he actually said literally. So when I got the job as Chief Executive, it came totally
naturally to me that my priority was going to be to write L'Oreal in the sky of every country in the
world.ˮ
Under Sir Lindsay's leadership, L'Oreal did just that. Annual sales rose from a few million
euros to more 60 than €l7bn as the company acquired foreign cosmetic groups such as Shu Uemura
in Japan, Kiehl's in the US and the Body Shop in Britain. Sir Lindsay harboured international
ambitions even as a child. ˮMy mother dreamed of parties at Monte Carlo and the bright lights. She
transmitted to me the idea that excitement and fun was being international and travelling and
speaking languages. It was easy as a teenager in a slightly grim 1950’s Britain to see the cars going
into Monte Carlo and to say, ˮWow, one day I'm going to be there.ˮ

A. Read the article again and match the descriptions below (1-10) to these four people. Two of the
descriptions are not mentioned in the article.
a) lindsay Owen-Jones c) François Dalle
b) Jean-Paul Agon d) Lindsay's mother

1. had international ambitions from a very young age

2. was attracted by the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
3. runs L'Oreal.
4. ran the company on his own.
5. is Chairman of L'Oreal. 8 likes going to concerts and reading.
6. was attracted to L'Oreal before it 9 climbed the career ladder at L'Oreal.
7. became very successful.
8. dreamed of parties at Monte Carlo.
9. relaxes by sailing and skiing.
B. Without looking back at the article, complete the gaps with prepositions.
1. Such expertise derives . . . . . . . . . . the fact that Sir Lindsay is frequently photographed.
2. Although he stepped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the day-to-day running of the company two
years ago, handing . . . . . . . . . . . . the job . . . . . . . . . . . . lean-Paul Agon, he remains Chairman.
3. He credits his predecessor, Fran,ois Daile , . . .. . . . . . . . . teaching him basic business
sense.
4. ... while he was working his way . . . . . . . . . . . the ranks of L'Oreal.
5. My mother dreamed . . . . . . . . . . . parties at Monte Carlo.

Discuss the questions.

1 Would you like to work for Sir Lindsay? Why? / Why not?
2 What kind of leader would you like to work for?
3 Who is the worst leader you have come across?