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Transform your career with these six lessons from top CEOs

As the third decade of the 21st century progresses, it requires a special range of skills and traits to steer a multinational company to success.

Published: 1 December 2021 10:14 CET
Updated: 15 December 2021 16:41 CET
Transform your career with these six lessons from top CEOs
Photo: Getty Images

Changing technologies, new consumer bases and geopolitical shifts mean that it’s imperative that those at the helm of multi-million dollar corporations understand how to lead effectively, and with high impact.

What does it mean to lead with high impact, however? Together with online learning provider GetSmarter and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, we examine the success stories of six leading CEOs. We identify the specific lessons you can learn from each of them – skills and lessons that are also covered in the Leading Sustainability: High Impact Leadership and Business Sustainability Management online courses. 

Lisa Su, AMD. Leadership lesson: run towards problems

When Taiwan-born Lisa Su took the helm at computer chip manufacturer AMD in 2014, the company was in trouble. Lagging far behind their main competitor, Intel, the semiconductor maker was haemorrhaging money and shareholders were angry.

It was Su’s mantra of ‘run towards problems’, and her clear vision of where she wanted the company to be in the coming years that would bring the company back from the brink, and make it one that provides the chips powering not only our computers, but also Smart TVs and gaming consoles. Su’s rapid and revolutionary turnaround of the company’s fortunes demonstrates not only the role of leadership in creating organisational change, but also in business growth.

Discover the qualities propelling today’s changemakers to success, with the Leading Sustainability: High Impact Leadership online short course from the University of Cambridge and GetSmarter

Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s. Leadership lesson: learn to unify people

From early childhood, Marvin Ellison, the African-American former CEO of J.C. Penney’s and current CEO of Lowe’s, took on responsibility for his large family while his parents worked multiple jobs to put food on the table. As he grew older, starting in Loss Prevention at Target and climbing the corporate ladder via such household names as Home Depot, he learned to use his unique standing within the predominantly white corporate world to bring considerably different groups together, in the service of business growth and the consolidation of gains.

Combining confidence, faith and trust in those around him, Ellison has inspired Lowe’s to new heights, almost doubling their share price in two years. Ellison’s career path, and his success are classic examples of how convictions can give leaders a deep sense of meaning, and how the concepts of fairness, honesty and inclusion positively impact business decisions.

Rosalind Brewer, Walgreens. Leadership lesson: efficiency equals sustainability

Former CEO of Sam’s Club, COO of Starbucks, and current Walgreens CEO, Rosalind Brewer has made innovation her watchword throughout her entire career. She is one of only two black female CEOs of companies in the Fortune 500. Brewer was instrumental in bringing in healthier options and organic foods to Walmart and Sam’s Club, leading the way for other American retailers. She also pioneered ordering ahead for groceries and coffee, at Sam’s Club and Starbucks respectively. Not only has this led to growth, but the resulting efficiency gains have meant changes to supply chains and the amount of food wasted, making both companies significantly more sustainable.

Brewer’s success is indicative of the gains that can be made when leaders challenge current practice, and carefully consider processes with an eye towards efficiency and sustainability. Such decision-making can massively reduce waste and inefficiencies, giving a company a valuable and well-deserved reputation for sustainability.

Develop the skills that the CEOs of some of the world’s most recognisable brands use to lead their company towards sustainability, with the Business Sustainability Management online short course from GetSmarter and the University of Cambridge

Photo: Getty Images

Dan Price, Gravity Payments. Leadership lesson: Rewrite the rules

Dan Price, CEO of payment processor Gravity Payments, stunned the world when he announced in 2015 that all employees of the company would receive a yearly salary of $70,000, disrupting the typically pyramidal structure of corporate salaries. Not only that, but he announced that he would be taking the same salary, something completely unheard of. Not only did this result in a considerable amount of positive media coverage, but a book deal for Price, allowing him another platform to outline his vision and ideas, not only for the company, but for society as a whole. He has become a lightning rod for discussions around wage disparity, and some have claimed him as a kind of ‘working man’s hero’. Increasingly, small start-ups are attempting similar moves, and changing the conversation around corporate power structures. 

Price’s actions in providing an equal salary clearly show the value of storytelling in leadership, creating a personal narrative that has had significant impact in his sphere of influence.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble. Leadership lesson: Turn loss into opportunity 

Despite making Tinder the world’s premier dating app, as Vice President of Marketing, Whitney Wolfe Herd was subject to online abuse and threats after she spoke out, regarding tensions with fellow executives at the height of the #MeToo movement. Following a lawsuit and a barrage of press, Herd refused to let this be the end of her leadership career and came up with Bumble, the dating app where women message first – a revolutionary idea at its inception. The app soon took off and became the world’s second most popular dating app, behind Tinder.

Herd’s resilience, and her talent for introducing innovative ideas and practices that create opportunities for business growth are the hallmarks of her career so far – who knows what trajectory her career will take from here.

Robert Bosch, Bosch. Leadership lesson: Remember you’re a part of the greater whole

Today Bosch is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, not only of household appliances, but of automotive components and engineering equipment. However, across Germany and in many areas of the developing world, the name is also synonymous with acts of charity and altruism. This is because, right from the very early days of the company, founder Robert Bosch ensured that company profits would be reinvested into hospitals, development programmes and progressive causes in his native Stuttgart and beyond.

Bosch is still known for his conscientious response to Germany’s turbulent twentieth century. Not only did he refuse armament contracts during the First World War, but he and his closest associates played a key role in resistance to Hitler, saving countless Jewish lives in the process.

Bosch’s story is a classic case study of the ways in which commercial success can be aligned with societal and environmental causes.

Learn more about the Leading Sustainability: High Impact Leadership online short course from GetSmarter and the University of Cambridge, and discover how to lead people and organisations to new heights of innovation and growth

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HEALTH

How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

A common question among those wanting to move to Spain is if they will have access to the Spanish public healthcare system even if they only work part time or a few hours a week.

Published: 23 April 2024 10:57 CEST
How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

In order to understand the answer to this question, you need to be aware of several rules on who has the right to public healthcare in Spain. 

In Spain, you have the right to access public healthcare under the following circumstances:

  • You are an employee or self-employed and are affiliated and registered with the social security system
  • You receive Spain’s state pension
  • You are the recipient of benefits, including unemployment benefits or subsidies.
  • You have exhausted your unemployment benefit or subsidy or other benefits of a similar nature and are unemployed and residing in Spain
  • Children under the age of 15
  • Students under the age of 26

You also have the right to healthcare if your spouse pays into the social security system or if you’re pregnant.

READ ALSO: Does permanent residency in Spain equal free public healthcare?

But what happens if you are an employee, but you only work part-time, does the number of hours you work affect whether you have the right to public healthcare coverage?

Even if you work part-time (or media jornada in Spanish), you will still be paying into the social security system automatically – part of it from your salary and part of it from your employer.

Therefore you will be affiliated in the social security system as in point one above. 

According to stats from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), a total of 6.6 percent of men in Spain in 2022 worked part-time and 21.6 percent of women. In September 2023, there were 2.9 million part-time employees in the country.

As far as social security is concerned, those who work part-time benefit the same as those working full-time when it comes to national healthcare, regardless of the length of their day. Part-time contributions count as one full day when it comes to paying social security.

READ ALSO: What to be aware of before accepting a part-time job in Spain

This rule, equating part-time work to full-time work was brought into force on October 1st 2023 in order to try and help reduce the gender pay gap in Spain, but was designed with the pension system in mind rather than national health coverage.

The advantage is that it also benefits those who want to work part-time and still be able to access healthcare. Even before this was brought into force, however, those working part-time and paying social security were still covered. 

All this means that there isn’t a specific number of hours you must work in order to be able to be covered under the Spanish healthcare system, and as long as you’re paying social security or fall into one of the categories above, you will be able to benefit from it.

Remember that if you’re not employed or self-employed in Spain and don’t have a spouse who is either, then you may not be covered.

To get around this you can either join a programme such as the S1 scheme for British pensioners or pay the convenio especial in order to benefit from public healthcare. For this, you will pay a monthly fee of €60 if you are under 65 and €157 if you are over 65. 

If none of these options are available to you or the requirements of your visa say so, then it’s necessary to get private health insurance instead.

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