No doubt, you’ve read about Google’s top leadership change. The Los Angeles Times reported on the regulatory filing submitted by Google to the Securities and Exchange Commission confirming an award for outgoing CEO, Eric Schmidt.
The members of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee of Google’s Board of Directors (LDCC) approved equity awards for Eric Schmidt in the aggregate amount of $100 million on January 21, 2011. Consistent with Google’s equity-granting practice, stock options and Google Stock Units (GSUs) will be granted in the ratio of two stock options for each GSU, which will result in a GSU grant value of approximately $55.6 million and an option grant value of approximately $44.4 million.
The equity awards will be granted on February 2, 2011…and will vest over a four-year period.
In order to claim the entire $100-million equity award — the first such award Google is giving to the man who has served as its CEO over the last decade — Schmidt will have to remain at Google for at least the next four years.
Schmidt will need to stay around for another four years to receive his “nice pat on the back” along with the golden handcuffs.
The award is not only a nice pat on the back for Schmidt, it also gives him a reason not to head off and run any companies that are seeking to knock the Mountain View, Calif., firm off its perch as a Web search and advertising leader and a growing influence in smart-phone operating systems.
Speaking of Google, a search for “leadership development” created about 24,200,000 results (0.10 seconds). That’s a lot of leadership development “support” or not.
Leadership development means what?
Leadership is the ability to lead, guide, direct or influence.
Development deals with a process of change in order to become stronger, more successful or helping someone to experience such a change.
Here’s my working definition for leadership development:
Leadership development is engaging in the process of personal change in order to expand one’s relationship influence for greater success.
Two Realities around Success Stories
The first reality is this thought: “Sure enough, I got here in spite of myself.” When I mention this to successful leaders, they usually just laugh and agree.
Then, there is a second reality: “What got you here won’t get you there.” You are successful or you would not be reading this. Yes, we build on experience, feedback, success, and failure; to achieve “next level success” requires additional development.
Leadership development is engaging in the process of change in order to enlarge one’s relationship influence for greater success.
A new Page for Larry and Us
As leaders emerge there is a significant shift required; from technical savvy to leader savvy…from knowing how to DO to knowing how to BE and doing through others, that’s right, exercising the ability to lead, guide or influence PEOPLE.
Consider the story of Google’s new CEO, Larry Page. As Nicholas Carlson reports in SFGate
Googlers and ex-Googlers say the company’s new CEO, cofounder Larry Page, is an unpretentious, rude person who will find interacting with other people the most challenging part of his new job.
I don’t know Larry Page, but I do recognize the reality of the transition and transformation he is about to experience IF he is going to succeed. I hope leadership development – the intentional engagement in the process of change in order to have relationship influence for continued success – is high on Larry’s agenda.
- How do you rate your “core leadership skills” (people skills) that allow you to influence others for greater success?
- What do you base your response on; how do you know it is true?
- Where do you see opportunity to develop as a leader?
You may not be on the world’s stage like Larry Page, but leadership development is everyone’s personal responsibility whether you work for a Fortune 500 company or yourself.
Please join me in this conversation, I’d love to hear your thoughts; comments welcome below.
Picture: Wired.com
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