“Merciless out, sharing in”

The era of the authoritarian leader who single-handedly takes all decisions is over. Now CEOs are much more tolerant and sharing than 5-10 years ago. They extol team spirit and listen to their employees. This global trend can also be seen in Turkey.

Until 5-10 years ago, the authoritarian leadership model where one person took all the decisions was regarded as perfectly normal. But now behaviour and expectations have changed completely. As leaders who extol team spirit and listen to their employees come to the fore, leaders who like to manage on their own have begun to be seen as ‘egoists’.

It is generally accepted that CEOs in Turkey are now more ‘tolerant’ than before. For example, Avea General Manager Cüneyt Türktan, who prefers to share his responsibilities with his colleagues, is regarded as a ‘democrat’, Axa Oyak General Manager Cemal Ererdi is seen as a ‘conciliator’ because he puts his employees at ease by always trying to find the ground for conciliation on every issue, and Vodafone CEO Attila Vitai is seen as ‘supportive’ because, even though he is demanding. he always makes a point of supporting his employees.

We attempted to learn what kind of leaders the leading CEOs in Turkey are by listening to their colleagues and the CEOs themselves.

Democratic Leaders
Avea General Manager Cüneyt Türktan is well-known for his democratic attitudes. He prefers to share his responsibilities with his colleagues. Avea Corporate Communications Director Pınar Kaya supports this assessment. She believes that Türktan is a leader who likes to delegate to the people with whom he works and then manage the results. She says that his tendency to share responsibility strengthens team spirit in the company and adds:

“Mr. Türktan gives great importance to the views of his employees. The fact that he has a vision is very important for us. He can see very clearly one or two steps ahead and he guides us accordingly. Moreover, he takes decisions very quickly. He doesn’t even have any difficulty in taking critical decisions.”

Another democratic leader is Umut Oran, the former head of TGSD and the Board Chairman of Domino Tekstil, who is known for his modern, democratic attitude. He regards work as a team game and, as the team captain, he applies the rules to himself at least as much as to those who work under him. He attaches importance to rules and views everything in terms of ‘us’ rather than ‘I’.

Stresses The Importance Of Being Different
Baymak Board Chairman Dr. Murat Akdoğan prefers not to work with people who cannot manage their time and who cannot react immediately to events. It is virtually impossible for anyone looking for individual success or who doesn’t give importance to team work to work with him. Baymak General Manager Önder Kıratlılar describes Akdoğan as follows:

“He is a leader who is innovative, market-focused and locked onto the target.” He says that he gives great importance to being different and continues as follows. “He is constantly producing new ideas and encouraging his employees by asking them to come up with something different. He provides every career opportunity for those who are ambitious and determined to be successful. From time to time he gives employees work which puts them under pressure and pushes them to exceed their limits. At the same time, in order to prepare them for higher responsibilities, he first informs them, then encourages and guides them at every stage.

Can Take Radical Decisions
Abdi İbrahim Assistant General Manager Cenan Esirtgen describes Board Chairman Nezih Barut’s character as someone with a lot of self-confidence, who can convince people that his views are right, can take risks, believes in his cause, and can take radical decisions in time of crisis. He notes that these characteristics are the basis of the quality of leadership. He says: “If those who work closely with Mr. Barut bring out these characteristics in him in a manner which utilizes them productively then they achieve successful results.”

Abdi İbrahim Marketing Director Süha Topcuoğlu says that Nezih Barut is an expert at making things simple and continues as follows: “He expresses his gratitude and praises extols when necessary. In times of crisis he comes to the fore, never panics and boosts the morale of those around him.”

“It Is Not Easy To Work With Me”
Yaşar Holding CEO Hasan Denizkurdu says that he is a ‘difficult’ leader and adds: “I would imagine that I am not easy to work with. Because I want to take decisions quickly and see the results.”

He says that he tells employees: “Don’t be afraid to make decisions. Take at least 10 decisions a day. It is enough that six of them are correct. The right ones are your success. I take responsibility for the mistakes.” He adds: “If, despite this, a decision is not taken, I become angry. It is decisions not being taken that really makes me angry. I listen to the views of my team but I don’t like long meetings. And, once a decision has been taken, it drives me crazy if someone comes up to me and says ‘Why don’t we review the decision again’. I pressure my colleagues to the very limit of their abilities.”

Always Remains Rational
Danone Turkey General Manager Serpil Timuray is known as a leader who makes decisions in accordance with a long-term vision and always thinks rationally. Rasim Karas, Danone Turkey Assistant General Manager Responsible for Procurement, says that when a project is concluded, however good the result, Ms. Timuray always asks “How could we have done better?” Karas notes that she encourages the entire organization to apply this principle and says: “She always tells us that making a mistake is a valuable experience, that we must learn from the mistake and that we are indebted for our success today to our past mistakes.”

Fadime Çoban Bazzal
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