Leaders Trust First, with Frederic de Rougemont

We believe that the message of Who* Not What applies to leaders in all parts of the world, and this episode with Frederic de Rougemont supports just that. Frederic, a former veteran CEO turned strategic advisor and consultant, has not only experienced the journey of becoming more Inwardly Sound and Others Focused, but he has made Who* Not What an explicit part of how he develops others.

In this episode of the podcast, Frederic shares about his own leadership journey—how he became a more Others Focused and Inwardly Sound leader. Hint: it takes time. But according to Frederic, the effort is worth it. Because while leading with fear may look successful in the short term, leading with trust is actually the better way. Frederic shares ways that he believes trust is built with followers, and what that looks like practically in an organization.

 

Show Notes

Transcript of the episode

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • Leading with fear never produces results in the long term.

  • One way to show trust is to actually listen.

  • Leaders trust first.

  • Make discussion about WHO your leaders are as explicit as WHAT your leaders need to do.

Things to listen for:

[1:56] A leader who impacted Frederic
[4:17] Great leaders continue to impact their followers long term
[6:12] Leading with fear is never successful long term
[7:30] Becoming a better leader is a journey
[9:40] Leading with “the carrot and the stick”
[11:06] Trusting those we lead
[13:28] What it looks like to extend trust
[15:10] People feel trusted when they’ve been listened to
[18:49] Be persistent in developing trust
[20:00] Leaders trust first
[29:02] Explicit leadership development
[30:02] Revamping meeting agendas to focus on WHO conversations
[37:05] Frederic’s next chapter
[38:52] Tim’s Take

Additional Resources

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
Learn more about The Aperio
Connect with Frederic on LinkedIn
Rougemont Advisory
Carrot-and-Stick
John Wooden


About Frederic . . .

Frederic de Rougemont is a strategic advisor within his own firm, Rougemont Advisory, as well as a consultant with Telos Partners, a business consultancy with offices in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. He has filled top positions in the building materials industry, including CEO roles in France, South Korea, South Africa, and Singapore.

He believes in putting people first, and in creating strong organizational cultures with employee and customer focus at the core. Success in business is greatly enhanced by collaboration and communication must be seamless and transparent throughout an organization. Sustainable success relies on a meaningful purpose, being so clear and genuine that the entire organization will adhere to it. Strong leadership relies heavily on genuine personal values which is critical to gain the engagement of followers.