Nicolai von Rummell is identified as the most outstanding leader that the author has worked with based on his visionary qualities and ability to inspire others. Some of Nicolai's key leadership traits include being transparent, output driven, a good communicator, and collaborative. He was also reflective, motivated others well, provided recognition, and encouraged professional development. As the Africa Chief Risk Officer at AIG, Nicolai performed important leadership functions like facilitating communication, providing direction and motivation, coordinating activities, initiating action, and setting goals. Overall, Nicolai demonstrated strong leadership that helped steer the team towards successes and positioned the importance of leadership in organizations.

1. The Most Outstanding Leader
I have ever worked with
Presentation for IE Business School IMBA Application
Metja Matlala

2. Agenda
Leadership definition
Leadership functions
The most outstanding leader I have worked with
Comparison of working styles
Importance of leadership

3. Qualities of the Most Outstanding Leader I have worked with
Name of Leader:Nicolai von Rummell
Company where we worked: American International
Group (SA)
Position held at AIG: Africa Chief Risk Officer
Visionary Transparent Output Driven
Good
Communicator
Balanced
Inspires/
Motivates Recognition
Collaborator
Delegates
Maximizes
Strengths
Reflective
Encourages
Development/
Mentor/Teacher
1 Nicolai von Rummell is the most outstanding leader that I have worked
with because he portrayed qualities that I admired
Expanded on in next
slide

4. Examples of the Qualities of the Most Outstanding Leader I have worked with
Visionary
Reflective
Balanced
Aligned focus of daily work with greater goals spanning various horizons, some out of
the box or stretch goals. He set a pace which was inspired and engaging
He would take the time to reflect on work completed both informally and informally and
tried to inculcate a culture of learning from mistakes without fear and with the view to
improve in future in the organization
I would report to the office even when I was extremely sick and he would always remind
me that my wellbeing and health is as equally paramount as the work I did
He
Encourages
Development
Collaborator
Good
Communicator
Listened first and well, open and ongoing communication from function developments
right through to enterprise developments and as a result always felt abreast of
developments
He never worked in a silo approach to tasks. Where he could leverage skills of experts
in other departments he would. He built relationships and in turn people would want o
involve or engage him in their tasks
He fostered an environment for intellectual and skills learning and growth. He
supported my secondment to a commercial underwriting department amongst many
other developmental goals that I had
Nicolai
1 Nicolai von Rummell is the most outstanding leader that I have worked
with because he portrayed qualities that I admired

5. • Leadership definition
• The word “leader” originates from the Old English “laedere”
or “laede” which means path, or to guide
• Prolific business author, Tom Peters defines leadership as
follows: ”Leadership is about the development, the
inducement of people to grow, to go way beyond where
they believe they could go”
• Nicolai qualifies as a leader as he provided guidance interlaced with a sense of purpose
• Nicolai’s leadership style aligns more to the trait/style theory because he leads with vision, intellectual stimulation, and empowers people
• Nicolai was a formal leader as he was appointed to an executive management position within the company
• All of Nicolai’s qualities mentioned demonstrate why he is a remarkable leader
2 Nicolai von Rummell can be defined as a leader because…
SOURCE :1.Global Definitions of Leadership and Theories of Leadership Development: Literature Review, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership 2016-2017
2. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/leadership/leadership-meaning-characteristics-and-functions/53325/ Article by Venkatesh “Leadership: Meaning, Characteristics, and Functions” retrieved 2017/10/03
Leadership Theory: 3 approaches
Formal versus Informal Leadership
• From the view point of official recognition from top management,
leaders may be classified as formal and informal leaders
Formal
Leadership
Informal
Leadership
• Appointed through formal structure to direct
and control activities of the subordinates
• Enjoys organizational authority and is
accountable to those who have elected him in
a formal way
• Two-fold responsibility:
o Organisational mandate
o Guide and direct needs and goals of
subordinates
• Not recognised by formal structure
• Derive their authority by their ability to
influence and command respect
• An organization can make effective use of
informal leaders to strengthen the formal
leadership.
• Focuses on
how the
external
environment
shapes
leadership
action
Trait / Style
School
The Situational /
Context School
The Contingency /
Interactionist School
• Focuses on the
characteristics
or approaches
of individual
leaders
• Focuses on the
interaction
between the
leader and
his/her framing
context

6. Leadership Functions
• The following are important functions of a leader
Link between
Management and
Workers
Direction and
Motivation
Coordination
Initiating
Action
Organizing
Setting
Goals
• Nicolai facilitated communication between the team and
management by keeping us informed of developments through
weekly scheduled meetings
• Nicolai managed plans and strategies appropriately whilst his
drive for excellence and recognition of good performance was
motivating
• Nicolai would continuously supervise and coordinate all activities
and resources related to our team and facilitate accessibility to
tools
• Nicolai provided efficient action and decision making so our work
could continue smoothly
• Nicolai would develop plans formally in a structured manner with
the objective of achieving outlined goals considering resources
• Nicolai would set goals and objectives for our team firstly by
getting a solid understanding of company goals and global
enterprise risk management functional goals
3 Nicolai von Rummell performed a number of leadership functions such
as…
SOURCE: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/leadership/leadership-meaning-characteristics-and-functions/53325/ Article by Venkatesh “Leadership: Meaning, Characteristics, and Functions” retrieved 2017/10/03

7. Importance of Leadership
• Where there is an organized group in pursuit of a common goal, effective leadership is essential to steer that group activity to
the desired result
• Nicolai steered us to numerous successes for example
o creating risk management reporting templates which were replicated in other parts of the group
o positioning our team as a true partner of business and as a result business would engage us openly on their risk
management challenges
• Strong leadership is a good thing and organizations should actively seek good leadership
• Below are some quotes on leadership which illustrate how critical it is;
Implicit in many of these perspectives of leadership is the notion of leadership traits, and I have illustrated that it is these traits that
determine the quality of a leader
"The secret to success
[whatever that may be
to you] is good
leadership" (Tony
Dungy)
“You are a leader even
if you don’t think so”
(Thrive Global)
“Discovering the
passion, persistence,
and imagination to get
results, to find the Wow
Factor necessary to
learn and thrive in a
disruptive age”
(Tom Peters)
“A leader is one who
knows the way, goes
the way, and shows the
way”
(John C.Maxwell)
4 Nicolai von Rummell steered our team towards numerous successes
such as..
SOURCE: 1. https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/13103-6-qualities-of-a-great-leader-according-to-a-leadership-expert retrieved 2017/10/03
2. https://journal.thriveglobal.com/the-5-secrets-to-being-a-better-leader-person-you-are-a-leader-even-if-you-donthink-so-d32f351d7080

8. Comparison of leadership attributes/work styles between Nicolai and I
Balanced
Delegates
Maximizes Strengths
Mentor
Creativity
Intuition
• Transparent
• Output driven
• Good Communicator
• Collaborator
• Reflective
• Motivate
• Recognition
• Pro Development
• Visionary
Nicolai Me
Common
Attributes
5 Nicolai and I shared a number of common traits that allowed us to
develop a successful working synergy
Our shared attributes contributed to an
abundance of thoughtful debate, thorough
planning , explosive vitality and performance
Our differences brought
an interesting diversity in
perspectives
• I aspire to obtain the other
traits which distinguish
Nicolai as one cannot
underestimate their impact
on a persons ability to
continue to perform at a
high level
• These traits provide an
opportunity to have a
profound impact on people
and the organization

9. END