Blankfein Llyod Blankfein Is the Current Chief

Blankfein

Llyod Blankfein is the current chief executive officer (CEO) of Glodman Sachs and has held that position since 2006. Blankfein is a native of the Bronx (New York City) attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1979 with a Juris Doctor degree. He worked as a corporate attorney for a couple of years until beginning his Goldman Sachs career as a precious metals salesman in London in 1981.

Moving up through the ranks, he continued working for Goldman until, in 2006, he took over the reins of the company from the outgoing CEO and has run the company since that time. Blankfein is one of the highest paid executives in the financial industry. In 2007, he earned almost $54 million, following 2006 when he earned even more. His base salary during those years was approximately $600,000 so the remainder of his compensation was his bonus that was paid in cash, stocks and options.

What is interesting about Blankfein is that he continues to reap the rewards of a system that seems drastically skewed towards the large banking and financial institutions, while the little guy gets tossed on the scrap heaps of the financial world. He seems to be a leader (if one could call him that) who does not truly lead by example, unless of course the example is a bad one.

To illustrate the matter, in April 2010 Blankfein was called to testify before Congress on the financial meltdown (2008) that took place due in no small part to the collateralized mortgage mess that Goldman Sachs was a big part of . At that time he testified that Goldman Sachs had no moral or legal obligation to inform its clients that it was betting against the very products that they were purchasing from Goldman Sachs to begin with. This lack of integrity is not a characteristic that most people would deem desirable in a leader, especially a leader who was in such a powerful position.

However, these characteristics are vividly evident in Washington and on Wall Street today, and in fact, are lauded as quite commendable. There are other characteristics that leaders are said to have that Blankfein does display, and perhaps his was not the only influence to be felt in designing financial products that have led to so much destruction.

Steve Case, former CEO and founder of American Online (AOL) once stated that a leader must have perseverance, passion and must care for people (Academy, 2011). Blankfein seems to share all three of these traits with Case. He has persevered through some of the rockiest and financially depressing periods in the United States (and globally) and has even profited from the low interest rates and financial shenanigans conducted by those in government office. He definitely has a passion for his work, and he was a leading proponent for creating a charitable organization called the Robin Hood Foundation. The foundation was created to help alleviate poverty in New York which is a good sign of Blankfein's compassion for those less fortunate than himself. Additionally he was named Person of the Year in 2009 by Financial Times. Of course, 2009 was the same year that Forbes magazine named Blankfein as 2009's Most Outrageous CEO.

One could say that Blankfein is an anomaly in that he displays a number of good leadership traits while at the same time the number of bad traits he displays are just as equal in number.

James Kouzes, an expert on leadership skills and author of "Leadership Management" states that there are five practices that define an exemplary leader. Those five practices include; being a role model, having a vision, being willing to challenge the process, enabling others to act and providing encouragement (Kouzes, 2011).

It would seem that Blankfein is missing a couple of the key steps necessary to become the exemplary leader; being a role model, and challenging the process. He seems to understand the process of making as much money as possible no matter who is hurt in the process, and does not wish to upset that cart any time soon. By not challenging the status quo, by allowing those beneath him to play the games they played (and continue to play) means that he also does not provide a good role model.