Leadership Skills Lessons From Paris Hilton: Leadership Expert Tells What Paris Taught Leaders

May 8, 2007 - PRLog -- Paris Hilton represents many things to many people.  And now she inadvertently offers fantastic lessons in leadership skills, according to Michael Mercer, Ph.D., a management consultant with The Mercer Group, Inc., in Barrington, Illinois.

“Paris Hilton’s crimes and follow-up botches offers lessons to leaders on how not to handle key  leadership problems,” explained Dr. Mercer, author of the book “Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change.”  Dr. Mercer cites five lessons Paris Hilton taught all leaders.

1.  Admit Your Mistakes
Ms. Hilton said her 45 day jail sentence “punishment is cruel and unwarranted.”  A smart leader admits mistakes and accepts the consequences, according to Dr. Mercer.  “Employees admire leaders who come right out and admit they did wrong.  Honesty in trying circumstances shows the leader is a human being who admits blunders and whose heart is in the right place.”

2.  Hire the Best
“Paris claimed other people handled her mail, including legal papers concerning her convictions and punishments.  Well, Paris Hilton and every leader needs to hire assistants sharp enough to tell them when monstrously important pieces of mail arrive or read all their mail themselves,” commented Dr. Mercer, author of the book “Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest.”  “At some point, leaders should not blame other people for their major mistakes.”

3.  Apologize Like You Really Mean It
“When a great leader apologizes, everyone should feel the leader really means it,” observes Dr. Mercer.  “In contrast, Paris seemed more concerned with wiggling out of jail than indicating she feels sorry for her dangerous and illegal missteps.”

4.  Only Sign Documents You Read & Agree With
“Leaders sometimes get so caught up in their big-shot activities that they sometimes forget some details require their total attention,” says Dr. Mercer.  He points out Paris said she signed key legal papers without fully reading them.  “Signing important papers without reading and agreeing with the contents is a leadership crime no leader ever should commit.”

5.  Show Up + Show Up On-Time
Paris failed to show up properly in two big instances:  She never attended alcohol education sessions required after her DUI conviction, and arrived late to court.  “True leaders absolutely must do what they must do on the schedule they need to do it,” emphasizes Dr. Mercer.  “Failure is not an option for leaders.  Who appointed a leader – or Paris Hilton – king or queen so they might think they don’t need to do on-time what they definitely must do on-time.”

“Paris Hilton is a model and rich and privileged.  But, at this point it definitely is better to learn from Paris than to be Paris,” quips Dr. Mercer.

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For more information, contact:  
Dr. Michael Mercer, Business Psychologist
The Mercer Group, Inc., Barrington, IL, U.S.A.
phone = 847-382-0690, e-mail = DrMercer@MercerSystems.com,
website = www.DrMercer.com

Website: www.DrMercer.com