‘Have big ears and thick skin’: Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser on leadership as she drives the bank’s biggest overhaul 

SINGAPORE: Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is leading her firm through its biggest transformation in more than two decades, and she is ready to dish out brutal honesty and receive equally brutal feedback.

“One of the pieces of advice I was given when I became CEO is (to) ‘have big ears and thick skin’”, she said.

“I strongly believe in excellence and empathy, and empathy to me is the big ears. It's listening. It's putting yourself in somebody else's shoes. And if I was in their shoes, how would I want to hear bad news or good news?”

At the same time, transformation requires honesty, Ms Fraser said in an interview with CNA's Dawn Tan on Oct 20 while in Singapore for a Citigroup board meeting.

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“You have to be completely honest about (it) and dispassionate. Where are we? What's working, what's not working? If you've made a bad decision on something, there's another decision (to make) and own it,” she said. 

Being a leader requires her to be decisive and bold, both of which she has shown to be in the recent announcement of an unprecedented shake-up, which includes removing a layer of top management, cutting jobs - reportedly at least 10 per cent - and taking more control of key businesses.

LEADERSHIP HAS CHANGED

The 56-year-old, who has helmed the global bank for more than two years, revealed a strategy she has learned from being put in unfamiliar roles.

“Make sure that your team is better than you are. Do not be afraid to hire and bring in folk who know more than you, who are better than you are,” she said.

Getting the title of “boss” is not all, added Ms Fraser, who is the first woman to lead a Wall Street bank. 

“You have to earn the right to lead the business in the eyes of the people in it,” she said.

Ms Fraser also spoke about how the firm manages its employees. 

“Leadership used to be about telling people what to do and then making sure they did it. Whereas now in a world where data is everywhere, you're usually not the best person to take the decision,” she said.

“It's deeper in the organisation where they've got far more of the data and the information. So as a leader, you set context now.”

The context involves the culture, tone and values and broader strategy, she said.

“Then, you get out the way and make sure that the next generation are able to grow, learn, lead, engage with the clients and the customers and make sure that you're there to help support them and make sure they're doing it the right way,” she said.

On how the firm deals with Gen Z workers, which refers to those born between 1997 and 2012 and who are beginning to enter the workforce, Ms Fraser said that her children, aged 21 and 23, keep her grounded.

“They've got plenty of commentary and it helps you understand a little bit more through their friends and others. We’re very connected to our own people as well as to what matters to them,” she said.

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES FOR THE FIRM

To guide the leadership on how to be accountable, the firm has set three principles - succeeding together, taking ownership and delivering with pride - which she calls a “magic combination”.

Such principles allow the best of people to come through, she said. 

“They're clear about what they're meant to do. They're motivated and excited by it, they believe it and we also check that they're doing it,” she said. 

“You can have these transactions, these relationships, you can set performance measurement - everyone has scorecards - you can set the targets and goals for it. But you've also got to capture the hearts and minds,” she added.