Leadership Training in Brazil

By+John+&+Doris+Naisbitt

In many ways the official statistics of a country tell us little about a county and its people. The bloodless GDP is always available， but it tells us very little about the activities that are positively contributing to the general welfare. We thought about that once more when we were in Brazil last month.

China is Brazils largest trading partner. A position the US held until 2009. In 2011， bilateral trade between China and Brazil surpassed that between China and Russia. In 2012 imports and exports between the two countries reached $75.5 billion. Brazil is a huge exporter of commodities， and China is a big consumer and they invested in each others economies. Both countries have very well developed and underdeveloped regions. Both argue for a more multi-polar world and both countries are not willing to act under the tutelage of the U.S.

Brazil， the country often said to have a future that never comes， has hit another economic bad patch， but life goes on. And Brazil has a lot of people who are positively contributing to the country continue their work. One of them， Amana Key， our favorite institutions in Brazil， contributes a lot to raise leadership

and management standards even above international levels.

This company is highly regarded in leadership education and development programs. Amana Key is training about 100 leaders every month and offers facilities for 40 people to live at the property during the program. The beautiful campus is located in the dynamic city of Sao Paulo. Brazil， like all other countries， is in desperate need of qualified workforce. Especially in top positions.

Now as levels are already high for any leadership training at Amana Key， what would be needed to become a staff member of such a high level enterprise？ We are lucky to be good friends with Oscar Motomura， the CEO. He told us about a very special program developed for this purpose： Amana Keys Young Leaders Project. Candidates should not only have the chance to be hired， but have the opportunity to benefit from a rich and diverse experience simply by participating in the process. It is very much worth having a closer look at Amana Keys Young Leaders Project. The latest program ended just a short time before we visited the company in November. This time 1，047 candidates had applied for the selection. Only 10 finally made it and are now part of the Amana-Key staff.

The selection process began with a rather unusual pre-selection. Instead of sending resumes， the candidates were asked to write a letter referencing the quality of their commitment as a student， their academic achievement， their values and their interests， and also what criteria they use to choose the company in which they want to work. Amana Keys conditions to be chosen as a candidate were：

- Undergraduate degree conclusion between December 2011 and July 2013.

- Age between 21 and 25 years.

- No specific area of training or college degree was required to participate in the project.

Thus Oscar Motomura ensures a maximum of diversity of profiles for potential Amana Key staff. The project also does not require specific areas of training as a condition to participate. Amana Key looks for specific competencies and characteristics such as：

- Leadership potential；

- Collaborative and constructive attitude in human relations and teamwork；

- Alignment of values and ethical views with Amana Key. Can- didates should be attracted by the perspective of working on projects that would have a positive impact on society. （Future wages are not announced during the process.）

- Core competencies such as initiative， capacity for concentration and abstraction， verbal and numerical reasoning skills， good ability in argument and communication.

Those who met these first criteria were facing three more phases：

1st phase （in attendance on Ama na Key campus）： INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN TESTS

The participants watched Amana Key videos addressing ethics， democracy， the meaning of power in Brazil， citizenship， life and career purpose. Then they were asked to write about the contents and draw connections.

In addition， multiple-choice tests assessed logical thinking， language skills and text interpretation.

Finally the candidates were asked to look for “signs of the future” in their growing up. What could be areas to start successful careers？

2nd phase （in attendance）： LECTURE WITH PROFESSOR MICHAEL SANDEL AND GROUP DYNAMICS

In the first part of this phase， the candidates had the opportunity to attend a lecture with the Harvard Professor Michael Sandel about justice and ethics in Brazilian society. After the lecture， they were asked to write about the content of the presentation and what it represented in their lives.

The second part was focusing on group dynamics. Who are good team players？ How are the candidates communication and reasoning skills？

3rd phase （in attendance） GROUP DYNAMICS：

Participants who reached this stage took part in a business simulation to learn and apply business concepts and put strategy into action. This activity allowed evaluating characteristics such as leadership， conflict management， analysis and planning capabilities， strategic vision， communication and interpersonal skills. The very last was a long one-on-one interview with Oscar Motomura.

What would you think most significant about this selection process？ There were no right and wrong answers， nothing that could be prepared by studying a textbook. It was all about the candidates personality and intellect and how well he or she could communicate in various situations. These are the demands of the future. And many of them are not taught at high schools or universities. Some of the candidates who did not study at a top university or performed only average may have all the qualifications needed for high performance.