David Archibald of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars N.A on Leadership Development

David Archibald, President of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America shares the experiences that together helped develop his leadership style. Archibald explains leadership capacity does not stem from one defining moment alone, but develops from a series of experiences, that together shape one’s management approach. He touches on his first encounter in a directing role as the Captain of his high school’s rugby team. He learned there the importance of adapting to different personalities, where some like to be challenged, and others preferred to be shown exactly what to do before they become self-sufficient. Professionally, Archibald went to work at Ford and saw a different type of culture that embodied the “Can-Do” spirit of the United States. This was a great example of an organization that targeted similar types of people to work together. After years at Ford, David Archibald moved to work at Nissan as President of their Netherlands division. There he saw a mix of cultures, approaches, and abilities that together created a dynamic and successful team. Archibald realized the power of team diversity and used a similar approach when he moved into his current role at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America. When asked what makes Rolls-Royce Motor Cars a unique firm to work for, he comments on the brand having strong engineering and deliverables, and he continues to work to ensure targets are challenging, but achievable and measurable.

As a leader Archibald focuses on team development, through coaching and mentorship. He touches on one of the programs he’s instilled for new employees,  a “Buddy System” where an employee is paired off with a senior worker to learn and receive guidance from. His second focus is about product and promotion. The brand’s newest car, the Phantom Series II was released earlier this year and there is great emphasis on ensuring the employees, dealers, and marketing understand the benefits and changes made to the car, to ensure a successful launch with their customers.

Through Archibald’s wisdom as a leader, he discusses the importance of celebration. He encourages other business leaders to celebrate success, and offer public praise to those who have done a great job, whether be big or small. Though celebrating achievements, employees will continue to stay motivated and strive for success. Learn these leadership lessons and more by watching our latest episode now. 

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