Speaker 1: Translators&Subtitlers Accompanied by Christophe Chesson What is the common element between managing companies all over the world and teaching in a school in Molenbeek? Leadership. In both jobs, you need strong leadership to manage companies and to teach to kids who face huge difficulties. Let me tell you how I came to that conclusion. For 25 years, I've been managing companies. I've tried to make sure that every single quarter was more profitable. And I really enjoyed that. I've learned that strong leaders apply four basic, simple principles. The first one, they believe that their team can achieve great results. And because they believe that their team can achieve great results, their team starts to believe also they can achieve great results. Second thing, they set goals, develop a vision for their company. Third, they make sure that this goal, this vision, becomes the everyday priority of their people, their employees. And last, great leaders, they plan carefully and purposefully to make sure they achieve their objective. I mean, that's what great leaders are doing. And I've tried to do that for 25 years. I mean, it's really a tough job. Four years ago, I was in my mid-40s, and I faced what we call a mid-life crisis. A mid-life crisis is a very simple concept. I mean, suddenly you realize that living is not forever. I mean, it's a little bit like a ghost curve. You know, you are at the top of the hill, and suddenly you see the end of the horizon. And you ask yourself this basic question, what do I do now? I mean, which track do I take to go down the hill? I mean, do I take the same track, or do I take another route to go down? And personally, I felt the need to give more sense to what I was doing. And so, I totally changed my professional career. From a CEO, I became a teacher in Molenbeek, in what some magazines call the Bronx of Brussels. I'm teaching the professional section to kids or young adults between 15 to 22 years old, mostly coming from the American communities. And those children are coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds. I mean, they are what we call underprivileged children. I thought that teaching would be great. I mean, you know, you're working what? 20 hours per week? You have plenty of vacation? You are sitting in front of people eager to learn from you. Well, I'm not sure if there are teachers in the audience today, but you know that the reality is slightly different. I mean, the start of my career was not easy. I mean, my colleagues warned me. They told me, Pierre, don't put your expectations too high. I mean, their motivation is very low. They don't know much. I thought they were testing me or killing me, but actually they were right. In my class, none of my students were capable to give me the results of 10% over 100%. When I talk about Stockholm, they thought I was talking about a rap singer. And Jacques Brel is the name of a subway station in Brussels. And when I faced the reality of this new job, I said, but how is it possible that kids who have spent 10 to 15 years in a bench in a school in Belgium know so little? I mean, kids who are far of being stupid, they have a great sense of humor, good common sense. I mean, what happened to them? I mean, why are they in this situation? So, I also realized that those kids who face disaster results in some classes actually achieve very good results in some other classes. Same kids, different results. So, actually, there were two types of teachers. There was the teacher where the students achieve very poor results, and the other one where the students achieve great results. So, this really triggered my attention. So, I went to talk to both my colleagues, and to the first group of colleagues where the kids achieve poor results, I asked them this very simple question. What can I do to make my students progress? And the answers I received were always going in the same direction. Well, Pierre, what can we do? How do you want to teach to kids where there are no books at home? Where the parents don't speak French or Flemish fluently? Well, let me tell you the truth, Pierre. That's what my colleague told me. There is very little that teachers or schools can do. They even talked to me about a lost generation. Let me tell you today what the other group of colleagues told me. The one where the kids achieve great results. Among those groups, there was one teacher, Mrs. Anthony. And she's a French teacher. And in her class, the kids were always there. With high motivation. And they have good grades. So, I went to ask her this question. But how do you do it? I mean, what's your secret? I mean, do you pay them? And Mrs. Anthony is a great teacher, so she really took the time that day to explain to me her principle of teaching. And she told me, Pierre, if you want your kids to progress, you have to apply four basic principles. The first one, she said, you have to believe in them. You have to believe to make sure that every single one of them can achieve great results. Regardless where he or she is coming from. Whether her parents are rich or poor. Whether he was called Mohammed or Jean. And you need to make sure that also they know that you believe in them. So, they start also to believe that they can achieve great results. Once you deeply and truly believe in them, you have to set a goal which is ambitious, measurable, meaningful for your students. And she gave me a great example. She told me, take Sadia. Sadia doesn't like reading. And Mrs. Anthony gave her a very ambitious goal. She told me, Sadia, by the end of the year, by June, you will read a book of Barjavel. It's not an easy one. And you will do it in two weeks time. And you will enjoy it. By November, I saw Sadia finishing a book of Amelie Noton, 122 pages. And she was eager to start a new one. So once you set the goal, you need to make sure that the goal that you have given to your student becomes the everyday priority of the student and their family. You need to invest in their life. She gave me another example, Hanan. Hanan had a great deficiency in spelling. And because of that, Mrs. Anthony told her, well, you need to stay at school every day after the normal school time. The parents of Hanan will not allow this. So Mrs. Anthony went to see the parents of Hanan in her home, discussed with them, convinced them, and told her it was the right thing to do for Hanan. Hanan is now spending every Tuesday and Thursday at school, and she's making dramatic progress. The last principle that Mrs. Anthony told me is probably the most difficult one. You have to plan purposefully. From the objective that you have defined, you have to plan backwards to create an efficient path to success. Take Mustafa. Mustafa is one of my students. I mean, he's incapable to concentrate for more than two minutes, unless you talk about football. His goal was to receive, his goal was to be able to summarize in 200 words a very difficult article from Le Monde newspaper. Every week, Mrs. Anthony gave him an article a little bit longer, a little bit more complicated, so that Mustafa was capable to see his own improvement. On that specific day, the 10th of October 2009, Mrs. Anthony probably gave me the best speech, lesson on teaching, but on leadership. Believe in your team. Set goals, like for Sadia. Invest in your students, like for Hannan. And plan carefully, like for Mustafa. But like every great leader, Mrs. Anthony had also a small secret. And I remember, she almost whispered to me that secret, and she told me, Take care. You and your students will have to work hard, because it will not be easy. And she's right. I'm working much more than 20 hours per week, much more. And I've learned so much in those last four years. I thought that teaching had to do with, I don't know, sense of humor, authority, respect, mastering the content of your classes, your courses. Yes, teaching has to do with all this. But for those kids, who have lost so much of their self-confidence, who are so far behind, where school does not have meaning anymore, teaching as leader shows outstanding effect. Since then, I've tried to apply those four principles. It's not easy. I fail many times. Sometimes my vision is too high, it's not clear enough. Sometimes I come home very frustrated because of the lack of motivation of my students. But there is one thing I don't give up, it's the first principle. I always believe they can succeed. There is a great quote on leadership, which says that true leadership lies in guiding others to success, in ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do, and doing it well. This is exactly what great teachers are doing in Molenbeek. They are probably the best leaders I've met. So, four years ago, I've decided to change my life. I was in my midlife crisis, but I'm still leading. Well, there is a big difference. From my previous job as a CEO, there is no better feeling than the one that you have when you feel and you see one of your students who was supposed to fail going to upper school or opening a shop like Dunia, just opened a shop a few weeks ago in Excel, number 125, Rue de Livogne. I told her I would make some advertising for her. So, please go to see her. Nelson Mandela said once that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. So, let's make sure that in this country, in 2013, all leaders will use this weapon so that every child will obtain access to excellent education, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Thank you.