Leading Through a Wider Lens: Lorraine Delorme on Building Alignment

The courage to act is a critical leadership attribute for any Quality Director and, in my view, for leaders at all levels of management.

Given our responsibility for process control, quality management, product development, and technical customer support, constructive tension is inevitable when alignment between our team and its internal or external customers is lacking. Sustained success depends on maintaining clear priorities, strong communication, and a shared understanding of expectations to deliver value across the organization and to our customers.

ArcelorMittal strongly believes in investing in the growth and development of its key talent. As part of this commitment, the company chose Columbia Business School's High Impact Leadership program to further strengthen the leadership capabilities of its senior executives.
 

The program's comprehensive approach, combining a 360-degree assessment, theoretical learning, and hands-on group workshops, created meaningful self-awareness around my leadership and management development opportunities.

It enabled me to identify key competency gaps while providing practical tools, proven methodologies, and actionable insights to strengthen my leadership effectiveness and professional impact within the organization.
 

I had the privilege of gathering feedback from my direct reports, peers, manager, and internal customers, including our plant directors.

A clear theme emerged from this exercise. Each stakeholder group has distinct expectations, priorities, and needs. My effectiveness as a leader will be defined not by applying a single leadership style, but by my ability to adapt my approach to create value for each audience while remaining authentic and aligned with organizational objectives.

The experience also gave me the opportunity to step back and objectively assess my strengths and areas for development. It helped me identify which competencies are already well established in my leadership approach and which still require focused attention and intentional growth. This self-awareness has enabled me to prioritize my development journey and concentrate on the capabilities that will have the greatest impact on my effectiveness as a leader.

I take more time to reflect on a situation and determine the most appropriate approach, ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are engaged and that all aspects of the matter are thoroughly considered before moving forward.

I have also deliberately stepped back from direct involvement in certain working groups, as this was identified as an area for improvement through my 360-degree feedback. I continue to monitor progress closely while limiting my role to providing the necessary support, removing barriers, and enabling the team to achieve its objectives independently.

The opportunity to step back and reflect enabled me to anticipate the implications of the upcoming September 2026 revision of ISO 9001. It prompted me to consider how these evolving requirements should be translated into our organization's strategic vision, ensuring that quality continues to serve as a driver of business performance, resilience, and sustainable growth.

Across a multi-site operation, the challenge does not stem from managing geographically dispersed sites. The real challenge is aligning different objectives, priorities, and realities under a common vision. Success comes from ensuring that each site understands how its local goals contribute to the organization's broader strategic direction.
 

The role's requirements have evolved significantly. It is no longer sufficient to be viewed solely as a technical authority, a developer of talent, or a guardian of product quality.

The environment demands a high degree of agility and strategic adaptability to respond effectively to changing political and economic dynamics that impact our markets. These shifts influence customer demand, competitive positioning, and the product portfolio under our responsibility. Leadership effectiveness depends on the ability to balance operational excellence with strategic foresight, ensuring that the organization remains responsive, resilient, and aligned with evolving business needs.
 

The program is designed to support the development of managers across functions and business sectors. By empowering participants to take ownership of their professional growth, it fosters the continuous development of leadership competencies and equips managers with the tools and insights needed to meet current and future organizational challenges.

High Impact Leadership helped me realize that my greatest impact as a leader comes not from having all the answers, but from adapting my approach to align people, priorities, and strategy around a common vision.