She is said t o be the most powerful woman in fashion and she does

nothing t o dispel that belief. Her name is Anna Wintour, a name that
strikes terror in some and loathing in others. It should also be said she
commands a loyal band of friends and admirers.
"The blurb on your unauthorized biography reads 'She's ambitious,
driven, needy, a perfectionist '. Accurate?" 60 Minutes correspondent
Morley Safer asked Wintour.
"Well , I am very driven by what I do. I am certainly very competitive. I
like people who represent the best of what they do, and if that turns
you into a perfectionist, then maybe I am , "Wintour replied.
Wintour is involved in every detail of the magazine: the clothes, editing
the pictures and articles. She is decisive, impatient. and bears a look
that says " I'm the boss, and you're boring.“
"An editor in the final analysis is a kind of dictator---a magazine is not
a democracy?" Safer asked.
“It 's a group of people coming together and presenting ideas from which I
pick what I think is the best mix for each particular issue, but in the end,
the final decision has to be mine." Wintour explained. "We're here to work.
There's on-duty time and off-duty time, and we’re drawn together by our
passion for the magazine. If one comes across sometimes as being cold or
brusque, it's simply because I’ m striving for the best.“ " It's not like a tea
party here. We work very
hard," Vogue's Editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley told Safer.
Asked what kind of boss she is, Talley told Safer, "Let's say that Anna can
be intimidating. I think that's her armour, to intimidate. To give the people
the sense that she is in charge. She is not a person who's going to show you
her emotions ever. She's like a doctor, when she's looking at your work .
It's like a medical analysis . “
Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington says, " I think she enjoys not
being completely approachable, you know. Just her office is very
intimidating, right? You have to walk about a mile into the office before
you get to her desk, and I ' m
sure it's intentional."
Conversation Questions
1. What are the five best qualities for a manager to have? Why?
2. Who was the best manager you have ever had? What qualities did this person
have? Tell your group about some of the good things this person did while he or
she was your manager.
3. Do you think very young managers make good managers? What positive
qualities do very young managers have? What positive qualities do they lack?
Have you ever worked for a very young manager? How was the experience?
4. What are some specific things that good managers do? What are some specific
things that good managers avoid doing?
5. What are the five worst qualities for a manager to have? What are some
negative things that can happen if a manager has these qualities?
6. Has anyone you know ever worked for a really bad manager? What bad
characteristics did this person have? Tell your group about something that this
person did which shows why he or she was a bad manager.
7. What are some specific things that bad managers do?
8. Why do you think bad managers are given management positions?
Conversation Questions: TEAMWORK
1. Talk about a really good team you were a part of. What skills did the members of
the team have? What things did the members of the team avoid?  
2. Talk about a really bad team you were a part of?  Why was it a bad team? What
were the negative aspects of the team (criticism, negativity, blame, etc)?
3. Have you ever worked as part of a team that had low morale? How did low morale
affect the team’s performance?
4. Have you ever worked as part of a team that had high morale? How did high
morale affect the team’s performance?
5. How do companies build teamwork?  How does teamwork happen?
6. Where do people learn leadership? How important is it to have a good leader on a
team? What happens if you don’t have proper leadership on a team?
7. Have you ever been part of a team building exercise? What did you do? Do you
think it helped your organization? Why or why not? In general, do you believe that
team building activities help increase teamwork and cooperation among a group? Do
you think they are a waste of time?  Explain.
8. What types of jobs require a high degree of teamwork? What types of jobs require
a low degree of teamwork? Think about the job you have now. Tell your group about
how teamwork is important at your current position. Do you have a job that requires
a lot of teamwork?
9. Describe the corporate culture that you are a part of now. How does your company
encourage/build teamwork?