This month in Insight Edge we tackle another huge leadership topic: money. Leadership is far from all about money. But leaders do need to be able to talk about money: how they raise or earn it for their organisations, how they manage it to the advantage of the business, and where they invest it. Leaders are accountable for money to shareholders, to donors, to the board. They are accountable to their followers – staff, investors and perhaps even to the community their organisation is part of.
Managing money
At least three of the top ten reasons businesses fail are about money. How do you plan? What goals do you set? What financial indicators do you track to ensure the financial health of your organisation? IML Member, Ashley McGuirk runs a Business Management and Advisory on the Sunshine Coast. He offers his 8 steps to financial health of any business.
Salaries
If you suspect your pay increases aren’t quite what you’re used to, you may be right. IML’s annual National Salary Survey is out this month and pay increases are slowing. We ask LendLease’s Group Head of Performance, Compensation and Benefits, Alex Christie, how Lendlease structures pay and incentives during tough economic times to ensure they can still recruit, engage and excite staff to excel.
Investments
We invest our money for growth, and increasingly for the good it can do (and the harm it can avoid). Ethical investing is no longer the cash-poor cousin of mainstream investment funds. Peter Hall, CEO of one of Australia’s largest, dedicated ethical investors, Hunter Hall, talks us through the growth explosion in responsible funds over the last 25 years, and considers where next.
Five leadership money skills that drive profit and growth
Five money skills that drive profit and growth, according to an analysis of 2077 senior-level executives from 44 large companies from the US, Asia, Europe and Australia, by US based consultancy DDI are not necessarily about numbers. We will cover all of them in our monthly issues of Insight Edge. Keep checking in and let us know what you think.
Entrepreneurship — Crafting plans to capitalize on market opportunities
Business Savvy — Quickly and accurately assessing the merits and risks in complex business scenarios
Driving Execution —Devising specific plans and mobilizing people to achieve strategic objectives
Decision-Making — Making effective day-to-day judgments about short-term issues
Leading Change — Identifying the need for organisational change and effectively leading people through it
