Written by Tony Burns FIML, CEO of HPA Incorporated “Helping People Achieve”
At a young age my parents instilled in me the mantra that giving back is the best reward in life. Taking their advice, I have dedicated my time to making life easier for others, and as the Chief Executive Officer of HPA – Helping People Achieve, I am very humbled to have the opportunity to lead such as amazing team.
Our vision as a company is to empower people. Supporting them through development of confidence, independence and life skills to lead a fulfilling everyday life in a world where there are no barriers. The HPA team are the only motivation I require to continue our journey and remain focused on our commitment to be an innovative employer.
But high-performance cultures don’t just appear, I understand that and have pushed towards finding what motivates people throughout the organisation. I have lived and experienced all types of leadership over my years working with people including in my amazing current role. I feel these experiences have really given me the tools of the trade to be a great example of leadership and how it can help others achieve.
Below are some of my personal leadership qualities in relation and processes with “Helping People Achieve”.
Define Your Culture
Company culture is the personality of a company. It defines the environment in which employees work. Company culture includes a variety of elements, including work environment, company mission, value, ethics, expectations, and goals.
Its important to all our employees, because our workers really enjoy their time in the HPA workplace when they fit in with the company culture. What I have found is that people tend to develop better relationships with all coworkers, and are even more productive to help get buy-in and align the organisation behind our strategy.
Mentoring
Mentoring is also an essential leadership skill. In addition to managing and motivating people, it’s also important that I can help others learn, grow and become more effective in their roles and responsibilities.
Below are 12 quick tips to remember when approaching mentoring, to help make sure both you and your mentee get the most out of your session.
1) Approach each mentorship differently
2) Set expectations together in the very beginning
3) Take a genuine interest in your mentee as a person
4) Know when to wait before giving advice
5) Improve your emotional intelligence
6) Don’t assume anything about your mentee — ask
7) Be really forthcoming about mistakes you’ve made
8) Celebrate their achievements
9) Give more than you ask for
10) Seek out classes or projects related to skills your mentee wants to develop
11) Solve for the long-term
12) Lead by example
Transparency
I’ve never bought into the concept of ‘wearing the mask.’ As HPA’s leader, the only way I know how to engender trust and buy-in from my team and with my colleagues is to be 100 percent authentically me—open, sometimes flawed, but always passionate about my work.
Inspiration
Leaders aren’t self-made; they are driven. A lot of people have given me inspiration over the years and great inspiration and fantastic advice, and I was fueled by my beliefs and an internal drive and passion to do great things and inspire along my journey. That’s why I’m always willing to offer motivation—to friends or strangers. I know the power of inspiration.
Networking Is Working
I have found that Networking is one of the most important professional skills you can develop. It is defined as ‘exchanging information, contacts and experience for professional or social purposes’. It’s about building two-way, mutually beneficial relationships—one person at a time. I truly believe that people who build strong internal and external networks within their organisation are often better positioned to:
– work collaboratively
– be aware of greater opportunities for our company
– be in touch with the right people to get ‘things done’
Passion
You must love what you do. In order to be truly successful at something, you must obsess over it and let it consume you during your process of achieving greatness. No matter how successful your business might become, you are never satisfied and constantly push to do something bigger, better and greater. My passion and drive to make a difference and create possibilities for others is how I live my life every day. I am truly living my purpose to ‘Help People Achieve’.
Innovation
In any system with infinite resources and infinite expansion of population—like HPA, or like all of humanity—innovation is essential for not only success but also survival. The innovators are our leaders. You cannot separate the two. Whether it is by thought, technology or organization, innovation is our only hope to solve our challenges and speed bumps along the way.