Six books featuring terrifying tales of fraud and corruption

By Tracey Mills

We have hand-picked six books that blow the lid off some of the biggest corruption scandals around the world. Check out these explosive must-read titles for all leaders and managers.

Banking Bad by Adele Ferguson

BANKING BAD

By Adele Ferguson

Banking Bad, tells the story of power imbalance, toxic culture and cover-ups in Australia’s banking industry. It describes the long fight for justice by whistleblowers, victims and political mavericks, and looks at the outcomes of the royal commission – the falls from grace, the damaging hubris, the scathing assessment of the regulators, and the colossal compensation bill.

Black Edge by Sheelah Kolhatkar

BLACK EDGE

By Sheelah Kolhatkar

Black Edge offers a revelatory look at the grey zone in which so much of Wall Street functions, and a window into the transformation of the worldwide economy. With meticulous reporting and powerful storytelling, this is a riveting, true-life legal thriller that takes readers inside the US government’s pursuit of Michael Cohen and his employees and raises urgent questions about the power and wealth of those who sit at the pinnacle of the financial world.

Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope

BILLION DOLLAR WHALE

By Bradley Hope and Tom Wright

In 2009, with the dust yet to settle on the global financial crisis, a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude was being set into motion. Now known as the 1MDB affair, the scandal would come to symbolise the next great threat to the global financial system.

A stunning true tale of hubris and greed, Billion Dollar Whale reveals how one of the biggest heists in history was pulled off – right under the nose of the global financial industry.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

BAD BLOOD

By John Carreyrou

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose start-up ‘unicorn’ promised to revolutionise the medical industry. There was just one problem: the technology didn’t work. For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, officials, and her own employees.

In Bad Blood John Carreyrou tells the story of Theranos and encourages us to consider the possible repercussions of our blind faith in a small group of brilliant individuals.

He Who Must Be Obeid

HE WHO MUST BE OBEID

By Kate McClymont and Linton Besser

From the shadows, Eddie Obeid ran the state of New South Wales as his fiefdom, making and unmaking premiers. Along the way he pocketed tens of millions of dollars following corrupt deals.

Following their groundbreaking investigations, Kate McClymont and Linton Besser have unearthed the vast but secret empire Obeid built over decades, producing an authoritative account of how he got away with so much for so long.

Faster Higher Farther by Jack Ewing

FASTER, HIGHER, FARTHER

By Jack Ewing

When news of Volkswagen’s clean diesel fraud first broke in September 2015, it sent shockwaves around the world. Overnight, the company long associated with quality, reliability and trust became a universal symbol of greed and deception. Consumers were outraged, investors panicked, and the company was facing bankruptcy.

As the future of one of the world’s biggest companies remains uncertain, this is the extraordinary story of Volkswagen’s downfall.

AVAILABLE FROM BOOKTOPIA

All these books are available at booktopia.com.au

Tracey Mills is the Head of Academic Books at Booktopia.

Must Read: Leading Well: 7 attributes of very successful leaders

Derek Parker offers an in-depth look into the latest book that examines seven attributes of inspiring leaders.

 

This is the follow-up and companion to the 2017 IML ANZ publication Leadership Matters: 7 Skills of Very Successful Leaders. That volume was concerned mainly with the technical abilities required in senior roles – what David Pich CMgr FIML, Chief Executive of IML ANZ, describes as “the perspiration of leadership” in the introduction to the new book. Leading Well focuses on the inspirational side of being a leader: the personal, emotional, and psychological aspects. The seven attributes – respect, integrity, emotional intelligence, ability to inspire, authenticity, self-awareness, and decisiveness – were chosen through consultations with IML ANZ Members.

Respect was rated as essential in a survey, a point underlined in the chapter by Pich and Jamie Getgood. The key to respect is a willingness to listen to others, talk through their concerns, and empathise with their viewpoint. This is not easy in an era of diversity but the authors take the view that Australians are a tolerant bunch when it comes to cultural differences. They look at IML ANZ’s public statement on same-sex marriage as an example, noting that it was the result of discussions with Members. Respect, they say, is not about agreeing with everyone but about understanding and consideration. An expression of genuine gratitude is also a component of respect, and something that can go a long way in building strong relationships.

It is something of a balancing act but that is true regarding many of the skills examined in the book. Michelle Gibbings’s discussion of integrity acknowledges the difficulty of acting consistently and ethically in the face of competing stakeholder demands. She sees an ongoing tension between personal courage and consciousness of the business environment but she comes down on the side of having the courage to do the right thing. Integrity, once lost, is almost impossible to rebuild.

Allison Keogh’s contribution on authenticity picks up this theme. Authenticity is about aligning thoughts, words and actions, all stemming from a core of values. Say what you mean, mean what you say: it’s the same message whether applied to individuals or organisations. If you want an example of what not to do, she says, look at some of the practices in the financial services industry uncovered by the recent inquiry into banking.

Self-awareness is the first step to becoming a great leader, according to Margot Smith FIML. It means acknowledging your weaknesses and blind spots, but it also requires taking action to improve. She suggests some training methods although honest discussions with peers and mentors can also do much. It means admitting vulnerability but it is often the only way to move forward.

Many of the themes of the book come together in the final piece, an examination of decisiveness by Bill Kernoczy and Luke Challenor. Having to make the final call on a difficult issue is often seen as the central test of leadership. And, indeed, any issue that gets to the senior levels of an organisation is going to be difficult: the easy ones are decided elsewhere. Once upon a time a CEO would tick one or another box and walk away but Kernoczy and Challenor argue that the complexity of modern business means that the gut-feeling method no longer makes sense. Instead, they lay out a process of definition, analysis, evaluation, and consultation. They look at a number of models for making decisions, establishing the common thread as a need to follow through on implementation, review and feedback.

This is consistently useful stuff. In fact, all of the chapters in the book make a point of moving from theory to practice, with step-by-step guides and tools for self-diagnosis. Another important section is a series of interviews, conducted by IML ANZ chair Ann Messenger, with outstanding leaders. Each discussion has its worth but the views of Georgie Harman, the chief executive of the beyondblue organisation, are particularly interesting, especially in the areas of authenticity and humility.

Each of the chapters of the book has important things to say but it is taking the package as a whole that provides the most insight and direction. Whether you are already in a senior position or aspire to be there, you will find a great deal of value here.

 

Leading Well book
Get your copy of IML ANZ’s latest book, Leading Well: 7 attributes of very successful leaders (Major Street Publishing, A$34.95).

The book highlights seven attributes that ignite inspiring leadership. It focuses squarely on the personal attributes that can transform managers into leaders and good leaders into great leaders.

Order your copy here.

 

This article originally appeared in the September 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s quarterly magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

How to future-proof your leadership career

Forward: To move in front, make progress and head towards the future. Nothing about this definition suggests standing still or lagging.

It’s that forward focus that has defined many great leaders. They sought a clear vision of the future they wanted and made it a reality.

Aspiring leaders, change-makers and influencers must have that same focus. Regardless if you aim to launch a business, take the next step up in your organisation or make it into the C-suite, envisioning where you want to be is essential. It’s imperative to back that vision with the skills to achieve it.

Of course, skills can only propel you so far. What sets apart leaders who stand the test of time are their leadership qualities. Why? Driving your team into achieving a vision requires more than the mastery of processes.

So, are you a leader who is looking to stand out? Have you got the qualities to succeed now and in the future?

To know for sure, ask yourself the following questions:


Am I competent?

Defined as the ability to do something successfully or efficiently, competence is a must for any leader – particularly for business owners and professional consultants. To determine competence, one study recommends the use of objective measures of performance. Rather than relying on confidence, speaking ability or persuasiveness, which are difficult to quantify, you want to stand out for your proven ability to lead successfully.

For Dr Travis Kemp, an organisational psychologist, independent company director and adjunct professor at the University of South Australia’s Business School, his profound appreciation for the importance of competent leaders led him to seek out a globally recognised accreditation. Kemp observes that “management is one of the emerging professions that need standards and barriers to entry put in place.

Gaining an internationally recognised designation, built on industry-leading standards, is one way for leaders to display evidence of their competence. The result of having truly competent leaders, according to Kemp is that “people working in organisations get access to growth-centred leaders and managers.”

Similarly, Head of Customer Service and APAC Professional Services at Intelledox, Sue Ann Mckenzie-Smith, wanted to quantify her competence. She looked to accreditation for “industry recognition of my skills as a manager and effectively leading people.”

So, are you competent? How can you improve your leadership competence? And what can you do to showcase this?

  • Assess the level of your leadership skills and compare this with industry standards
  • Develop any skills or competencies that you might feel you lack or need to improve
  • Accredit your leadership skills against an internationally-recognised standard


Am I impactful?

Making a meaningful impact on your future and that of your organisation requires the ability to drive people. Your skills and experience can mean very little if you are unable to empower yourself and others to achieve results.

Kemp, who is an academic specialising in leadership, agrees. After researching the topic and becoming a business leader himself, he points out where his passion for leadership stems – being impactful. “I think leaders’ impact can be incredibly positive when it is directed in the right way, to the right people in the right time,” Kemp said.

For the Director of CatholicCare Social Services in Toowoomba, Kate Venables, making an impact is the main factor in becoming a stand-out leader. Venables explains, “I think everyone has the capacity to be a leader, but leadership is a real privilege. And the importance is that you empower and engage others to do the best in their job.”

Does your leadership make a positive impact on your career, team and organisation? Here’s how you can ensure that it does:

  • Focus on delivering results that make the most significant impact on the business
  • Empower your teams to achieve goals through effective and inspiring leadership
  • Reflect on your skills to lead others and deliver results to determine where you can improve

 

Am I connected? 

Whether you aim to start your own business, offer services and expertise as a consultant, or simply want to move up in your leadership journey, undeniably, your professional network contributes to your success.

Venables knows that an excellent professional network is an essential resource for leaders. She believes that there’s much value in connecting with people with “a lot of wisdom and knowledge”. Venables also recommends seeking out other networks where you can find other leaders who can mentor you.

In thinking of the type of professionals you need to network with, quality is critical. Mckenzie-Smith advises those looking for support in becoming better leaders to, “connect with like-minded managers,” through strong professional networks.

Leadership success sometimes comes down to who you know, not just what you know. That’s why you should examine the quality of your professional network. Remember, an effective network should:

  • Connect you with professionals from a variety of industries – not just your specialty
  • Allow you to engage with forward-thinking professionals – leaders who represent the gold standard
  • Identify you as a leader who is committed to maintaining good leadership practice

Great leadership starts with you

If your vision includes making an impact on the future of business – as a leader, a business owner or professional consultant – you need to equip yourself with the skills and qualities to future-proof that goal.

The Chartered Manager accreditation involves an in-depth self-reflection process. Your skills and experience will be assessed against 34 leadership competencies, ensuring you are equipped to manage yourself, others and the organisation successfully.

You’ll also become part of a community a diverse network of professionals from various industries and sectors via the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand (IML ANZ).

By becoming a Chartered Manager – like Travis Kemp, Sue Ann Mckenzie-Smith and Kate Venables – you’ll ensure your leadership success now and in the future. In fact, the Chartered Management Institute in the UK (CMI), found that among Chartered Managers:

  • Are competent: 96% of Chartered Managers use their designation as proof of experience
  • Are impactful: 91% of Chartered Managers see their designation as proof of their ability to deliver results
  • Are connected: 70% of Chartered Managers use their designation to increase their visibility

Change the future of management and leadership – become a Chartered Manager.

To find out more or to apply, visit managersandleaders.com.au/chartered-manager.

Five tips for young leaders stepping into their first management role

By Emma Mulholland

 

Watching some of the most inspirational business leaders in action, it’s easy to forget that even they had to start somewhere. When they were younger, beginning their first-ever management role, they felt the same mixture of trepidation and excitement that every fledgling manager feels on their first day.

So how can first-time managers make their mark? And what can young people do to compensate for their lack of experience? Start as you mean to go on and be upfront, suggests Sydney-based executive coach Stacey Ashley FIML, who helps top-tier managers hone their leadership skills.

“It starts with having really clear conversations,” says Ashley. “You want the people who report to you to know what your expectations are – and you need to know what they expect of you.”

Ashley is the author of ­The New Leader: From Team Member to People Leader – a Practical Guide. “When I was writing the book, I asked a number of leaders a similar question: knowing what you know now, what is the one thing you’d tell your younger self on becoming a leader? They said things like ‘Trust yourself more’ and ‘You don’t have to be like the person who was in the role before you.’”

Leadership Matters asked Ashley to share her five tips for young people who want to nail their first management role.

 

1. GET YOUR BOSS ON SIDE

The first week is going to be all about the sit-down: you need to get to know your new manager and every person on your team (remember: it’s all about being upfront). “If you don’t enrol your boss in your processes, you’re not necessarily going to get the level of support you need,” says Ashley. “Equally, if you don’t understand what their agenda is, you’re not going to be able to deliver against it.”

Ashley recalls a job early in her career when she spent hours compiling detailed weekly reports for her new manager, only to discover – six months later – that he didn’t even read them. “He just wanted a few traffic lights, half a page,” she says. “The problem is, I’d assumed I knew what he wanted and he’d assumed I’d be upset if he told me it wasn’t right. What a complete waste of time for both of us!”

Avoid this by asking your new boss what they need from you in the role. And before the meeting winds up, be sure to arrange a follow-up one-to-three months down the track to review how things are going.

 

2. RALLY THE TEAM

In the first five days, you also need to let your staff know what you expect from them over the next few months. This is especially important if you’re managing changes in working relationships (say you’ve gone from being a member of the team to leading it). “It gives your colleagues the opportunity to ask questions, to understand what it means for them and how you’re going to work with each other,” says Ashley.

And while it may not happen in the first week, it’s important to get to know the people who work for you. This advice came up again and again when Ashley quizzed business leaders for her book. “It makes it a lot easier to understand the decisions your staff make and how to get the best out of them,” she says.

New manager Duncan Toole MIML spent a year learning the ropes on the warehouse floor at Pirtek Fluid Systems, a company that repairs hydraulic hoses for heavy machinery, before being promoted to supervisor last September. Though Toole, 25, was well versed in the company’s day-to-day operations, taking on 22 staff members – almost all of them decades older than him – was no small feat.

To help him make the transition, he signed up to the IML ANZ’s Intentional Leadership Foundations program, joining 10 professionals from a range of industries in the same phase of their career. Toole says that one of the most valuable skills he picked up was learning to apply the DiSC model, a behaviour-assessment tool that’s used to identify a person’s motivators and stressors.

“It’s helped me understand what drives my workers, which is especially important in a culturally diverse workplace,” he says. “With the DiSC model, I can put everyone into categories and know how to speak to them. Some people ask questions because they want to have input and they like to find the easiest – most efficient – way to do things. Others just want to know how to fix it; they don’t want to beat around the bush.”

 

3. NAIL THE DRESS CODE

For Toole, one of the most challenging aspects of the new role was going from being ‘one of the guys’ to being the guy that tells everyone what to do. Switching hi-vis for office attire helps him make the distinction and stay on task. “It just shows that I am actually the boss who needs to do in-house work to improve processes and things like that,” he says.

And yet, by afternoon he’s often back in the hi-vis, helping out on the warehouse floor. “That’s probably one of my biggest problems,” he says. “Sometimes people call in sick and there’s no other way to get the work done. But it’s also because I know how I want a job done so when I see something that needs doing, I think, ‘Oh, I’ll just do it.’”

It’s a trap new leaders often fall into, says Ashley. “While it’s always tempting to muck in and help out, your role is to provide direction, which means enabling others to grow and perform. You need to take a step back and think strategically. Ask yourself: ‘What do I have to deliver?’ ‘What am I here to do?’ ‘And how can I have the greatest impact?’ Focus on the things that make a difference and schedule them into your day.”

 

4. GIVE YOURSELF A HEAD START

Of course, this also includes long-term planning. Ashley recommends blocking out time on your calendar each week – be it an hour, or half a day – to plan for the future. Sure, it may feel indulgent when there are immediate tasks to get on top of, but adopting a managerial timeframe means thinking beyond the day-to-day.

“We’ve all got the same amount of time, don’t we?” says Ashley. “Making decisions about how you invest yourself across all those different demands is one of the most critical skills a new leader needs to develop.”

For Toole and his boss, the best approach is an informal catch-up over coffee at 7 am before the warehouse staff arrive. They talk about the day ahead, but they also mull over less immediate concerns, like boosting morale and designing a new staff incentive scheme.

You might think that you have quite enough on your plate but there’s also long-term career planning to consider. You’ve worked hard to land this position, don’t let it be your last. Are you attending conferences, networking events, training days and checking in with your mentor?

As Ashley warns, you could wind up being so effective in your new role that the company will want to leave you there – forever. Plus, says Ashley, “You’ve got to have something to other: as a leader, you have a responsibility to always bring something new to the company”.

 

5. FORGET ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Okay, so you can’t do away with performance reviews altogether. But as a new leader, you have a chance to rethink that once-a-year formal sit-down that everyone (including the boss!) dreads. Annual reviews are scary – and often useless. Instead, Ashley recommends you coach your staff every single day.

“We need to get much more comfortable with talking about performance,” she says. “It’s not about having a conversation once a quarter or once a year; you should be having it all day, every day. Because if I’m in your team and you don’t tell me that there’s something you’re not happy with, I can’t do anything about it.” Of course, the same goes for praise – if someone’s performing well, don’t wait 12 months to tell them.

And what if you’re tasked with performance management for the first time? Ashley says that a successful outcome – and a happy team player – depends on many things, including your attitude. “It’s not about having a big vent because it will make you feel better,” says Ashley. “You need to go into those conversations with the intention of getting a really great outcome. You want something good for that person.”

Ask yourself: ‘What is it that I want for them?’ The answer, suggests Ashley, might be that you want them to step up and be able to really perform in their role. “Now have a conversation that helps them do that. If they say, ‘Look, I don’t understand how to do the task’, then there’s something you can do to help them.” As always, it’s about being upfront.

Learn the foundations of leadership

IML ANZ’s Intentional Leadership Foundations program is designed to help ‘accidental managers’ become intentional leaders – helping them transition from individual contribution to succeeding through their team. The 12-week program blends facilitated learning with online study, leadership coaching, one-on-one mentoring, diagnostic tools and workplace-based projects. Participants will gain key learnings on how to manage themselves, communicate effectively, manage teams and individuals, and how to lead with the bigger picture in mind.

For more information, go to managersandleaders.com.au/foundations-intentional-leadership.

This article originally appeared in the September 2019 edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s quarterly magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

The Conversation: Speaking the international language of leadership

Photo by Sabrina Hyde

 

Now based in her adopted home of Wellington, Jane Diplock AO FIML is a professional director of some renown. The Australian has chaired and been a member of many boards and committees in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

As a leader, Diplock’s influence extends far beyond the shores of New Zealand. She is currently Chair of the Regulatory Committee of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, a director of the Singapore Exchange, a director of Australian Financial Services Group, a member of the Public Interest Oversight Board, a member of the International Advisory Committee to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and a member of the International Advisory Board to the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

As if all that weren’t enough, she has also previously chaired the Executive Committee of International Organisation of Securities Commissions and chaired the New Zealand Securities Commission, following an executive career in banking and public service. She was awarded the honour of Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003. Diplock recently found time in her hectic schedule to pause and reflect on management and leadership with IML ANZ chief executive David Pich CMgr FIML.

DAVID PICH: You’ve worked closely with senior business leaders in several countries including Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Spain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, China and India. Do leadership styles vary in these different nations?

JANE DIPLOCK: Actually, I think the globalisation of business has given many countries a shared understanding of leadership norms. The exceptional leaders I’ve encountered around the world have all had characteristics that they share. They include talent development, inclusiveness and being able to both lead from ahead and from behind. In other words, in some instances being able to inspire people who work with them and, in other instances, being able to encourage and mentor the people who work with them.


DP: I’m glad you said that because the ability of a leader to inspire people is often overlooked. You’ve been a director and committee member of the Singapore Exchange, the SGX. Singapore is often lauded as a hot spot for innovation. What do you think Australia and New Zealand leaders can learn from places like Singapore?

JD: When I look around the Singapore Exchange, we have board members and staff who come from other countries as well as from Singapore. But the culture there is one of high professionalism and, as you say, entrepreneurship – there’s a great capacity to think outside of the box. I think that those qualities are very important in the business model of Singapore’s Exchange.

But I would be reluctant to somehow say that one nation should be the teacher and another the student. There are plenty of different approaches to innovation out there. Some of those different approaches have to do with culture and history and context. One is not necessarily better than the other.

I often meet New Zealanders and Australians in leadership positions in Singapore, not to mention the UAE, the UK, and the US. Those people bring their own nation’s entrepreneurial flair to bear on their leadership, and they often do it extraordinarily well.


DP: IML ANZ recently collaborated on research called Match Fit, which concluded that many Australian businesses still aren’t ready and able to do business in Asia. You’ve worked in several nations across Asia. What advice would you have for Australian business leaders?

JD: I’d say: be very careful not to generalise. There are so many countries and regions in Asia with unique histories and unique cultures. Each one provides unique challenges and opportunities too. For example, if you’re dealing with a company based in Western China, you will face different issues to those you might come across with a company in Shanghai. You have to go back to what business model you’re working in and what you are trying to achieve there – then align that with the people in the particular country, region or city you are working in.


DP: You have enjoyed a long and distinguished career. Have you had any mentors along the way who were instrumental in your success?

JD: A number of people have been generous enough to take an interest in my professional career. Early on, I worked in the public service for a truly great public servant, the late Gerald Gleeson AC, who headed up the Premier’s Department of New South Wales. He was very constructively critical and positive about my work and gave me highly professional advice about how to refine my leadership skillset. Later, when I worked at Westpac, there were a number of senior women who I looked up to who role modelled what a successful, modern businesswoman could be.

Role models can be very influential. I worked with Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO who I think most Australians would agree is a fantastic individual. I looked at her career and the leadership she showed. She was a great role model for me. I also admire NZ Prime Minister Helen Clarke who led the country with great ability and took outstanding female Kiwi leadership to the world when she led the UN Development Programme.


DP: You’ve worked extensively in regulatory roles in the financial sector, and as you know in Australia we’ve just had a royal commission into banking. The report was critical of regulators such as ASIC and APRA, suggesting they weren’t strong enough in dealing with misconduct. What did you make of it?

JD: I’ve been both a banker and a regulator so I have seen it from both sides. Unless you’ve been involved in regulation, it’s hard to appreciate the complexities of regulation. There is a balance to be struck between the punitive side and also trying to guide the right behaviour. That said, the misconduct revealed in the royal commission has been quite shocking and was rightly condemned. The client or customer must always come first in banking and financial services.


DP: The royal commission appeared to say that personal greed was overriding any concerns for the customer. It found that workplace culture was an important contributor to that. Now the banks have to put things right. As a leader, what can one do to change a culture like that?

JD: I’d start with the remuneration policy, because fundamentally if greed is driving out customer consideration, then you start with the greed. So I would focus on the remuneration structure of the bonuses and salary increases. That’s one element.

I think the second element has to be training and the leaders themselves. Because if a person came through a culture for, let’s say, a decade of their career, where the primary motivation was the bottom line – the return for the bank – which is then reflected in their personal remuneration, then it’s very hard to turn that around. There can be a situation where some people have had that culture so ingrained that they find it hard to switch to a more appropriate way of doing business.


DP: Many IML ANZ Members aspire to be board directors in all kinds of sectors and industries. Many moons ago, you made that step from management to board level. What advice do you have for Members seeking to make that same transition?

JD: While in a management role, I recommend getting some exposure to governance in a supportive environment where you can learn from people around the board table. I worked with a number of very senior people in those kinds of roles and I learned an enormous amount about how a board director operates and behaves; including the difference between operational involvement and looking from a more strategic perspective. Watching someone who is a master at that was incredibly helpful for me. The other thing I recommend is to get some formal training. IML ANZ, for instance, does a great job in providing Members with an intellectual framework to operate at a leadership level. I think continuing professional education helps to inform your thinking about what practical approaches you might apply in leadership situations. So I’d encourage Members to seek relevant professional development activities to prepare them for directorships.

This article originally appeared in the June 2019 edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s quarterly magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

The merits of peer learning for leaders

Leadership is a transformative process – once you’ve become a people manager your thinking around leadership changes. As you progress every day, many factors influence how you learn, and suddenly that is no longer an activity reserved only for the classroom. Not surprisingly, the best way to learn could be through your peers.

 

The way we learn is changing

A recent study reveals that 70% of workers learn from their peers and only 21% rely on what their L&D or HR departments offer as learning options.

Because leaders bring with them a unique set of skills, knowledge and experiences, the advantages of learning from peers are further magnified when applied to this group. According to organisational development expert and facilitator of IML ANZ’s Intentional Leadership Foundations program, Kerry Irwin, sharing these aspects amongst peers enriches the learning experience.

Irwin explains, “The theory and practice delivered in a peer learning program is brought to life by the participants’ past experiences. It embeds the learnings. So whilst the theory may fade in the mind of participants, the examples shared by others in the room means the learnings are brought further to life and they stick.”

 

Diversity of thought is better

Several perspectives are also better than one. Irwin strongly believes that leaders benefit from the wide experience and views brought into the room by a cohort of peers.

“A teacher-led or trainer-led approach limits the participants to only one view. Either that of the trainer or the organisation who designed the program.”

Irwin adds that effective peer learning does not require a trainer or a teacher. “You need a facilitator who understands and encourages the flow of discussion, which brings about fruitful learning,” she said.

 

Not a silver bullet

Of course, peer learning should be just one element of the way leaders learn. Irwin points out that coaching is best conducted one-on-one and when it comes to technical learning, courses that are focused on the individual’s skills gap, and therefore the need, is best.

Adult learning delivery should vary according to the individual’s personal learning preference, and this is a key consideration as to whether peer learning is the right choice. “Some may learn better as an individual, for example online, if group work makes them anxious therefore hurting their learning experience”.

 

Learning from and with like-minded individuals has its merits when contrasted to the typical classroom-based, teacher- or trainer-led approach. Mainly when peer learning is an element of a leadership development program, participants have strong shared motivation: learning to be better leaders. Irwin also states the importance of being open to others’ views and experience. She concludes, “If they approach the session with a curious mindset – even better!”

Member Exchange: Successful Careers Through Solid Planning

Gone are the days when careers meant moving straight up a ladder. These days, career paths have become more like a lattice – you might take steps upwards, sideways or even downwards.

That’s what makes career planning a crucial step in managing your learning and development. Regardless of where you are in your career it’s useful to explore the path that you’re on. By developing new knowledge and skills, you’ll be well equipped to move into that new opportunity, no matter where it is on your career lattice.

Think of career planning as a continuous process of:

  • Reflecting on your interests, values, skills and preferences
  • Exploring the life, work and learning options available to you
  • Ensuring that your work fits with your personal circumstances
  • Fine-tuning your work and learning plans to help you manage changes in life and work

You can revisit and use this process at any stage of your career.

Start at the step that is most relevant for you now.

The career planning process has four fundamental steps:

Step 1: knowing yourself
Step 2: finding out
Step 3: making decisions
Step 4: taking action

Let’s take a look at each step.

Step 1: knowing yourself

Ask yourself:

  • Where am I at in knowledge and skills now?
  • What do I want out of a job or career?
  • What do I like to do?
  • What are my strengths?
  • What is important to me?
  • Where do I want to be?
  • How will I get there?

After this, you can work on getting to know your skills, interests and values.

At the end of this step you will have a clearer idea of your work or learning goal and your individual preferences.

The SWOT analysis in Article 1 can also be of great use to you at this point. You can use this information about yourself as your personal ‘wish list’ against which you can compare all the information you gather in the next step: finding out. Your personal preferences are very useful for helping you choose your current best option, which you can do in Step 3: making decisions.

Step 2: finding out

This step is about exploring the roles and learning areas that interest you. Once you have some idea of your job preferences you can research the specific skills and qualifications required in those professions.

  • Explore. Ask people around you about their roles, how they achieved success in their career. This mentoring program is an excellent forum for learning about others’ stories how they built their career.
  • Identify. Pick out roles that interest you. Assess whether your skills and interests match up with the job’s requirements. Do you have skills that are transferrable for this particular role or profession?
  • Develop. Taking on projects in your current workplace is a great way to close any knowledge and skills gaps to further your career journey. Also, look at developing skills outside of work. Sporting, community and charity groups always need people with a vast range of skills.
  • Locate. Do research not just on careers but on companies who you think you’d like to work with and where your interests and values align. Find out where your preferred roles are on offer.

At the end of this step you will have a list of preferred roles, companies you’d like to work with and opportunities for further learning.

Step 3: making decisions

This step involves comparing your options, narrowing down your choices and thinking about what currently suits you best.

Ask yourself:

  • What are my best work or training options? How will these currently impact on my work and life situation? How long will it take to get appropriate knowledge or qualifications and how do I manage my career in the meantime?
  • How do they match with my skills, interests and values?
  • How do they fit with the current labour market? What’s happening in the economy and politically? Is there opportunity for career growth within my current organisation or region?
  • How do they fit with my current situation and responsibilities?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
  • What will help and what will hinder me?
  • What can I do about it?

At the end of this step you will have narrowed down your options and have more of an idea of what you need to do next to help you achieve your goals. We would recommend that you use the Kolb Action Learning model in your Mentoring Resource book. This will provide an excellent tool to assist you at this stage of planning.

Step 4: taking action

Here you plan the steps you need to take.

Use all you have learnt about your skills, interests and values together with the information you have gathered about the world of work to create your plan.

Begin by asking yourself:

  • What steps will help me achieve my work, training and career goals?
  • Where can I get help?
  • Who will support me? Who can give me a reality check about my choice at this stage? What might be some of the barriers moving forward and how will I overcome them?

At the end of this step you will have:

  • A plan to help you explore your options further (work experience, work shadowing or more research); or
  • A plan which sets out the steps to help you achieve your next learning or work goal
  • Decide which step is relevant for you right now and start from there.

In all of this you need to remember that your career doesn’t happen in isolation to other aspects of your life.

As you work your way through the model ensure that you’re taking your entire life circumstance into any decisions you make.

Moving up: how to consider the changes

By Geoff Cohen FIML

There you are – a hard-working team player in your thirties determined to have a successful business career. You want to leave a positive mark, your “footprints in the sand”.

With outstanding performance reviews as a technical specialist – complemented by competitive salary packages and bonuses – all your painstaking years put into studies have been rewarded in your career. Well done!

Then you learn that your team manager has moved into another more senior position. So finally, and without much notice, the chance arrives for you to step up into a managerial position and lead the team. Eager to make the most of the opportunity, you start off by getting all the training you need from your colleague. With all the necessary knowledge and expertise successfully transferred in a handover, you feel that you have landed on your feet as a new manager.

However, soon the hidden problems become apparent – your colleague tells you everything about the challenges of the job, from poor staff attitudes to the ever-demanding senior management group. For a second, you may begin to worry whether you’ve made the right decision to step into the role. Still, you are inspired to revolutionise the way things are done around here – no holding back!

Moving from star specialist to fledgling manager is probably one of the biggest challenges you will ever face because now you must manage people and your coworkers as your staff. These are people who have feelings, values and priorities that may not accord with your own. So how are you going to manage them? Should you order them around? After all, they work under your leadership.

However, what you may learn the hard way as a first-time manager is that your staff may put up with being directed by you for a while. But, if they don’t feel part of a consulted team, your best staff may quickly move on to where they will be appreciated – another team or organisation.

Autocratic behaviour is no way to be recognised as a leader. Great leaders earn a respect which makes people choose to follow them. You do not determine your success as a leader – that is something those around you will decide on. Their respect and behavioural response will provide the clues on whether they support you, or not. A wise colleague of mine once said of a new manager: “My loyalty he will have, my respect he will have to earn.”

Indeed, your welcome to management comes with a big challenge: how to instil respect for your leadership. Hopefully, you are attuned enough to know that there are no instant answers. There are many short development courses that you should certainly explore, but this must be abetted by long-term support – much of which you will get while on the job.

The most effective way of development leadership, not matter what stage of your career you’re in, is this: have good ‘soft skills’ – for example, listening, communicating and empathy – and marry them with the ‘hard skills’ that landed you the management position in the first place. With a combination of these, you will have the resources to successfully set you up on your desired career path.

There are few more things worthwhile to think as a manager:

  • Cynicism is, regrettably, part of the workplace today. So, if your staff don’t already know you, will there be a degree of scepticism?
  • Have you just been brought in to shake the place up, make jobs redundant, cut back staff expenditure and budgets?
  • If your staff do know you and watched you rise to new heights, what are they thinking?
  • Maybe they feel you are just filling in until the ‘real’ manager arrives.
  • They could confide in you when you were a co-worker, but maybe not anymore.
  • Perhaps they think you’ll just be a ‘yes man’ for senior management, totally compliant.

While it might be a daunting thought that all these above situations might be a reality, it is important to remember that ultimately, learning from your experiences is necessary for development, even if the message may not be what you want to hear.

Reflecting on these experiences allows you to gain understanding of your leadership strengths and weaknesses, and often it is helpful to reflect on how you are going to manage yourself before you start managing others. It is also a good idea to find a colleague who you respect and trust to share experiences and advice, a proven strategy for professionals around the world. Nurses at hospitals put aside time at the end of a shift each day to ‘debrief’ with the next crew coming in. This process is not just about explaining the status of patients but to relieve stress by telling someone about the frustrations of the day.

Debriefing with someone regularly will improve your resilience, help you manage stress, lead staff with humility and transparency and, above all else, remain positive.

Give it a go… step up to a management role! Don’t wonder what might have been later on.

Geoff Cohen FIML Geoff Cohen FIML, a former General Manager focusing on regional business growth / major property development in NSW, works with startup business entrepreneurs and new managers.

The Conversation: Awake to the call of leadership

Dr Daniel Jolley IMLa is no stranger to the fine art of decision making. As a consultant anaesthetist, he is called upon to demonstrate leadership and make life-saving decisions in an environment where split second timing can be critical.

Story by Nicola Field  //  Photography Peter Whyte

Dynamic decision making is the name of the game in an operating theatre. As Dr Daniel Jolley explains, “You try to be proactive rather than reactive.” Like all good skills, this comes with training. Anaesthesia requires a minimum five-year training period, often spent working alongside senior anaesthetists. Nonetheless, Dr Jolley observes that these days, the safety factor of surgery often hinges more on the decisions made by an anaesthetist rather than drugs, technology,
or equipment.

To learn more about how Dr Jolley rises to the leadership challenge – and why as a medico, he opted to undertake management and leadership training – IML CEO David Pich FIML met him in Hobart.

David Pich:   In leadership we tend to think somebody is in charge, and others follow instructions. But it doesn’t sound like that’s the case in an operating theatre.

Dr Jolley:   Australia is quite unique in that the position of the surgeon and the anaesthetist are on more of an equal footing. Coupled with the Australian willingness to challenge authority, members of the theatre team are less likely to be totally subservient to the perceived leader in the room. It’s interesting from a safety point of view – and this is something that’s been heavily studied inside the airline industry. There is a reasonably strong theory, for example, that Qantas continues to be the safest airline in the world both because of the exceptional training the airline invests in its pilots, but also because of the cultural tendency, in Australia, to challenge authority.

It’s the same in a theatre. It’s not uncommon for my aesthetic nurses to very carefully say, “Are you sure you want to do that?” So there’s a shared leadership role in the theatre environment.

DP:   Before you walk into the operating theatre, is there a briefing session?

DJ:   There’s been a big push over the past five years for a team meeting at the start. We have a brief discussion of every patient on the operating list so that the surgeon, anaesthetist and nursing staff can raise any concerns about potential problems and ensure everybody’s on the same page. You’re basically preparing for the unexpected, so that when the unexpected happens, it can be handled in a safe and effective way.

DP:   That’s interesting because a major focus for IML, at the moment, is the concept of intentional leadership. In order to end what we call ‘the chaos of accidental management’, you have to intend to lead. Are you saying intentional leadership is alive and well in our hospitals, and it cuts down the opportunity for accidents to happen?

DJ:   The surgeon is largely the default leader. But that leadership role can change very quickly in emergency situations, and when that happens, it occurs smoothly and without any real tension.

Where there’s say, a cardiac arrest, that’s an area that the anaesthetist is appropriately trained and expert in managing. The surgeon will look to the anaesthetist for direction on what to do next.

When I was a young trainee, I had a patient with a very nasty traumatic injury to the eye. The eye needed to be enucleated – that is, removed – because it had exploded from trauma. Pulling on the eye during the surgery can cause the heart rate to slow precipitously and even stop, which was what happened. It was the middle of the night, when not a lot of people were around, I did what I needed to do with the anaesthetic machine, gave appropriate drugs and then started CPR. We had a good outcome, and the gentlemen recovered well.

However, the feedback I received from my mentor – a very senior anaesthetist – was that I shouldn’t have been the one doing the CPR. I should have directed somebody else to do that. It was totally appropriate criticism because all medical staff are trained for CPR, and I needed to take a step back and direct them. Once I was on the chest I was very blinkered, and much more likely to be fixated on a smaller part of the problem rather than taking the big picture view.

DP:   At IML, we believe that reflection is often ignored in leadership. Leaders make huge decisions that impact lots of people, and then they typically don’t reflect on them. But that doesn’t seem to be standard practice in hospitals?

DJ:   It’s certainly something people are very cognisant of now. We’ve always had a focus on looking at why adverse events happen, and what we’ve done leading up to them. Then having a non-judgmental discussion about how it could be avoided in the future.

DP:   How do you stop yourself feeling vulnerable in those situations because, essentially, your performance is being judged?

DJ:   It’s a challenge. Anaesthetists have the potential to be self-critical. But there is a dominant culture among Australian anaesthetists of being a very social and supportive fraternity. So there’s always a lot of interaction and a supportive view.

DP:   You mentioned your mentor earlier. There’s an interesting statistic that only 21 per cent of CEOs of ASX 200 companies have a mentor. Whereas it seems in your occupation and your brand of leadership, mentoring plays a fundamental part.

DJ:   One of the challenges with the whole concept of mentorship is that sometimes we try to artificially force it on a situation. I suspect a true mentor is someone who finds you rather than you find him or her. That can be a challenge during medical training. You often spend only short periods in any one hospital or department, maybe six to 12 months at most, so it can be difficult to find a true mentor. However, most large departments encourage the development of mentor/mentee relationships to guide you through growth in non-clinical areas like leadership and decision making – things that are often forgotten in the midst of other professional growth.

DP:   One might expect that hospitals are full of accidental managers – people who, because of their technical skills, have ended up in management and leadership positions. What is the real situation in the medical profession?

DJ:   One of the challenges hospitals face is that there are lots of bureaucratic and organisational problems, which have largely been solved in the business world. There is a greater effort now to train, particularly medical staff, in both leadership and managerial roles so that they’re much less accidental and organic.

DP:   You decided to complete an MBA, and develop your skills in management and leadership. Why did you do that?

DJ:   When you reach mid-level seniority as a medical specialist, you often find yourself on various hospital committees, and making accidental managerial or leadership contributions in different areas. It’s very easy to be resistant to ‘management speak’. But I could see there was some real theory behind it, and I was doing myself, the hospital and my patients a disservice if I wasn’t open to learning more about that.

DP:   So, you went off to do an MBA at Deakin University, which is one of our accredited MBAs at IML. What did you learn?

DJ:   The Deakin MBA was very satisfying. It confirmed some of the things I suspected – that the organisational challenges, business challenges, finance and human resource challenges that impact day-to-day hospital life are far from unique. We have a responsibility to properly understand
these so that we can improve the way hospitals work.

DP:   What are some of the stand-out things  that you’ve taken from your MBA?

DJ:   Among the three things I’ve found most immediately relevant, Business Process Management taught me to look at the flow of information, staff, patients and associates, and how we create value. It blew my mind how complex all the processes are that our staff are undertaking on a daily basis. That means there are lots of areas for improvement and efficiency improvement.

The second area I thought was very interesting was Organisational Management and Human Resources. After completing the unit, you see that there is a huge amount of theory, both from the psychological point of view and behavioural theory, and I found that really useful.

The third area I found useful was Change Management. It’s all well and good to identify where there are problems, and then say, ‘Well, these are the solutions’, but implementing the solution is where everything falls down.

DP:   So would you recommend professional development in management and leadership for specialist medical staff?

DJ:   Definitely. The very nature of your specialist role means you have a position of leadership and you need to manage others. You might be lucky and do those well, but a lot of us don’t, and it’s our responsibility to learn to do them better.

In my line of work, where critical things are happening, you get the best performance out of your team when you’re calm and considerate in what you do. Internally, you may not be so calm, but projecting control and confidence is really important to have everyone else respond in a measured way in what could be a life-threatening event.

Leadership in 60 seconds

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat?

Twitter.

Phone, email or face-to-face?

Email.

Name a leader that you admire and why?

Michelle and Barack Obama together, as a team, because of the integrity
they have in the way they approach things. Obama was always referred
to as ‘no drama Obama’. That sort of quiet, confident, competence,
I really admire.

Your personal view on leadership?

One of the important roles of leadership is being able to communicate to the team the destination, what we’re trying to do, and the reason why we’re trying to get there.

Which three guests would you invite to dinner to discuss leadership?

Steve Jobs is number one. Not because I see him as a great leader, but I think he’d be a great dinner guest. Another person would be Julia Gillard to discuss her experience as Labor leader. I find the gender issues in leadership in Australia really fascinating. Mahatma Gandhi would be my third guest, to provide a different historical context on leadership and where it is now.

Advice for somebody just starting out in any career?

Don’t be too worried about getting the direction and the decisions right for where you’re going.  Focus a little more on decisions in a shorter horizon. You don’t know how your interests and skills are going to change.

What’s your personal resilience plan?

I really love running, trail running in particular, and also a bit of mountain biking – all of which are great here in Tassie.