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.

Why foresight is the essential leadership skill for the future

There’s a myth that experienced business leaders are dinosaurs from a bygone era – typically old white males who only knew one way to lead, and that way doesn’t work anymore. So “of course” it’s inevitable they will get disrupted by younger, more diverse, more tech-savvy, “new” thinkers. But it’s not true. There are many experienced leaders and managers with the right mindset, who are more than willing to adapt in a fast-changing world.

But there’s a trap. The strategies and tactics that worked in the past don’t work anymore, and they won’t work in the future. It’s not that these leaders don’t know a lot (they do); it’s just that some of those things aren’t true anymore. They used to be true, so it’s natural to believe they are still true, and difficult to give up those beliefs.

If you used to believe in Santa Claus, it’s easy to dismiss that now because you were “just a child” and didn’t know any better. The danger comes when you stubbornly cling to other beliefs that also aren’t true anymore.

That’s why you need the skill of foresight: the ability to look into the future and understand what you need to succeed there. You can then decide objectively what you need to do, regardless of what worked (or didn’t work) in the past.

Some leaders and managers “get it”, but unfortunately, they are in the minority. When Accenture surveyed Australian CEOs about disruption, almost 90% of them expected unprecedented technology change in the near future. But the vast majority (more than 80%) thought the biggest disruption would come either from existing businesses or from inside their industry. They were trying to drive by constantly looking in the rear-view mirror.

Less than one in five admitted that disruption could come from start-up businesses outside their industry. And yet, that’s exactly what we think of when we hear the word “disruption”. The taxi industry wasn’t disrupted by a taxi operator, retail shopping wasn’t disrupted by a retail chain, and the hotel industry wasn’t disrupted by a large hotel chain. They were disrupted by Uber, Amazon, and Airbnb, respectively – all outsiders who were late to the party.

Even incumbents who had the tools of disruption already – like Kodak, who invented the digital camera – didn’t recognise their value until it was too late.

In fact, Kodak is the perfect example of a lack of foresight. Kodak went from the fifth-most valuable brand in the world in 1996 to filing for bankruptcy in 2012. There are many myths about Kodak’s failure: It had too much invested in film, it had grown so big it had stopped innovating, the organisational structure couldn’t cope with a digital world, and even a dramatic story that senior management told the employee who invented the first digital camera to hide it because it would destroy Kodak’s market.

But the reality is simpler (and less dramatic). The first digital camera was as big as a toaster, took 20 seconds to take a picture, and the resolution was much lower than a print. Kodak’s management assessed it, but dismissed it because they thought it would never be good enough to compete with film cameras. They didn’t have the foresight to understand exponential growth, which meant digital camera technology improved much faster than they expected. By the time they realised it, digital platforms like Flickr, Facebook, and Instagram had already made Kodak obsolete.


The world has changed – but have you?

You won’t develop foresight overnight, but you can start by asking these three provocative questions:

  1. What assets do we have that a start-up company would be happy not to have?
  2. What “impossible” technology would make our business obsolete?
  3. If somebody bought this business today, what is the first change they would make?

 

These questions are designed to challenge your beliefs, because some of those beliefs are rooted in the past and might not be useful anymore. As Josh Billings said:

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

 

Gihan Perera is a business futurist, speaker, and author who works with business leaders to help them lead and succeed in an uncertain but exciting future. He is the author of ‘Disruption By Design: Leading the change in a fast-changing world’. For more about how Gihan can work with your leaders and teams, visit GihanPerera.com.

How to leverage skills from all ages to create an optimum workforce

By Michelle Gibbings CMgr FIML

 

As organisations grapple with more complex decisions and an ever-increasing pace of change building a workforce equipped with the skills and experience to thrive in this environment is critical.

Finding this depth and breadth of talent requires leaders to build a diverse workforce, which covers full spectrum diversity including, for example, age, ethnicity, gender, thinking styles, disabilities and sexual orientation.

This means leaders need to challenge their decision making patterns.

 

Seek out difference

It’s natural to want to work with people you like and find easy to work with, and consequently when you are building a team or forming workgroups you often seek out such people.

This is either done consciously or subconsciously.  In the case of recruitment, for example, search criteria often specifically reference the desire to find a candidate who is a good cultural fit.

Cultural fit can mean different things to different people.  Typically, if you ask people how they define cultural fit they will give comments such as, someone who:

  • Lives the organisation’s values
  • Is able to work well in the team
  • Will fit in with the rest of the group
  • Understands the organisation’s objectives and buys into its vision

 

However, when you strip away the layers and get to the base level drivers, what the person is looking for is someone who they feel comfortable with.  That is, someone who they connect with because they can see aspects of themselves in that person.

 

Avoid likeability bias

It’s often suggested that one of the key success criteria for a job interview is to ensure that the interviewee comes across as likeable.  The premise being that the hiring manager has already positively assessed the applicant’s CV for the required technical skills because they are being interviewed.  Now, all the hiring manager is seeking to test is whether they want to work with the person or not.

This likeability isn’t just about being friendly and a nice person. It’s about whether the hiring manager finds similarities with the person they are interviewing. Research shows we like people who are similar to us in terms of interests, backgrounds and experiences, and this has consequential impacts for hiring decisions.

Kellogg University found that getting hired for a job was not so much about the “soft or hard dimensions of the role”, but rather how similar the person being interviewed was to the person conducting the interview.

It is very easy for leaders to want to hire people who are like them.  Similarity makes a person feel comfortable.  However, when you hire people like yourself, you are filling the team or workgroup with people who have similar backgrounds, experiences and thought processes.

 

Diversity improves decision making

Homogeneity can negatively impact how decisions are made. The more alike people are, the more likely they are to think along the same lines and therefore there is less room for debate, discernment and disagreement.

Separate research from Kellogg University found that diverse teams make better decisions.  That diversity is not just about gender or ethnicity, it includes age, experience and backgrounds.  The diverse groups outperformed more homogeneous groups, not because of an influx of new ideas, but because the diversity triggered more careful processing of the information that’s discussed.

‘Complex problem solving’ and ‘critical thinking’ are the top two competencies that the World Economic Forum identified in its Future of Jobs report. This involves challenge, exploration, suspending judgement, and being equipped with the cognitive capacity to look at problems in a different way. All of which is aided by having a diverse workforce.

Successful sustainable organisations recognise the need for their workforce to be equipped with the capability and capacity to dig deeper into the mental models that drive their thought processes and be ready to acquire knowledge from multiple sources and environments.

Consequently, leaders need to be prepared to challenge their assumptions and expectations when they are building their team.  This involves:

  • Acknowledging the potential for bias, because we all have it to varying degrees
  • Actively seeking diversity of experience, background, ethnicity, age and gender (and all forms of diversity) when forming teams and workgroups
  • Recognising that the person at work who really annoys you is often the person you need to spend more time with. Why? Because the source of tension comes from their seeing the world differently to you and this challenge to your frame of reference is good for your thought processes
  • Inviting other people into the decision-making process who can shift and provide alternate perspectives

 

Build on strengths

As part of this approach, it helps for leaders to understand and then leverage the strengths of their team.

Research conducted over the last 30 years shows that taking a strengths-based approach leads to greater work satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. This is evidenced in Tom Rath and Barry Conchie’s book, Strengths Based Leadership, where they detail how working with strengths helps leaders be more effective.

Leaders play a crucial role in bringing strengths to life at work – for both themselves and their team members.

It starts with the leader understanding their own strengths and how they are best used at work. The next step is to help team members:

  • Appreciate the strengths they bring to their role, and
  • Recognise and value the strengths their colleagues bring to their role

 

This is best done through a series of team development activities, which help the team best understand and leverage the individual and collective strengths of the team.

Michelle Gibbings is a change leadership and career expert and founder of Change Meridian. Michelle works with leaders and teams to help them accelerate progress. She is the author of ‘Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work’ and ‘Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career’.

Why your leadership reputation is a catalyst to business growth

When you run your own business – and you’re not a large operation – the basics of success might seem simple. Business booms when more people want to buy from you, existing customers want to stick with you, and your staff are happy to work for you.

But anyone who’s run a family-owned or small to medium enterprise will know that driving business success is a complicated matter. After all, it takes an investment of your time, effort and resource to grow the business, keep your employees engaged and build your brand and reputation.

Plus, the smaller your operation, the larger the effort, time and resource required to stay competitive in any market.

What if you’ve overlooked a highly valuable driver in achieving business growth, employee engagement and customer loyalty? Your leadership reputation. It’s no wonder that legends of the business world hold it in such high esteem. Warren Buffet identified it as an even higher priority than profits.

This principle applies just as strongly for small to medium enterprises. The difference is that it is you, as the owner and leader, whose reputation is the anchor for your business.

Think back to when you started your business. A large foundation for what it is today would have been because of your contacts who became your first clients. Your knowledge and expertise evolved into your current products and services. Your vision is the glue that formed your first team.

Your leadership reputation might have been instrumental in setting you up but why is it even more essential for running a successful business into the future?

Here are just three reasons:

 

 1. Your leadership impacts how you attract new business

Reputation is sometimes misunderstood. It’s often thought to be the same as your brand. However, unlike your brand, your reputation is not something you create and then project. The public formulates reputation based on what they know about you.

Investing in your leadership reputation is a worthwhile venture. In fact, one study found that a good reputation can increase a customer’s intent to purchase from you by up to 6.3%.

The challenge for busy small business owners, however, is that you can be so consumed in the day-to-day tasks that you might neglect setting time aside to build on the elements that influence your reputation. Also, being the boss can sometimes mean there’s no one keeping you in check about your leadership skills.

Dr Travis Kemp, an organisational psychologist, independent company director and adjunct professor at the University of South Australia’s Business School, faced the same challenge.  “Because I run my practice and lead organisations, there are very few people who I actually have to report to,” Kemp recalls.

But Kemp understood the importance of being accountable for proving to the public that he was a capable leader. So, he sought accreditation to benchmark his leadership standard. He needed to find a way to make his skills, “understandable and acknowledgeable by other people… An external validation and accountability for [his] experience.”

Strike a balance: While caring for your reputation as a leader is a must, finding the time can be difficult. That’s why accreditation is a great solution. Find a professional designation that doesn’t take away too much of your time from running the business but at the same time validates your skills, experience and expertise.

 

2. Your leadership impacts employee engagement

Starting a business is an exciting time of discovery. But as your business evolves, you and your staff will face new challenges. As a leader, your people will look to you for guidance and solutions when facing these issues.

That’s why it’s important for business owners like you to ensure your leadership skills are up to standard. If your staff can’t trust you to pull them through tough situations, then you can’t expect them to give their best at work. And when they fail to give their best, business performance suffers. Research by the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Workplace Leadership found that many leaders fail to master fundamental leadership skills and unsurprisingly, more than 40% of Australian businesses do not meet their targets for return on investment and profitability.

Unsurprisingly, Kemp recommends investing in leadership skills. “I think leaders’ impact can be incredibly positive when it is directed in the right way, to the right people at the right time. Leadership has always been part of my life. I have been an active leader, I have grown companies, I have even started companies”.

Lead to engage: As a business owner, you’re not just managing products and services – you lead people too. So, seek out ways to benchmark your leadership skills up to the highest standards. You simply can’t afford to leave the wrong impression about your leadership with your employees.

 

3. Your leadership impacts customer loyalty

Can the reputation of just one person really affect the trust of customers? When one employee of United Airlines damaged their reputation by violently removing a passenger, the airline’s stock price lost $1.4 billion – investors simply lost trust. If that is true for the actions of one employee, all the more so for the actions of a business owner – regardless of business size.

While financial results matter for all businesses, there’s a lot more value in keeping loyal customers. It’s no secret that it costs more to acquire new customers. So, your trustworthiness as a leader and business owner is key.

Kemp observed how important it is to be a trusted leader. “We come back to the notion of ‘good people, doing good things’ and for the right reasons. Sometimes that gets lost in our pursuit for commercial gain,” said Kemp. But he adds, “It is important to raise the standard of leadership around the notion of ethics and values in decision making.”

Earn others’ trust: Once again Kemp looked toward an accreditation that displayed his commitment to sound leadership practice. Don’t keep your customers guessing. Show your trustworthiness by gaining the right leadership accreditation.

 

Great leadership helps your business to grow

Leaders with strong reputations carry their teams towards success, outshine the competition and reap financial rewards. If you want your reputation to be that of a leader who gets results, then you need to equip yourself with the accreditation that confirms it.

The Chartered Manager accreditation is the highest status that can be achieved as a manager and leader. It is awarded on experience, expertise and a commitment to management and leadership. The three-step application process involves just 12 hours and can be completed at your own pace – essential if you’re a time-poor business owner.

By becoming a Chartered Manager – like Travis Kemp – you’ll ensure your leadership drives the success of your business. In fact, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in the UK, found that Chartered Managers:

  • Help businesses grow: One in three Chartered Managers have used their status as a competitive advantage, citing it in tenders to win new clients
  • Deliver engaging leadership: 62% of Chartered Managers said their designation improved their people management skills
  • Build client loyalty: Two out of five Chartered Managers maintained business turnover

 

Drive business success by accrediting your leadership – become a Chartered Manager.

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

In leadership, respect is about understanding, not agreeing

By David Pich CMgr FIML

 

Respect is undeniably complex. This complexity is only increasing as the world – and the world of work – become simultaneously more polarised and more open. It’s interesting that these two global trends seem to be in such conflict.

Countries and workforces are becoming increasingly diverse, while public opinion about all aspects of diversity seems to be ever more polarised. We seem to be metaphorically pulling down walls, but leaders are appealing to millions with notions of building physical walls. Barriers to trade and those that restrict the freedom of people to move and work across borders seem to be becoming mainstream policy in many nations.

 

DIFFERENCE AND DIVERSITY

These macro trends and developments have made the concept of respect a fraught and complex matter. The typical workplace contains incredible diversity. A relatively small team of, say, 10 people in Australia or New Zealand can be made up of any combination of females, males, and those who identify as either or neither. It may also include people in same-sex relationships, people with or without kids; and it may include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and atheists. There may be people with a physical or mental disability (or both) and people from quite literally any cultural background you can mention. In fact, it’s safe to say that I have missed more ‘categories’ (and yes, I detest that word) than I have listed.

When all of these people – our workmates – arrive at work each morning, afternoon or evening, they do so against a social and political environment that is increasingly polarised and opinionated. Stereotypes abound, and the impact of these shouldn’t be underestimated.

The best example I can give is from the UK following the Brexit vote in 2016, when Polish and other mainland European nationals living and working in London and other cities reported feeling an overwhelming sense of fear and uncertainty in the workplace.

Similar feelings were reported in Australia among the gay community during the same-sex marriage debate.

The seemingly constant attack on, and airing of, ‘differences’ in lifestyle choices, religious beliefs, cultural backgrounds, nationalities and other aspects of the rich tapestry of individuals’ lives means that showing respect is increasingly portrayed as unnecessary and, even worse, a sign of weakness.

 

RESPECT IS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING, NOT AGREEING

Showing respect as a leader isn’t about agreeing. It’s simply not possible to agree with everyone about everything. Trying to do that is the quickest way to tie yourself up in knots and lose the respect of the team. It’s also disingenuous.

When I joined CanTeen in 2002 as the Head of Fundraising and Marketing I met Carolyne, the Head of HR. We became and remain close friends. Carolyne is a committed and practising Christian, while I’m a committed and practising atheist. We freely talked about – and laughed about – our very different life views and belief systems, and we frequently explained to each other why we had come to our own separate and diametrically different conclusions.

That’s life! As I once said during a conference keynote, “If the workplace was full of middle-aged blokes from Manchester with a love of eighties music it would be a very dull place indeed!” Difference and diversity is interesting, enriching and rewarding.

Respect is about understanding why people believe what they believe, do what they do and are who they are. Despite what we read and hear from a vocal section of today’s media, and read on the more extreme reaches of the internet and social media sites, it’s perfectly possible – and perfectly acceptable – to understand without agreeing. Showing respect as a leader is about accepting that you don’t always need to be right, that there isn’t necessarily only a right and wrong or just a black and white. Respect is about accepting and embracing the idea that other people’s life experiences are different to yours and that that’s OK.

As a leader, respect is about encouraging and embracing the view that difference and diversity bring strength to a team because they open the way to new thinking, new approaches and new ways of solving problems. Once this view is accepted it can be implemented in any number of ways within the workplace or team. For example, in recruitment, leaders should ensure that they do not fall into the trap of allowing personal bias to creep into the formal and informal recruitment process. In the same way, leaders need to guard against allowing their own views to cloud the way they deal with any number of issues and situations that arise each day in the workplace.

Leading Well book
This is an edited extract from 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.

The Info: Best books for ethical leadership

Booktopia’s Sarah McDuling reflects upon ethical leadership – and cherry-picks the best books for further reading.

 

At a glance ethical leadership may seem simple enough. By any interpretation, an ethical leader is a good leader. Integrity, justice, compassion and respect are values that must logically lie at the core of any conversation about leadership and ethics. Ethics are, after all, the moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour. To behave ethically is essentially to know and to do what is right.

However, authentic ethical leadership involves more than simply identifying and pursuing a list of core values. It requires a framework based on communication, action and trust.

Values-based leadership creates a working environment where employees feel secure. It fosters a sense of pride among colleagues – which boosts staff performance, retention and morale. Put simply, people who trust their leaders are happier, more productive and more successful.

While transparency and clear communication are core elements of ethical leadership, perhaps the most important is action – or ‘leading by example’. This can be done by aligning systems and processes to promote ethical reasoning, independence of thought, listening, flexibility and resilience. Without these processes in place, a leader may fail to walk the talk. Inspirational speeches are worthless if they aren’t backed up by action.

Ethical leaders are very rarely born, ready-made. They develop via a combination of training, learning and innovative thinking. With that in mind, I have chosen the books in this reading list to guide and inspire you to be the most ethical (and therefore most effective) leader you can be.

 

Recommended reading: Ethics and leadership

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP:

CONSCIOUS BUSINESS: HOW TO BUILD VALUE THROUGH VALUES

By Fred Kofman

 

TREATING PEOPLE WELL: HOW TO MASTER SOCIAL SKILLS TO THRIVE IN EVERYTHING YOU DO

By Lea Berman, Jeremy Bernard and Laura Bush

 

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP: CREATING AND SUSTAINING AN ETHICAL BUSINESS CULTURE

By Andrew Leigh

 

THE THOUGHTFUL LEADER: HOW TO USE YOUR HEAD AND YOUR HEART TO INSPIRE OTHERS

By Mindy Gibbins-Klein

 

THE POWER OF ETHICS: THE THOUGHTFUL LEADER’S MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

By Pete Geissler and Bill O’Rourke

 

THE ETHICAL LEADER: WHY DOING THE RIGHT THING CAN BE THE KEY TO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

By Morgen Witzel

 

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

FORCES FOR GOOD: CREATING A BETTER WORLD THROUGH PURPOSE-DRIVEN BUSINESSES

By Paul Hargreaves

 

HUMANE CAPITAL: HOW TO CREATE A MANAGEMENT SHIFT TO TRANSFORM PERFORMANCE AND PROFIT

By Vlatka Hlupic

 

LEAN IMPACT: HOW TO INNOVATE FOR RADICALLY GREATER SOCIAL GOOD

By Ann Mei Chang

 

PURPOSEFUL PROFITS: INSIDE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES MAKING A POSITIVE GLOBAL IMPACT

By Joanne Sonenshine

 

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FOR GOOD: HOW COMPANIES AND CAUSES CREATE VIRAL CHANGE

By Derrick Feldmann

 

THE ETHICAL CAPITALIST: HOW TO MAKE BUSINESS WORK BETTER FOR SOCIETY

By Julian Richer

 

AVAILABLE FROM BOOKTOPIA | Find out more about all these books, and order them online at booktopia.com.au.

 

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.

Three Points of View: How to keep your rising stars

How can managers and leaders keep top millennial talent from leaving the organisation? Leadership Matters Editorial Director Andy McLean MIML asks experts for their advice.

 

Sinead Hourigan FIML

Queensland Director, Robert Walters

Sinead HouriganCandidates want to join and remain in businesses that invest in their people, so there are huge benefits if employers can attract millennials.

It is important to train millennials in management and leadership now so that they are ready to fill gaps left by baby boomers who will exit the workforce over the next 10–20 years. Upskilling is essential for millennials and is crucial to their continuous development and lifelong learning. Millennials are keen to access training and development to support their personal and professional growth, so organisations should factor this into their candidate attraction and engagement strategies. In fact, if the company’s values match those of millennial workers – its ethics and coaching, clear progression, flexibility, and feedback – employees are likely to show even more loyalty.

Millennials don’t need to be in a classroom or structured group training session – they’re happy to learn in front of their computers or work with mentors and coaches on the job. However, it’s key for employers to provide a clear roadmap of training opportunities to motivate millennials.

 

Wendy Thompson MIML

CEO and Founder, Start Social NZ, Auckland

Wendy ThompsonA millennial colleague is an awesome asset: proactive, a global thinker and a tech native. But I don’t necessarily think keeping them should be your primary aim.

Millennials often look elsewhere after two or three years so employers need to play a long game and not take it personally when they leave. If handled correctly, you may one day welcome them back wiser and more experienced! One way I do this is by inviting all our ex-Socialites to our annual Valentine’s Party; it’s a great night out and keeps everyone in touch.

Something else I do to help my millennials on their chosen career paths (and get the best out of them for my company) is one-on-one structured mentoring. At the beginning of the year we set personal and career SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) then have monthly progress catch-ups, before celebrating success at the end of the year. Heading into that festive season, where people often reassess their job, my team has a very fresh reminder of how much Socialites has helped them achieve over the past year.

 

Sally Roebuck MIML

Operations Manager, Bulimba Outside School Hours Care, Queensland

Sally RoebuckAs a millennial myself, I understand our generation’s desire to be heard, respected and valued in the workplace. I’m the leader of an almost exclusively millennial team and believe the most important part of attracting and holding on to talented millennials is to create a team culture of mutual respect, where each individual feels their contribution is meaningful and valuable.

Collaboration is vital when managing and leading millennials, as we have been living and breathing collaborative practices since kindergarten. We were taught in school not to accept the status quo, but to question, hypothesise and brainstorm.

We were immersed in the digital revolution, and were educated in resourcing and synthesising differences of opinion and facts for a broader world view. Allowing opportunities for collaboration among team members, especially between colleagues of varied experience and job roles, will ensure millennials feel able to make valued contributions to the organisation’s goals.

Developing this sort of positive growth mindset among your team also gives millennials the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge while giving them clear pathways for advancement and success.

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.

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.