How intentional leadership prepares leaders for the future

Our world is rapidly changing. A growing and increasingly diverse population, climate change, technological advancement and cyber risks – these are just some of the factors leaders must face now and increasingly in the future.

Leaders’ success will rest in the plans they have put in place to respond to factors, both known and unknown. More than ever, leaders need intent. You cannot rely on the off chance that the solutions will land in front of you. Sound leadership doesn’t happen by accident.

In response to the many leadership challenges that we anticipate the future will bring, IML ANZ introduced the Intentional Leadership Series. It featured three thought-provoking events held across New Zealand that provided leadership insights into future-focused topics.

Discussions ranged from how to overcome future challenges, how to adapt, thrive and lead in a rapidly changing world, to top tips for inclusive leadership. Three experts spoke about their experiences, insights and advice on intentional leadership with a future focus.

 

Here are some of the highlights:

 

Change, more change and climate change

Rob CampbellIn Auckland, we invited thought-leader and advocate for diversity, equality and sustainability, Rob Campbell, for a glimpse of what the future could look like for leaders in New Zealand. Importantly, Campbell took us on a journey through some of his personal leadership experiences and how these can help all leaders face the challenges to come.

Campbell pointed out that the old principles which underpin the way we do business are shifting. Short-term profits and shareholder interests no longer come first. Governments, social organisations, business communities and even investors are shifting their focus and responsibility to a wider range of interests.

However, he warned, that while our current legal, hierarchical and incentive structures remain intact, we cannot rely on leaders to drive change. This, Campbell declared, was utopian.

Finally, Campbell emphasised that the greatest challenge to leaders, not just in New Zealand but globally, is climate change. Speaking in advance of the historic passing of the Zero Carbon Bill, Campbell directed focus to the following issues:

 

  • Will the transition to a zero net emissions economy happen fast enough to avoid the worst projected negative effects?
  • Is the cost of the transition manageable without destroying social cohesion?
  • Can we adapt to the new physical living standards that the transition will require?

 

All are vital questions that leaders must address.

Campbell ends with optimism and believes that the solutions rest within the business community. He roused listeners not to stand aside or resist. Rather, be engaged and positive about their leadership roles.

 

Courage in the face of change

Kaila ColbinOpening with some amazing facts about how technology is changing the way we live and lead, Kaila Colbin, CEO of Boma New Zealand provided an inspiring and eye-opening session in Christchurch.

For Colbin, the positive social impact made possible by the massive technological changes we are witnessing today – including the ability to mass-produce essential goods such as food and power affordably – is not a given. It is a choice.

Leaders, therefore, need the courage to keep making choices that improve our world in the face of widespread change. Colbin cautioned that a lack of courage among leaders can result in:

  • An inability to tackle tough conversations
  • An erosion of trust
  • A lack of diversity, inclusivity and equality
  • A culture of shame and blame

 

Informed by the research of best-selling author Dr Brené Brown, Colbin highlighted how courage is the most important attribute for leaders facing change. In part, because change brings about the need to have incredibly uncomfortable conversations. Those might include conversations around:

  • Technological unemployment – the loss of jobs due to technological advancements
  • Increased inequality – those who own the technology get richer but as productivity increases, salaries remain stagnant
  • Rise in cyber risks – when everything is connected, everything is at risk
  • Algorithm bias – exponential technology is governed by algorithms that may have inherited their creator’s biases and prejudices
  • Undermining of trust – technology such as ‘deepfakes’ make it easy to put words (or even actions) into another person’s mouth, in extremely realistic ways.

 

When considering the optimisation of technological advancements, Colbin advised leaders not to first ask “can we”, but rather “should we”. This takes courage. Indeed, because leaders who make values-based decisions initially appear as ones who fly in the face of business norms. Later, once momentum gathers, these same mavericks are often heralded as game-changers.

In closing, Colbin reminded leaders that the world we desire requires courage – and she asked, “What are you going to do?”

 

 

Inclusive is not elusive

Dr Jo CribbWhen it comes to inclusive leadership, we went direct to the authority on the matter Dr Jo Cribb, former Chief Executive of the Ministry for Women.

Cribb challenged listeners, at her session in Wellington, to step out of their comfort zones. She emphasised how vital it is to not only invite different voices to the table – but to make them feel welcome and comfortable in order to truly harness their value. According to Cribb, leaders must embrace conflict and tough conversations instead of seeking support and affirmation.

She also admits that creating truly inclusive teams is not easy. It takes time and effort, something not all leaders may have the commitment or determination to accommodate. However, Cribb points out that inclusive is not elusive. She listed ten tips for leaders:

 

  1. Conduct inclusive meetings: give everyone a say and implement a no interruption rule
  2. Seek out those you don’t agree with: pick people who are open to engaging, not arguing
  3. Widen your network: at networking events, chat to someone who doesn’t look like you
  4. Create small ripples: don’t underestimate the power of small actions, smile at people
  5. Recommend a variety of people: avoid only putting forward names of people within your ‘tribe’
  6. Be authentic: be honest and open both in your personal and professional life
  7. Check your actions: if you must work out of hours, avoid setting the expectation that your staff or colleagues must do the same
  8. Listen: open your mind and try to understand what people are telling you
  9. Listen again: if you ask a question, listen for the actual answer
  10. Listen some more

 

The session concluded with a thoughtful discussion with the audience. Cribb provided further advice on how to succeed in creating an inclusive team and workforce. She also cautioned that the aim to become inclusive must be hard-wired into your organisation’s DNA. If there is no business rationale to do it, your efforts are likely to fail.

Ultimately, Cribb reminded everyone present that inclusiveness comes down to your own behaviour – and it need not cost a lot.

It was a truly insightful and engaging series of events. Stay tuned for more events from IML ANZ.

 

3 Points of View: How can leaders pause to focus on long-term strategy?

In a busy world, how can leaders ensure they are setting aside time to focus on creating their strategy? Three Chartered Managers share their thoughts.

 

Jillian Ritherdon CMgr FIMLJillian Cable CMgr FIML

CEO and Company Secretary, Venture Housing Company

 

As someone who survived a close encounter with terrorists; lost a step-son in a preventable incident; and whose mother died of cancer at a young age; I know that life can be both very short and extremely arbitrary. So, above all, do what inspires you. As a very wise mentor once said to me: “If you lead a life of purpose, your job will be an inspirational journey”.

My practical tips are:

  • Delegate day-to-day tasks. This frees up your time for strategic thinking, helps develop your people, and assists succession planning.
  • Slowly handwriting my ‘to do’ lists on paper and prioritising tasks embeds them in my mind and stimulates thoughts in a way that typing does not. I then set up alerts in my electronic diary. Freed from the fear of forgetting an important deadline, my mind can relax and contemplate the ‘helicopter view’.
  • Self-care is important. Some of my best ideas have come during a massage, riding a horse or whilst mowing the lawn! Sometimes the mind needs to be in a non-work zone for the strategy to emerge.

 

Carol Sutton CMgr FIMLCarol Sutton CMgr FIML

Director, On The Business

 

It all starts with preparation and intention. Make sure you understand what your long-term vision and goals are – and be crystal clear on how you will know when you have achieved them. Then be bold and begin. Just as you would never dream of waiting to start a journey until every traffic light en route was green, you should accept that there will never be a time when all the business conditions are perfect. So get started! (See CE Lindblom’s papers on Muddling Through and Still Muddling, Not Yet Through for a useful and enjoyable read on this subject.)

Periodically schedule time to check in on your progress and be smart about when you schedule that. I’m a big advocate for active procrastination. Accept that you won’t always be in the right frame of mind to tackle strategy – and don’t feel bad about that. If you struggle to focus on the written word during the afternoon, try and organise meetings or schedule phone calls during that time. (Eisenhower’s decision matrix offers a great rule of thumb for how to spend your time effectively.)

 

Michael Coe CMgr FIMLMichael Coe CMgr FIML

Support Services Manager, Maritime Saab Australia

 

Taking time for reflection can easily be pushed aside due to day-to-day demands. In my experience timing is the key. Ideas can sometimes come from the most unlikely sources and at random times. Capturing these ideas, whether relevant or not at the time, is key to successful planning. This includes process/organisational changes, business opportunities or any other puzzle pieces that contribute to strategic planning. In this way, the time spent on reflection for strategy has more meaning and content.

It is easy to set high-level plans that remain dormant afterwards because they are prepared for representation rather than genuine change. It is pointless attending planning meetings with a blank sheet because that’s unlikely to achieve productive outcomes.

Big picture planning is easier with content. It can sometimes be more effective using a ‘bottom up’ approach rather than ‘top down’. Laying out the opportunities and ideas can make the strategic pathways more apparent. This makes the eff ort spent on reflection and planning worthwhile – delivering real outcomes – and therefore encouraging us to commit our time to it, either individually or collectively.

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

Beyond fulfilment: How to keep teams motivated

When employees reach a peak of self-fulfilment and growth, how do you help them to stay motivated? Could there be more to fulfilment than simply achieving personal bests? More importantly for managers and leaders, how does keeping your employees impact your business?

Motivated employees are undeniably valuable. Findings from IML ANZ’s latest National Salary Survey (NSS), show that keeping engagement and motivation levels up is vital. NSS respondents revealed that the single most important human capital challenge they believe would add the most value to their organisation is motivating employees (53%).

Compound that with the fact that the NSS shows a slightly upward trend in voluntary staff turnover. Moreover, what’s the top reason for leaving a job? Employees are looking for a new challenge (72%). So, keeping your teams motivated is not just about getting them to be their best; it is also best for your business.

However, when an employee has achieved much on their own, is it still possible to keep them challenged, excited about the work and motivated to do their best?

Here are some ways to achieve this:

 

Maslow’s sixth level of motivation

Most of us are familiar with Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the apex of the five-stage peak is self-actualisation or the realisation of self-fulfilment and peak personal achievements. What is not as widely known is that later in his life, Maslow added a sixth level to his hierarchy of needs – intrinsic values. This involves supporting a cause beyond individual success.

How to harness it: Leaders must help all employees, including high-achievers, to understand how they play a part in the greater purpose of the organisation. Who does your organisation help? How does it contribute to society? Keep them focused beyond self-actualisation to help them stay motivated.

 

The value of teamwork

Staying motivated after achieving much as an individual doesn’t mean high-performing employees won’t appreciate team-led wins. Never underestimate the power of collaboration and great working relationships between colleagues. As social beings, humans always enjoy the sense of working together to overcome an obstacle, reach a goal or even assisting each other when times are tough.

How to harness it: Encourage open communication between teams and within teams. Use technology to open up lines of communication by starting a team chat group. Help your employees get to know each other not just as colleagues but as people – develop real connections by organising social activities. Celebrate successes as a team too.

 

Empowering others

A sense of motivation can be sapped if one feels that they are held back from making decisions. To help keep good performers engaged, display trust in their abilities.

How to harness it: Let your team members make the call on decisions that they know best. Avoid crushing their motivation by making them feel they are powerless when it comes to their own projects.

By emphasising how they contribute to the organisation’s purpose, fostering a healthy team environment and empowering your team members, you’ll keep even the highest achievers motivated to give their best.

Sources:

IML ANZ Members can access these articles via Leadership Direct.

The need for greater trust in recruitment

By Kara Atkinson

 

In the digital era, fast-paced, competitive business environments reward those who are quick to respond to new opportunities and market challenges. Trust plays a vital role in the success of these initiatives, providing a cornerstone for building strategic partnerships, establishing a reputation, embracing digital transformation, and more.

Today, this once-stable foundation is crumbling under the pressure of royal commissions, and large-scale data breaches faced en-masse by organisations in every industry, and we’re quickly losing our footing. This sobering trend is made apparent in a new survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, in which nearly two-thirds (63%) of senior executives at large enterprises throughout the world stated that trust among people, businesses, and institutions has declined over the past two years. Further, after 20 years of research, the Great Places to Work Institute found that experiencing a high level of trust, between leaders and employees, is the primary defining characteristic of the very best workplaces.

 

The challenges

When looking at recruitment, if the process for joining a workplace is engineered through a broken vehicle, then trust is difficult to establish.

Leaders deal with subjective candidate vetting; their recruitment firm only shortlists the people on the market at that time rather than a shortlist of the best people.

On the other side, the candidate deals with unreturned calls, the black hole of resume submissions, and last-minute internal candidate competition and an emotional minefield of career guidance from short term relationships with inexperienced recruitment consultants.

The recruiter deals with outdated, generic job descriptions, usually supplied by their clients. The market is corrupted by over promotion of the same roles. Also, everyone competes in a time-stamped environment where speed wins over quality.

 

The environment

Hiring is never easy. According to a study by Leadership IQ, 46% of newly-hired employees will fail within 18 months, while only 19% will achieve unequivocal success. This lack of vision keeps companies from achieving the holy grail of business outcomes: Trust. This is what keeps teams drowning in a sea of mediocrity and what derails once-promising leadership careers. And this stops trust from developing.

Career ladders are long gone – where once a person signed onto an organisation at 21, followed the rules, were incrementally promoted along the way and retired with a gold watch. As companies have thinned out, leadership positions have disappeared, not to be seen again.

Career pyramids have replaced the ladders. The further up the pyramid people move, the hotter the competition for the top spot and the failure rates are staggering. Harvard Business Review puts the failure rate among management hires at 60% and the consequences of failure derail a once-promising career and cost the organisation time, money and trust.

 

The way forward

It is time for the recruitment industry to rewrite the rules of recruitment. Not just improve it, but, just as Uber did to the taxi industry, they need to transform and disrupt it. Every recruiter is an ‘expert non-transactional specialist with a proprietary search methodology who has access to deep global networks.’ Where is the recruiter who builds their business, and yours, on a foundation of competence, bespoke communication and trust?

Leaders must understand that a true employee value proposition is not only written in the first line of a job ad but is permeated through every touchpoint their prospective employee has.

Kara Atkinson is an executive recruitment expert with 18 years’ experience in helping people continue to build and transform themselves throughout their careers.

Why connection is the key to talent retention

By Michelle Sales

 

Think of the last time you had to deal with some kind of performance issue. Maybe an individual had stopped working cooperatively or seems less engaged in their work.

We think these individuals are being uncooperative or unreasonable, which leads to performance management to try and fix the issue.

This then spirals out of control: employee engagement continues to decline, performance issues become more challenging and the divide gets even larger, often leading to employee resignation or, worse, firing of potential talent.

The real issue here is not the individual themselves. It is the lack of connection that individual feels.

Studies show there is a connection deficit in workplaces today. For example, employee research completed by the Pew Research Center and the Ken Blanchard Companies reports 81% of people say their leaders don’t listen, and 36% rarely or never receive performance feedback, while 67% wish they did.

Most people, however, would rather leave a job than have a conversation to address a workplace issue. That’s a real shame – not to mention a real problem!

So what to do?

 

Digital detox

The ability to connect in our selfie-obsessed society has never been easier – at least online – so often organisations see the solution to strengthening connection as a technology issue.

Online tools like Yammer are implemented to try to make people converse and share more. Online conferences and ‘catch-up’ meetings are held across different time zones. Sure, many technology enablers are helping us to collaborate more effectively and connect differently.

In reality, though, these one-on-one meetings with people are really just a mechanism for managing work performance rather than getting to really know each other. For example, we prefer to use email to communicate rather than talking face-to-face or even by phone.

Technology is an enabler, but it is never the solution to a human issue. We must learn the art of cultivating real connections in our organisation to truly thrive.

 

Cultivate connection

Prolific author and researcher Brené Brown describes connection as ‘the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard and valued – when they can give and receive without judgment’.

When we feel a real sense of connection we trigger neurochemicals that make us feel good. Dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins give us a sense of wellbeing; they make us want to engage and work with others; collaboration happens and performance thrives.

On the flipside, when we experience disconnection, the reaction is as real as physical pain. Cortisol and adrenaline increase in our body, triggering the ‘fight’ stress response. This makes us respond to our environment as if it is hostile, like we’re out of place – which results in the behaviours and impact previously mentioned.

It’s a fact that companies that are voted ‘best place to work’ or an ‘employer of choice’ value and foster connection among their teams and organisations. As Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith, senior vice president of research at PageUp People, puts it, these companies are ‘meeting the more altruistic and basic human needs of feeling connected and being an important part in something bigger’.

 

Trust us

Hence, feeling connected and trusted to be and do our best is the ultimate human condition.

Employees are able to be their best possible self and feel valued and rewarded for this. They feel understood at an individual level and they are clear on the contribution they are making to the performance of the organisation. They love what they do and they connect to each other, their customers, leaders and the organisation in a very human way.

This is when you start to bring out the very best in people. This feeling of connection builds a critical foundation of trust in which your employees feel they can have a voice and can make a difference.

When employees are encouraged to connect, communicate and collaborate better, this leads to an increase in productivity, not to mention happiness. This, in turn, has a positive impact on performance, company loyalty, and of course, retention.

Michelle Sales is a highly sought-after speaker, trainer, coach and author who helps senior leaders and their teams to build confidence and maximise their leadership and performance by consciously connecting with others. She is the author of the new whitepaper The Connection Deficit: Why leaders must bring both head and heart to work to build trust, lift engagement and accelerate organisational results.

How to tackle unconscious bias in recruitment

By Clare Edwards FIML

 

When it comes to making decisions about people, we all like to think that we’re objective, fair and impartial. The reality though is very different because, if we have a brain, we are biased.

Unconscious bias (UB), also known as implicit bias, happens automatically, is outside of our control and is triggered by our brain making quick assessments of people and situations, influenced by our background, culture and personal experiences. The clue is in the word ‘unconscious’. When we are being biased, we aren’t aware of it as the brain can’t reflect at the same time as it’s making a mental shortcut decision.

UB impacts every area of decision-making in organisations including who gets hired, fired, promoted and demoted. It impacts leadership and team effectiveness, the treatment of stakeholders and ultimately, culture.

One of the most common unconscious biases in recruitment is affinity or similarity bias.  This leads us to gravitate towards people who are like ourselves in appearance, beliefs, and background.  We have an unconscious belief – “I prefer people like me over those who are different”.  

When we were roaming the African savannah plains, out looking for lunch (or becoming lunch if we weren’t vigilant), different equalled dangerous, so we are programmed to consider people who are different to us as ‘foe’ before friend.

Unconsciously, when we first meet someone who appears different, (even for microseconds), our brain’s master error detector fires off subtle signals checking for safety, while consciously we are openly welcoming, curious and respectful.

Because most of our biases are unconscious, putting systems and processes in place can help to mitigate them.  Awareness training can also work, but it is most effective when supported by a conscious effort to have a culture of diversity and inclusion where bias is challenged.

Here are four practical strategies for mitigating unconscious bias:

 

1. Challenge existing processes

 

When crafting job advertisements, apps like Textio can help managers avoid gender-biased language and ensure the vocabulary they use is inclusive, gender-neutral and not influencing candidates subjectively.

Software company Atlassian put Textio’s software to the test by reworking the way in which it worded its job advertisements. In just one year, the company increased the number of women being hired for technical positions by 80 per cent!

 

2. Minimise our ability to revert to affinity bias

In first-round selections, consider removing a candidate’s name, tertiary education experience and all other factors that don’t directly relate to the attributes you are seeking in a successful applicant.

In auditions for symphony orchestras, screens were put in place between the musicians and the interviewing panel (and female candidates were asked to remove noisy heels). This increased the likelihood that a female musician would advance to the next round by 11 percentage points. During the final round, ‘blind’ auditions increased the likelihood of female musicians being selected by 30%.

 

3. Re-think decision making

When we make a conscious effort to slow down and reflect on the drivers behind our decisions, we can uncover hidden biases. This is even more effective when executed in a group environment because we don’t challenge our own biases because we’re not aware of them!

Actively welcome differing perspectives in recruitment decisions; the people don’t have to be from the same department to help shine a light you might not see.

Being open to having our decisions respectfully challenged requires a culture of psychological safety.  This supports us in becoming more open-minded, less judgemental and more flexible to changing our decisions based on the feedback we get.

 

4. Proactively drive inclusion

Having a diverse workforce brings benefits – and investing in, and focusing on, inclusion brings even greater success. It makes sense to want your employee base to culturally, racially and ethnically reflect that of your customers/ stakeholders and to have these people feel fully included.

 

  • Encourage people to interact more with those traditionally outside of their ‘in-group’ to expand their awareness and appreciation of difference
  • Team-based psychometric profiling tools such as Team Management Systems (TMS) and DiSC are extremely helpful. These provide an objective insight into preferences of self and others, our key differences and how we can harness differing strengths to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

 

Recruiting people is the most important and potentially costly decision that organisations will make. It makes sense therefore to invest energy, focus and time in ensuring that the people we hire feel valued and included members of our community from the outset and for the duration of their career with us.

 

Clare Edwards is the Principal of BrainSmart Consulting. She is also a speaker, facilitator and author. She studied the Neuroscience of Leadership – how knowledge of our brains can help us to be more emotionally intelligent and effective leaders and managers. Clare now helps people effectively manage and lead themselves and others in complex and uncertain business environments. 

Doing more to beat unconscious bias
Keep an eye out for the next edition of IML ANZ’s quarterly print magazine, Leadership Matters, where Clare Edwards joins a panel of experts to delve deeper into unconscious bias and how to overcome it.

Smart play is a serious team-building strategy

By Lisa Calautti

 

Richard Shrapnel is amongst only a small handful of Lego® Serious Play® Facilitators in Australia. Lego® Serious Play® involves using Lego bricks to bring together leaders and their staff to unite them in problem-solving to help create a cohesive business approach.

 

Building blocks of better business

Shrapnel strongly believes this is an effective tool to help develop better business strategy. He came across Lego® Serious Play® in 2002 via an article in AFR Boss reviewing CUB’s use of the method. He completed the facilitator’s course in Enfield, Connecticut, USA in 2003 and again in 2011, this time in Singapore, learning about the program’s methodology and science.

Shrapnel says the method is particularly popular in Asia, the USA and Europe. “In Australia the typical response I get is, ‘But this is a toy and it’s play and therefore it’s not serious!’”

It is a statement which Shrapnel can easily counter. He is passionate about this Lego method as a valuable learning technique and its power in getting people to use their left and right brains to bring creative logic together and their imagination to create stories around an image they build. “It actually allows you to tap into thoughts which you would otherwise not consider and to be far more creative,” he explains.

 

Serious play in action

Lego® Serious Play® workshops last from a half day up to three days and have been popular amongst medium-to-large corporations, not-for-profit organisations as well as religious groups. A typical workshop begins by proposing an individual activity, for example, ‘build your dream job’.

“It’s getting people used to expressing themselves through building a model and once they are comfortable with that you then come back to the business side,” Shrapnel says. “The tool and methodology allow people to communicate at a level that they otherwise would not be able to reach, and to build an outcome that they can then take away as a combined group. That is the power of it.”

As the workshop progresses and attendees are comfortable with using the specially selected Lego bricks, they come together to form a single model as a team to begin a narrative of their business. It is at this stage participants can see environmental factors around the model and their impact.

“Here’s your part of the business, here’s my part of the business and that is the market. These are the competitors, the technology … all impacting what we do. And because it is now a 3D model, it’s very rich and you walk around it and look at it from a different angle.”

As it is built, each person not only tells their story, but everyone tells a new combined story. “Every person speaks to the model explaining this is our story, our business, and how we will be effective and achieve the outcomes we seek.”

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.

What leaders need to know about modern slavery laws

By Elizabeth Ticehurst

 

It is hard to reconcile slavery – mostly thought of as a barbaric ancient practice – with the modern Australian workplace. Our employment laws and regulations are amongst the strictest in the world and our minimum wage is easily one of the highest. However, the reality is that practices such as forced labour and debt servitude still exist, even in developed countries, and can likely be found in the operations or supply chains of most businesses. Reliance on imported goods from regions such as South East Asia means that Australian companies are significantly exposed.

Until now, these connections to slavery and exploitation were hidden behind complex global distribution networks. But new legislation will force Australian businesses to inquire into and report on modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains.

 

WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?

Two modern slavery laws have now been passed in Australia – the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) and the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW). While both laws have a similar aim and content, the NSW law covers organisations carrying on business in the state with an annual revenue of A$50 million or more. The Federal Act has a higher annual revenue threshold of A$100 million but applies nationwide. Larger companies will not have to report under both schemes, as companies who report under the federal scheme will be exempt from making reports under the NSW scheme.

It is also worth noting that New Zealand organisations with revenues in Australia of more than A$100 million will be also subject to the federal requirements too.

 

WHAT ARE COMPANIES REQUIRED TO DO?

Under both laws, a company must produce an annual report on modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The reports must be approved by the board of directors and will be made public by the respective governments. Broadly, the reports must cover six main criteria:

 

  • The entity’s structure, operations and supply chain
  • Risks of modern slavery practices in the entity’s supply chain (including any entities owned or controlled by the reporting entity)
  • Actions taken to assess and address modern slavery risks, including due diligence and remediation processes
  • How the entity assesses the effectiveness of its actions
  • The process of consultation with entities owned and/or controlled by the entity
  • Any other relevant information.

 

IS REPORTING THE ONLY OBLIGATION?

The short answer is yes. At present, neither law requires any entity to take concrete steps to prevent or eliminate modern slavery in its supply chain. However, because the reports will be made public, it seems pertinent to ask what you want your report to look like.

Organisations that value their public image will want to produce a report that paints the company in a positive light and highlights the efforts they have made to ensure ethical practices in their operations and supply chains. The federal reporting system in particular will enable a direct comparison between entities in the same industries. It is intended that this will create public pressure on organisations to improve their practices. However, care needs to be taken to ensure that reports are accurate – misleading information in reports can be subject to significant penalties.

 

WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED?

Fashion and apparel is an industry where modern slavery risks are apparent. Oxfam Australia’s #whatshemakes campaign is placing significant pressure on apparel retailers to ensure higher wages for garment workers in developing countries. However, modern slavery risks have also been identified in financial services, property, food and beverage, agriculture, mining and healthcare. When looking at supply chains, factors include where products are produced in high risk geographies (countries experiencing conflict or high corruption levels); or where there are vulnerable populations (migrants or unskilled workers). Reporting entities will need to examine these ‘hot spots’ and consider what controls and due diligence measures they have in place at the procurement stage.

Even within Australia, increased scrutiny is required. Building services, cleaning, travel, security and maintenance services have all been identified as sectors with a high risk of worker exploitation. Surveys conducted by the Fair Work Ombudsman have identified persistent underpayment of wages and other legal and ethical issues in these sectors. Organisations affected by these new laws will need to report on the actions they have taken to address modern slavery from 1 January 2019 onwards. Whilst some organisations will take a ‘tick the box’ attitude, a more constructive view is to see this as an extension of the company’s corporate social responsibility, and an opportunity to provide investors, employees and customers with insight into how the company is managing its modern slavery risks.

 

Elizabeth Ticehurst is Special Counsel – Employment at KPMG.

 

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 manage the ultimate remote workforce

When working life gets particularly stressful, many managers and leaders utter the old adage, ‘We’re not saving lives’. And, for most CEOs, that’s absolutely true.

But what if the organisation you lead actually does – literally – save lives? And then, what if your organisation also happens to be one of the most quintessential Australian brands in existence – right up there with Vegemite and the Sydney Opera House?

Oh, and just to keep it interesting: Let’s say that you and many of your staff spend large parts of your working lives flying long distances at breakneck speeds in tiny aircraft.

Now that is pressure on a whole new level.

Meredith Staib MIML agrees that being CEO of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland) is not a job for the faint-hearted. But she’s loving her role heading up one of the largest and most comprehensive aeromedical organisations in the world.

BUILT FOR THE TASK

Before joining RFDS, Staib was already one of Australia’s leading emergency assistance executives. She had provided leadership to global organisations such as the Cover-More Group (part of Zurich) and Allianz Global Assistance. Her experience also spanned clinical and corporate management roles in the health, medical assistance and travel insurance sectors.

As if all that weren’t enough, Staib has also held international board positions including being an executive committee member of the International Assistance Group (IAG) in Paris, France. In that role she shared global accountability for the IAG’s continued success and led the board in developing and defining IAG’s strategy.

That career trajectory suggests that Staib must be a strong and implacable leader. But is there anything that does scare her? And how does she manage a remote workforce scattered across more than one million square kilometres of land? IML ANZ chief executive David Pich CMgr FIML caught up with Staib to find out.

DAVID PICH: When someone thinks of the RFDS, it’s obviously the planes that spring to mind. But there’s a lot more to it than that isn’t there?

MEREDITH STAIB: That’s right. It’s not solely an aeromedical organisation. It does so much more. We provide free dental care. We’ve got a big mental health program. In fact, that’s probably one of our most rapidly growing programs. We do about 25,000 primary health consultations annually. We employ about 380 people including pilots, nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, mental health clinicians, dentists etc. We’ve got nine bases across Queensland, with 19 aircraft. In fact, if you combine all the aircraft across all the RFDS sections, we’re Australia’s third-largest airline after Qantas and Virgin.

MASTERING COMMUNICATION

DP: As a leader, how do you manage staff when they’re spread across a vast State like Queensland?

MS: Obviously, our people in Brisbane get to see the senior leadership team a lot of the time in the corporate office. But the experience is different for those based remotely. As a leader, the key to that is communication and making yourself available. You have to be clear on your strategy and make sure everyone knows the vision and mission of the organisation, and where we’re going. It’s important that the senior leaders in the business share that.

DP: What about face-to-face communication?

MS: Technology has made communication a lot easier, of course, with video conferencing, Skype, social media and so on. But as a leader, you really need to walk the floor. I’m a big advocate of that because you can’t sit in an office and expect all the information to come to you. So you need to be out among the people. Within 90 days of starting at RFDS, I made it a priority to get out and around to our bases. I’ve lived in Queensland for a long time but, when I made those trips, it really brought home to me what a vast state this is.

SOLIDIFYING STRATEGY

DP: The RFDS has existed for 90 years and some people might think, ‘Well, the CEO just has to keep the organisation strategy on the same track as before’. Is that the case?

MS: When I joined, the organisation had just formalised a five-year strategy and we’ve just started on that journey. But my experience of strategy is that you can’t ‘set and forget’. You should be reviewing your strategy every six months because things change. It could be technology, it could be people, it could be regulations. You need to be ahead of the game strategically. I think it’s also important to check in with people regularly, to align their work to the wider strategy. Then every year, our board has an offsite strategic board meeting in one of our bases to review the strategy. Are we still on track? Is it still right for the business? After my first 90 days in the role, I had the opportunity to present to the board. I validated that we have the right strategy and, as CEO, I was turning my mind to execution.

DP: And as a leader, a big part of strategy execution comes down to people, right?

MS: Yes, absolutely. People are one of the main pillars of our strategic delivery. I think they are the RFDS brand – that’s how important they are. I’ve been really struck how people are willing to represent the brand, and go the extra mile to make a difference.

People are also central to my thinking when I focus on future-proofing the organisation. We rely upon four skillsets that are in very short supply in Australia and overseas: pilots, nurses, mental health clinicians and doctors. So we can’t rest on our laurels there. We need to make sure we’re an employer of choice and we attract and retain talent. We need to support colleagues if they need to go and live somewhere remote, away from their family. Or if they need to work shifts, because we operate 24/7. Or if they need to work out of hours to support fundraising and community events.

DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS

DP: Your workforce is clearly very passionate about what they do. They literally change the course of people’s lives for the better. However, that can sometimes come with a flipside can’t it? Passionate people can be amazing with their technical specialism, but not always strong at managing and leading those around them.

MS: I started out as a nurse myself and have worked with clinical professionals for most of my career. You shouldn’t assume that because someone is technically a great clinician, they’ll naturally be a great manager. Leading others is a skill people have to learn. I’ve been fortunate to develop the skills to manage people and drive organisations forward – but that has required training, qualifications, and experience. I think it’s our responsibility as leaders to provide those kinds of development opportunities for technical specialists who want to grow. We need to help them build upon the technical foundation they already have.

DP: Does mentoring have a role here too, do you think?

MS: Yes, I’m a big supporter of mentoring. It’s invaluable if you can have a person outside your organisation offering advice and guidance. That external perspective is so useful. I’ve been both a mentee and a mentor during my career and all those experiences have helped me professionally. When I look back over my own career, I’ve sought to learn something from all the leaders who I have worked with. I think that’s how you develop your own leadership style.

MANAGING RISK AND STRESS

DP: Flying planes in the air and dealing with medical emergencies, your organisation is exposed to a fair amount of risk. As a leader, how do you manage that?

MS: It’s when leaders underestimate risk that you run into challenges. So I take a rigorous approach to managing it. From my previous career experience, I understand health risk. And RFDS has got really strong clinical governance.

I’ve now learned a lot in a short space of time about the aviation side of the organisation too. As part of my leadership role, I hold the Air Operator’s Certificate from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority. So ultimately, should something go wrong, then that will rest with me as the manager holding the licence. That’s a lot of responsibility but I’m comfortable with it as I have an expert team in the aviation space.

So, I know I’ve got the right people in the right place. We have defined structures around reporting. These people have direct access to me, and I meet with them regularly. I think the main thing I need to do as the responsible manager is make sure they feel that we have an open and collaborative relationship. If they need me to raise any risk issues with the board, then that’s what I’m here for.

DP: Collectively, your organisation deals with life or death situations all the time. On a personal level, how do you manage stress?

MS: Like many people in the health sector, I’m passionate about what I do and consequently it can be challenging managing work-life balance. But my home life is a welcome distraction from work. I like to run and do gardening. I have two great kids and they help me switch off from work. The normal things like, ‘Mum, where’s my school hat?’ and ‘I need help with my homework’. That all helps.

But I don’t think anyone takes a senior leadership role and expects it to be a nine-to-five job. And modern technology means that everyone in today’s workforce is virtually connected 24/7. You can either see that as a challenge or an opportunity. I think it’s quite liberating to be able to work from anywhere in the world.

The full version of 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.