The degree of technology change we face is unprecedented and growing. Be clear on the business outcomes you want to achieve, and use these new technologies to enable them.
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Bold strategic moves involve a decision to do things differently or a decision to do different things. The more resourcing you invest in big strategic decisions, the higher the stakes. Not everything is within your control, however, so even the best-planned strategies carry some risk.
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Managers and leaders can unpick the secrets of tackling future challenges by reflecting on the past and solidifying a lifelong commitment to learning.
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Leaders are key to shaping workplace culture. At a time when many are feeling anxious and uncertain about their job security, physical and mental health, workplace leaders need to step up. They need to shape a workplace culture of wellbeing.
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Matariki is about togetherness and forging a strong sense of community. It also teaches leaders vital lessons for good business.
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In the wake of the pandemic, we come to see that proactive and collaborative measures to prepare for the unknown should involve not only those tasked with “risk management” in their titles but every team that is expected to mobilise in a crisis to ensure business continuity.
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If you want to change the culture, you need to change the rules of belonging. How do we ensure that we bring forward the best of our pre-pandemic culture and leave the worst behind?
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Click on the link below to enter your details and get access to the recorded sessions from our first ever IML ANZ Virtual Development Day. You will be redirected to the sessions upon submission.
Today’s society features many global citizens. People who lived in multiple countries, speak several languages and embody different cultures. In 2019 alone, more than 100,000 migrants arrived in New Zealand. That’s why diversity matters. It brings out the best in everyone and unlocks what no one person or group could achieve alone.
On Friday, 6 March 2020, IML ANZ hosted our first International Women’s Day event in Auckland. It was a morning of informed discussion about the importance of equality in the workplace, the strategies that organisations can employ and the leadership that must underpin all these activities.
We had the chance to chat with one of the event panellists, Jacqueline Parekh CMgr FIML. She is currently the Strategic Projects Lead at Asahi Beverages and before that held a senior manager role in the field of talent and organisation with Accenture. Parekh is also a Chartered Manager, one of the first to be accredited in New Zealand.
She shared her thoughts on transitioning from a technical expert and becoming a leader, the qualities of a good leader and why she is hopeful about the future of gender equality in New Zealand.
Parekh recalls that it was when she became the manager of other managers that she fully understood the crux of her role.
“Once you start to assume a management role, that’s when you’ll realise that it’s not just about competency – understanding your subject matter and executing it with excellence by then should be a given. It becomes more about rallying, motivating and coaching people to realise a goal or ambition that they otherwise wouldn’t have done by themselves,” she says.
Revealing a fondness for analysis, Parekh explains the perfect illustration for this transition. “Think of your career as a pie chart. When you start, a larger slice of the pie naturally focuses on establishing sound technical competence in your subject matter specialty,” she points out.
“But as you grow in your career, what you’ll find increasingly is cultivating leadership skills like coaching, mentoring, facilitating, resolving conflict, communicating — basically managing people – becomes the larger slice of the pie. This is the time where you realise you need to pivot from being a doer to a leader.
Creating diverse and inclusive workplaces must start with leaders. According to Parekh, leaders must display certain qualities to influence a change in their team’s behaviour. Her top two includes:
Parekh counts herself lucky for joining organisations, like Asahi, that have a clear focus on equality. “Right from my first job as a graduate, it was clear to me that these organisations I’ve been a part of base their hiring decisions on merit,” she explains.
“They weren’t just interested in my achievements or whom I’ve worked for but asked many questions around cultural fit based on my experiences and personality. I could see that they wanted the richness that diversity alone brings.”
For example, Parekh’s current employer, Asahi Beverages annually review and report the gender pay gap which, as of September 2019 was around 3% against the WGEA average of 14%.
Her previous organisation, Accenture, set two clear goals: first, to achieve a gender-balanced workforce by 2025 and second, to increase the diversity of their leadership by growing the percentage of women managing directors to at least 25% by the end of 2020.
So Parekh remains positive about the future of gender equality in New Zealand. And with good reason. In 2020, New Zealand ranked 7th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report.
“Empowering equality is not only morally right but economically smart,” Parekh explains.
Parekh concludes that we can see the numerous benefits resulting from a truly equal society. “Be it in employment, leadership or legislation, when we take on a more diverse outlook, we always put ourselves a step up higher than before.”
By David Pich CMgr FIML
IML ANZ Chief Executive
The global spread of COVID-19 has presented us with unprecedented challenges too numerous to list. The Institute recognises that this is an incredibly tough time for businesses, for managers and leaders and for employees around Australia and New Zealand as we all attempt to navigate the evolving impacts of the pandemic.
On behalf of IML ANZ, I want your Institute to offer you as much support as possible during this on-going crisis. It is during times like these that professional associations must step up and support their Members, many of whom have been loyal to us for many years. We want to ensure that our Members feel part of the ‘IML Tribe’ for however long the current social distancing, working from home and isolation measures persist. Last week I wrote about the fact that this is the time for managers and leaders to shine, but it’s also time for your Institute to shine. And shine we will.
It’s time for action from your Institute. It’s time for IML to be there for you.
On 13th March, I asked all IML staff to leave their offices and work from home. We were one of the very first businesses around Australia to do this. This decision was taken to protect the health of our staff and our Members. At the same time, we immediately instigated a detailed plan to convert almost our entire business to a virtual model. This plan – and the speed that we have managed to implement it – means that the Institute is now ready to step up and step in to assist our Membership through this period of adversity. Perhaps more than at any time in IML’s long and illustrious history, your leadership matters. So, your Institute is ready with additional resources and services to support you and your business.
Here are just three of the offerings we have created for you as part of the IML Tribe:
In addition, we understand that working in relative isolation is challenging. We know this because we’re all doing it! We want you to know that, as an IML ANZ Member, you might be working from home, but you are not alone. In times of crisis, our community grows stronger and more resilient when united. The Institute continues to foster spaces for you to connect with like-minded managers and leaders across Australia and New Zealand. Here’s where you can ‘meet’ and connect:
Finally, despite the difficulty of the current situation, I hope you will find confidence in the fact that the IML ANZ community is a resilient one. As one of the oldest and most respected leadership Institutes in the world, we have been connecting managers and leaders with each other for almost 80-years. Over that time, we have always been united by our shared passion for sound management and leadership practice in our teams, organisations and communities. This passion remains. As your Institute, we are determined to support you as a Member – and as a manager and leader – through this extraordinary time.
Rest assured, your Institute is here for you.
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