How to ensure your leaders add real value to your organisation

Success in business rests heavily on getting a good return on your investment. From producing products, to upgrading technological systems to marketing services, business leaders must be meticulous in ensuring they get top results in return for the money spent.

But what about your investment on the people leading your company? Managers and leaders are often overlooked as the most important organisational asset that holds the most potential in determining the business’ success. What value do your managers add to your company?

It’s a vital question to ask. In an era rife with corporate misdeeds at the hands of poor leadership – from Volkswagen’s ‘emissionsgate’, to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach, to the banking royal commission – more than ever, consumers are losing faith in businesses and their leaders.

So, who is leading your business? Do your leaders display the key qualities that drive success in today’s complex business environment? How are they adapting to the fast-changing pace of leadership for the future?

When hiring, assessing and developing managers and leaders in your organisation, ask the following questions:

Are they experienced?

In many professions, such as accounting, engineering and law, certain standards are indicated by the designations that these professionals possess. It’s a guarantee of the experience and understanding that they bring to the business. Their accreditations are recognised as an objective benchmark of professional competence and ensures they have the right knowledge, skills and experience to qualify as a practicing professional.

You would never entrust your taxes, construction or legal cases to underqualified professionals. It’s logical to think that you would treat your leadership investment with the same prudence. A professional recognised with an accreditation to manage and lead people and the business is guaranteed to practice management and leadership at the highest quality, ensuring your business is getting the most out of  both the manager and the staff they empower every day.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Chartered Manager accreditation is changing the game for leaders and businesses. As an internationally-recognised professional designation, it provides assurance to organisations that their managers have the necessary skills to lead the business towards success. Recognised by Royal Charter, it is a benchmark of management and leadership professionalism that has transformed organisational leadership around the world. In fact, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in the UK found that 96% of Chartered Managers used their designation as proof of their experience in leading people and managing change.

For Intelledox’s Head of Customer Services and APAC Professional Services, Sue Ann McKenzie-Smith CMgr AFIML, becoming a Chartered Manager helps her paint a holistic picture of her stature as an experienced manager and leader. McKenzie-Smith points out, “Being a Chartered Manager has ensured I am leading people with an industry standard recognition of my management skills to date, and throughout my career.”

Are they ethical?

In 2019, consumers know that business success and ethical behaviour are not mutually exclusive. In a decade of ethical leadership failures across organisations in all industries and locations, from Hollywood to governments to FIFA to banks, consumers are demanding businesses deliver results without sacrificing their moral compass.

Corporate ethics is an issue that concerns University of South Australia Business School adjunct professor, organisational psychologist and independent company direct Travis Kemp CMgr FIML. He recognises the importance of ethical behaviour in leaders. “A leader’s impact on society can be incredibly positive when it’s directed in the right way, to the right people, at the right time. And for that reason, we can all get better at doing it”, Kemp says. He believes leaders must guarantee that their actions are grounded on strong decision-making principles. “It keeps coming back to this notion of good people, doing good things, for the right reasons”, he adds.

As a Chartered Manager, Kemp is one of hundreds of professionals who must adhere to a strict code of conduct and practice that certifies that he commits to the highest standards of ethical behaviour whilst managing and leading. This significant pillar underpinning the accreditation is another reason Chartered Manager is transforming the leadership landscape across Australia and New Zealand as businesses begin to focus on corporate ethics as a core element of leadership practice in the workplace post-banking Royal Commission.

Are they impactful?

Managers are tasked with the often complex and difficult role of empowering and enabling people to achieve their full potential, whilst also working to achieve the business’ goals. However, it can sometimes be difficult to quantify if, how, where and what value certain managers are really adding to the business. Calculating whether leaders are providing a high return on investment is difficult to benchmark, assess and analyse. Ensuring leaders in your organisation measure up to an objective and universal standard of professionalism is essential to evaluating business success.

Kate Venables CMgr AFIML, Director of CatholicCare Social Services in Toowoomba described becoming a Chartered Manager as “the start of a journey”. Venables knows that being a manager is all about adding value by enabling those around you. According to Venables, “The importance [of being a leader] is that you empower and engage others to do the best in their job.”

As a Chartered Manager, Venables’ impact as a leader is benchmarked against the global standard of the rigorously-assessed accreditation which requires professionals to provide proof of the effectiveness of their leadership practice. After the accreditation is awarded to successful applicants, they commit to ongoing continuous professional development that guarantees their skills are updated, relevant and of the highest quality.

In their research of Chartered Managers, CMI found that:

  • 91% of Chartered Managers see the designation as proof of their ability to deliver results
  • It is estimated that Chartered Managers, on average, add $AUD626,309 in value to their organisations
  • 64% of Chartered Managers also report making significant cost savings through performance improvements and innovations

These strong statistics not only provide a clear insight into the real results achieved by Chartered Managers, they provide a benchmark of impact and leadership success amongst top managers and leaders.

Who’s leading your business?

If business success is calculated on the checks and balances of investments, then the investment in people – and especially leaders – should be front and centre of the business. Top results are achieved at all levels of the business by ensuring the person who makes decisions and manages people is the most experienced, ethical and impactful leader.

So, who is leading your business? How do you ensure the managers and leaders you hire and develop have, do and will continue to work to the highest possible professional standards? Indeed, what is that professional standard?

Chartered Manager is the global highest status that can be achieved as a manger and leader. It is an international standard of leadership excellence.

Chartered Managers demonstrate all the vital business skills and qualities to drive you towards business success. These professionals add value as leaders because they:

  • Have top-level experience: 73% of Chartered Managers have met or exceeded business targets
  • Are committed to ethical behaviour: 95% of Chartered Managers believe the designation shows their integrity
  • Make impactful business contributions: 86% of Chartered Managers made improvements to their business

Is it time for your leaders to make a real difference to your business? Is it time to future-proof your business with Chartered Managers?

If you want to see where Chartered Manager can take your business, click here.

Female Leaders in the Strongman Era

By Nicola Field | Photo by Michael Bowers

 

Laura Tingle has a celebrated career as a journalist and author. Formerly the Political Editor of The Australian Financial Review, Tingle is currently the Chief Political Correspondent of the ABC’s 7.30 program. Leadership Matters caught up with Tingle to seek her views on the changing nature of leadership, and how different female leaders have adapted their style to achieve success in the male-dominated world of politics.

In her recent essay Follow the Leader: Democracy and the Rise of the Strongman (Black Inc.), Tingle pulls no punches about the state of leadership in modern politics. She kick-starts her commentary noting that the qualities and requirements of leadership are eternal, and observes that history is peppered with great leaders who have shaped our views of what makes a true leader. In particular Tingle observes, “Political leadership should be about building a consensus for change, giving people a map to follow, and bringing together different parties to achieve an outcome.”

It’s a definition of leadership that certainly isn’t exclusive to political circles. The same notion of a leader as someone who can inspire, motivate and galvanise a team to achieve collective goals applies in the business world also.

But that may be where the common thread ends.

In Canberra, at least, recent years have seen a revolving door of leaders, and this has forced incumbents to become more focused on controlling the inner ranks of their own party rather than guiding the electorate.

 

CRASH OR CRASH THROUGH

“There is something of a ‘crash or crash through’ approach in politics at present,” observes Tingle. “Right now we see situations – not just here in Australia, but elsewhere in the world also, where consensus building is no longer valued, and this can pervade the culture in business as well as politics.”

Tingle points to former Prime Minister Paul Keating who is often cited as an example of the ‘crash or crash through’ approach. Yet she notes that he also argued, “You have to bring the mob with you”. Tingle points out that at least Keating regarded his role as setting the right direction and then persuading enough people that he was right, to enable him to follow that path.

It’s a very different matter with some of today’s leaders. And, for many people, US President Donald Trump will come to mind as the embodiment of what Tingle refers to as “our conflicting expectations and frustrations when it comes to leaders”. Tingle’s essay sums up Trump’s presidency this way: “We are as alarmed by the apparent powerlessness of American institutions to contain or direct him as we are by the erratic ignorance and nastiness of his actions.”

The prospect that Donald Trump could be a bellwether for future leadership will be worrisome for many, and Tingle observes that he could herald the return of the strongman to politics. But how will this affect women aspiring to leadership roles – be it in politics or the commercial world?

Tingle is quick to highlight that leadership is not the same as authority and power. “Leadership can come from the foot of the table, it doesn’t have to come from the head of the table,” she says. “But whether it is in politics or business, women are increasingly holding senior, leadership positions – and that is threatening for a lot of people.”

 

A REAL SENSE OF MACHISMO

This threat can make the challenges of leadership far greater for women than for their male counterparts. Tingle notes, “There can be a real sense of machismo in the political arena, and women in politics can face an extra layer of hostility.”

From power struggles to coups, Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard faced both – and a whole lot more. Tingle was well-placed to observe how Gillard handled the challenges, and how she responded by cultivating her image to maintain her political clout. An inherent degree of sexism made this transformation essential. Tingle explains, “Since leaving office, Gillard has met other powerful women in politics around the world who tell stories of being in high-level meetings surrounded by men in suits, and being mistaken for one of the catering staff.”

Indeed, Gillard herself has commented that she would often take part in gatherings of world leaders, yet the Australian media would focus on the clothes she was wearing rather than any contribution she made. Tingle agrees with the former PM’s assessment: “Gender wasn’t everything with Julia Gillard. But it was certainly something.”

 

MISOGYNY HAS DEEP ROOTS

In offering an explanation as to why women in political leadership roles can face gender issues, Tingle refers to the UK’s best-known classicist Mary Beard, whose book Women & Power: A manifesto, which traces the roots of misogyny all the way back to classical Greece and Rome. Beard argues that silencing the voices of women was, in effect, a natural part of manhood, and this has established a precedent for women aspiring to leadership positions.

“Mary Beard has really drawn attention to perceptions of women – and how perceptions of power are hardwired within us,” says Tingle. “History has shaped our views about what people in authority should look like”.

Those perceptions saw Julia Gillard take steps to alter her image as a leader. Tingle describes the evolution of Gillard’s public persona, saying, “Over time, Julia Gillard transformed herself. She felt she could no longer make jokes, but rather had to be sombre and serious.”

Tingle notes that Beard argues women have tended to adopt many outward signals of ‘manliness’ in attempts to establish their leadership credentials – from dropping their voices when they speak, to wearing the ubiquitous pants suit favoured by so many modern female leaders.

She adds, “We see something similar in Angela Merkel [who has served as Chancellor of Germany since 2005], who always wears the classic pants suit.”

Not even a political heavyweight like Angela Merkel is immune from superficial criticism. In 2013 for instance, Le Journal International allowed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld open slather against Merkel’s dress sense in relation to her “special proportions”.

Indeed, when it comes to political leadership, women tread an especially fine line with their wardrobe. The 2016 US election campaign saw Hillary Clinton blasted for wearing a $US12,000 Armani jacket. UK Prime Minister Theresa May sparked outrage for wearing a pair of £995 leather trousers.

Tingle notes, “These examples highlight how we are all struck by implications of what power looks like, and how hard it can be for women to break through this sort of nonsense.”

 

SHOULD WOMEN ADAPT?

Is it essential for women in leadership to alter who they are, what they wear, and even change their voice to fit in with popular perceptions?

Tingle refers again to Women & Power, citing questions Mary Beard raises about how women can be heard – and whether it involves exploiting the status quo. It’s no secret for example that former UK PM Margaret Thatcher followed the advice of minders to lower the pitch of her voice (and thereby sound more masculine) in order to win the 1979 election.

“We often do things to increase perceptions of our authority,” says Tingle, “and that can include changing aspects of ourselves to create a perception of male authority. It’s just what we do.” She points out for instance, that Julia Gillard “eventually developed a persona of speaking slowly to convey a sense of being in control.”

However, some women do successfully break the mould. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has created a very different prototype of female leadership. Not only has she seemingly missed the memo about the need to look and sound more masculine, the announcement of her pregnancy saw her public support swell.

“Jacinda Ardern is fascinating – and an extreme opposite to someone like Angela Merkel,” observes Tingle. “She is not perturbed by motherhood, just as she wasn’t perturbed by issues over whether Russian spies were in New Zealand [which was a question Ardern faced in March 2018 following the Novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the UK].”

Tingle continues, “Jacinda Ardern just stays cool, and focuses on the important things – and this has given her an authority that she didn’t start out with.”

 

TEAM AHEAD OF SELF

In her essay on political leadership, Tingle points out that, “We bemoan a lack of leadership. Some yearn for the good old days when we had it. Yet when we get it, we sometimes don’t recognise it, and even if we do, we seldom reward it.”

She explains this view saying, “We don’t have a very sophisticated assessment of leadership. We have started to adopt a one-dimensional view of leadership, and the continuing change of leadership [in Canberra] has undermined what it means to be a leader.”

According to Tingle, our structure of government has reached the point where it is not possible for any one person to bring about significant policy change, no matter how persuasive an advocate they might be. “It means the skill and obligation of leaders lies in changing relationships within the ranks of their colleagues and the electorate so that they are not operating on their own.”

Tingle believes that effective leadership comes back to identifying self-interest versus collective interest, and cites the Labor Party as a good example of this. “Bill Shorten is not always popular among his parliamentary colleagues,” she explains. “But the collective interest of the party is what drives his team to get on with the job. This is tremendously stabilising because the Labor Party as an organisation knows it won’t get into government if it looks like a rabble.”

As Tingle points out, “This demonstrates that it is possible for people to learn to put team interest ahead of self-interest. The crucial thing is for people to understand the collective self-interest in order to make rational decisions.”

It’s not a bad maxim for managers and leaders, male or female, to follow, and it provides hope that the strongman approach won’t win out – in the business arena at least.

Why you need to re-engage demotivated employees

There’s no denying that motivation drives performance. So when employees lose their drive to succeed how can managers help them? More importantly, should managers try to salvage motivation?

Motivation is the force that leads to success. In fact without the willingness, persistence and mental effort that result from high-motivation, 60% of team projects fail. High-performance cannot be achieved without motivation.

Employees, however, lose this drive for various reasons. They may no longer feel positively challenged in their role or perhaps they are dealing with a difficult situation. They could also be feeling that they are not rewarded fairly for their work.

It’s therefore prudent for leaders to be supportive when good employees lose their motivation. You don’t want them to be demotivated to the point of leaving. IML ANZ’s National Salary Survey found that on average, it costs A$23,410 to replace staff who leave. Not to mention the invaluable cost of losing the knowledge and understanding those employees have of your organisation and customers.

What can managers do to re-engage demotivated employees? Here are some ways:

 

Reward for extrinsic motivation

This includes external or tangible rewards such as salary, benefits, the conditions of work and even the physical work environment.

Managers must be cautious not to assume that extrinsic motivation is the quick fix. There could be a number of factors that influence de-motivation. Instead, use extrinsic motivation as just one of the ways to re-engage your employee.

 

Support their intrinsic motivations

Here is an area where leadership skills can truly make an impact – boosting an employee’s intrinsic motivation. Unlike extrinsic motivation, this takes time, effort and commitment to build within employees.

An intrinsically motivated worker is one who feels confident in their capability, enjoys a healthy sense of challenge in their work feels appreciated by workmates and displays care and consideration for those around them.

There is also no silver bullet for boosting intrinsic motivation. Much will depend on ensuring that you value the achievements of employees in a fair and visible way. It also helps to work on communications skills so that you can be a source of reassurance for employees who may be waning in their motivation.

Career Doctor: How can I build a high performance team?

By Peter Cullen FIML

I was extremely fortunate and very grateful to have been a member of a really great team on one occasion in my career. There were seven of us with a very close bond that was forged over time. People from outside the company wanted to join our team. They could not, because no-one left. Our team exemplified five fundamental foundations that most great teams share: leadership, purpose, values alignment, accountability and communication. Here are some ideas to help embed these five foundations in your own team.

1. LEADERSHIP

As a leader remember: it is not about you, it is about what you do. You need to consistently role model the behaviours you seek in the team because your attitudes and behaviours are contagious.

Trust sits at the heart of any high performing team. Displaying genuine vulnerability is an essential ingredient in establishing trust and it must start with you. This should be encouraged within the team as people flourish in an environment where they feel safe. You need to be open and honest about your mistakes as well as your achievements.

Give your time to your team and people. And have courage! Be the advocate of your team and their protector.

2. PURPOSE

Do you and your team members know their purpose and that of the team? It is a great idea to develop this with the team so everyone has clarity, buy-in, ownership and responsibility for their purpose.

Provide time for team members to consider the who, what, when, where and how of their work. Plan a team meeting to brainstorm and consolidate all this information into a concise paragraph that is relevant and easily relatable.

3. VALUES ALIGNMENT

Knowing, understanding and living your personal values provides personal satisfaction, contentment and a sense of quiet confidence. Values form the basis for your attitudes, beliefs and perception of the world and how you fit in it.

People whose personal values are aligned with team and company values usually perform at a higher level because they are generally happier and want to contribute. They want to support each other and the team. Help yourself and your colleagues by providing a personal values assessment then ask the team to create some jointly agreed team member behaviours.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY

Knowing what team members need to be accountable for – and then consistently following up – has a big influence on how a team performs. KPIs are normally front of mind when we think about accountability. Remember that these need to be realistic, achievable and agreed by both you and the person who reports to you. It is beneficial for a team to create and develop some targets collectively and they should feel comfortable to hold each other accountable for them. When working in an environment of trust, team members will appropriately and respectfully call each other on it.

5. COMMUNICATION

It is essential to be open, honest and transparent with the team and your people while being appropriately respectful. Two important motivators for people are recognition and acknowledgement. These can be delivered by providing regular feedback which should always be affirmative and supporting, never blaming, criticising or judgmental.

Depending on how many direct reports you have, consider weekly 20-minute catch-ups and weekly structured team meetings. To ensure you all get the most from every meeting, ask what worked well and why and what can be improved and how.

Be present! Ensure you ‘walk the floor’ and chat with people to see how they are going and whether they have any concerns you can help them with.

Keep people informed on the progress and developments of the company. Remember, we are all human and as such we will make mistakes and we will have wins. Use each mistake or win as an opportunity to build self-awareness through self-reflection.

If you can establish these five foundations with your team then you will be a formidable force together. And you will be the leader your team needs you to be.

Peter Cullen is an education and training facilitator. Each of his three-day programs engages participants in developing and implementing their capabilities as managers and leaders.

Essential elements of successful leadership development

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, it’s essential for leaders to keep the pace. There’s now a need for new skills and knowledge to assist leaders in navigating the ever-changing landscape. So, are leadership development programs the key to staying relevant?

The obvious answer might be ‘yes’. However, according to Deloitte’s latest Global Human Capital Trends survey, current learning and development programs are struggling when it comes to equipping today’s professionals with skills for the future.

It’s vital then that forward-thinking managers and leaders carefully inspect the components of a program before investing their time and efforts. After all, the modern business environment is all about agility – wasting time on the wrong program can be costly.

If you’re looking for the right development program, here are three essential ingredients:

Development to lead yourself

Before any progress can happen, leaders must first be prepared to accept that they need it. In an environment of fast-paced change, leaders can’t afford to get trapped in what is called ‘functional stupidity’ or the compliance with the established norms without questioning if it is still the right thing to do.

Good leadership development programs must challenge a leader to shift their thinking, venture out of their comfort zone and learn to improve themselves before they can help others.

Development to lead others

Part of the shift leaders experience in today’s business environment is the focus on soft-skills. As workers in this digital age become accustomed to receiving information instantly and dynamically, they start to form the same expectation when it comes to workplace communications.

Leading others is now much more than merely handing out instructions, it’s about inspiring action. Gaining the skills to inspire, motivate communicate and collaborate is critical for a good leadership development program.

Development to lead the organisation

Finally, development must address an organisational goal to be effective. The downfall of many programs is that they rest heavily on theories and lack practical application.

The best leadership development programs are ones that equip participants to respond to situations already in progress in the workplace. This helps the learnings really stick, as the results will also build trust in the development received.

Furthermore, programs customised to organisational needs, lead to a good pay off in your leadership development investment. That’s because it builds loyalty and reduces the risk that you have developed a leader who leaves the company straight away.

Is your workplace safe enough for teamwork?

In recent years, workplaces have shown a strong commitment towards workplace health and safety. Although physical risk at work is the lowest it has ever been, psychological safety has traditionally taken a backseat in terms of organisational priorities.

Psychological safety refers to the comfort of individuals to speak up about ideas, questions and mistakes without a fear of being punished or humiliated. For organisations that want to capitalize on the value of high performing teams, it is evident that they need to ramp up their commitment to building psychological safety.

This article will take a look at simple ways to promote a psychologically safe work environment for all employees.

Leadership

Unfortunately, leaders seem to be a major culprit for creating a less psychologically safe work environment. Why? As leaders, sometimes it can be hard to admit that you are wrong or that your opinion may not be as good as someone else’s. However, leaders who refuse to show any signs of vulnerability inevitably instill this expectation onto the rest of their workforce.

To prevent this misconception from constraining team performance, it is encouraged that leaders ask for feedback from their team, acknowledge their mistakes and show a genuine interest in calling on others for ideas.

Discussion space

There are numerous ways to promote a more psychologically safe space for team discussions. In particular, it is important to consider the types of materials encouraged and discouraged in the planning space.

For example, phones and technological devices can encourage member distraction, particularly in initial meetings. This can lead to less active listening by team members and can also make team members feel humiliated when they are sharing their ideas. As such, it is recommended that during initial discussions, technological devices are discouraged.

Another way of promoting psychological safety in team discussions is by holding discussions in a small meeting room. Small meeting rooms can create an impression of a more supportive team environment as it promotes more inclusive body language and reduces the risk of distraction.

Self-awareness training

Another method for reducing the risk of psychologically unsafe team work is self-awareness training. By encouraging team members to understand the perceptions of their personality in a team environment, they can understand the responses of other team members and adapt their behaviours accordingly.

One popular model for developing an understanding of an individual’s personality is the ‘Five Factor Model’. This model evaluates personality based on five key traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. By evaluating where each team member sits in this model, team members can tailor their communication style to support their colleagues.

The building blocks of a high performing team

It sounds silly to treat teamwork like it’s Lego; however, effective teams can be built based on a few key building blocks. These building blocks are best described in Pac MacMillan’s (2001) ‘High Performance Team Model’. According to this model, the building blocks of a high performing team are: effective communication, common purpose, accepted leadership, effective processes and solid relationships. This article will take a look at why each of these blocks are significant to team success.

Effective communication

Effective communication is essential for team settings for multiple reasons. Firstly, it is required for healthy debate about topics so that more thorough options can be explored. Secondly, it assists in building the credibility of team members as everyone is able to better contribute towards the team project and understand the requirements of the tasks they are assigned. Finally, effective communication within a team assists prompt decision making so that projects can be completed quicker.

Common purpose

Having a common purpose in a team setting sets the scene for willful cooperation. In a study by Tarricone and Luca in 2002, it was found that having a team that was committed to common goals was essential in developing the accountability of team members as well as boosting their engagement in the project.

Accepted leadership

In organisational settings, sometimes teams are reluctant to assign a team project leader as team members like to feel equal. Sometimes personal motivations can be what comes in the way of this, such as a competitive work environment and desire to stand out to management. However, all personal motivations aside, accepted leadership is essential for team projects as it promotes project productivity, quick decisions, clear deadlines and healthy cooperation.

Effective processes

Effective processes lay out the method of cooperation in team settings. Different team projects may have different processes that are more effective; consequently, this is an important discussion for members to have at their first meeting. Processes may include the regularity of team meetings, how the team communicates with each other and shares information or how work is allocated and reviewed. By having clear processes suited to the specific project, there is less room for error and productivity is enhanced.

Solid relationships

As much as we would love for all team members to have solid relationships with one another, this is not always achievable in workplace settings. As such, organisations are increasingly focusing on the ability of individuals to work in teams when making recruitment decisions through the usage of psychometric testing and values-based interviewing. By building a workforce that is able to effectively manage relationships in team environments, communication is strengthened, misunderstandings are reduced, conflict is prevented and team agility is enhanced.

So there we have the five key building blocks to high performing teams. Can you identify which one of these blocks may be preventing your team from reaching its full potential?

Reference:

http://www.unice.fr/crookall-cours/teams/docs/team%20Successful%20teamwork.pdf

Privcore’s Annelies Moens – global thought leader and Chartered Manager

By Jade Collins in Female Leaders

When it comes to leaders in protection and defence, uniformed heroes on the front line could be the first to spring to mind. In the increasingly digitised world, however, often forgotten and overlooked are the unsung protectors and champions who defend our data privacy.

Annelies Moens CMgr FIML has been instrumental in shaping the privacy profession. Managing million dollar portfolios, her work has protected our personal information and data within the public, private and not for profit sectors. Annelies’ passion for privacy is increasingly sought as our societies, legislators and leaders decide what values and ethics we want to embed into our technology and regulation.

As we develop more connected data ecosystems, and grapple with the fear of losing control of our personal information, Annelies’s work is invaluable. From her time on the front lines of data protection, Annelies has first hand knowledge of the significant, long term impacts to individuals and businesses of data breaches.

As a global thought leader, Annelies Co-founded the Australian and New Zealand industry membership body iappANZ in 2008 and was on the Board of Directors for 6 years, ultimately serving as President.

Annelies’ commitment to investing in her leadership development has meant that in addition to being a qualified lawyer and international MBA graduate, she has become one of the first Chartered Managers in Australia.

YOU HAVE TRANSITIONED YOUR CAREER A NUMBER OF TIMES, AND RECENTLY STARTED YOUR OWN BUSINESS. TELL US WHAT LED YOU TO BECOMING A PRIVACY AND DATA EXPERT.

I started my privacy career in 2001 with a background in IT and law. Back then there were no careers in privacy. I initially applied for an exciting role at the privacy regulator. There I managed teams of auditors and investigators, resolving disputes between individuals whose data had been compromised, and big business and government. It was a very niche area and not many people understood its importance and impact.

Today it is different. Every day we are all impacted in some way, and stories abound in the media about privacy. Just consider the impact of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica issue on peoples’ perception of how data is used and disclosed. Consider electronic health records and their potential uses or abuses, automated decision making in everyday transactions, use of third party cloud service providers to store our data, deployment of facial biometrics at airports, and the list goes on.

With the development of the privacy discipline, a few privacy pioneers including myself created a professional membership body for privacy professionals in Australia and New Zealand in 2008, called the iappANZ. As a Founding Board Director and later President, we established in the region a highly successful membership organisation that has advanced and developed the privacy profession.

After several years managing privacy consultants in Australia, I now consult internationally. My vision is to make privacy core business – a discipline which will become as integral to business as the Chief Financial Officer. After all, much of the value of a company’s business is in the data.

HOW SHOULD INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS BE PROTECTING AND GOVERNING THEIR DATA, AND WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE IN PLACE?

Most organisations are custodians of customer data. How they manage it impacts the level of trust in commerce generally and the level of trust customers have with that organisation, whether it is a private business, government or not for profit. How do organisations handle complaints and deal with data breaches? What do they do with customer data? How organisations manage data can rapidly become an ecosystem problem if not done well. Those with weak security and privacy practices reduce trust for everybody.

As such, managers and leaders need to consider how data is governed in their organisations and what they can do to help build trust, by considering culture, risk management frameworks, accountability, key indicators and relationships with regulators.

Individuals can also help protect themselves and their data by implementing two-factor authentication which these days is very simple to use. There are multiple great free options usable with a wide range of email and social media providers, and other service providers. Individuals need to challenge businesses and government when they feel their data is not being managed in line with their expectations. Businesses and government need to be transparent with how their customers’ data is processed.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

Helping to shape and influence a growing privacy profession, which is going to become increasingly important as our societies, legislators, managers and leaders decide what values and ethics we want to build into our technology and regulation, as we develop more connected data ecosystems.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO PURSUE THE CHARTERED MANAGER ACCREDITATION WITH THE INSTITUTE OF MANAGERS AND LEADERS?

For more than 15 years I have had a strong connection with IML. My journey with IML started when it was called the Australian Institute of Management, and I decided to undertake the mini MBA they offered. The Chartered Manager Accreditation was introduced in Australia in mid-2017, after 10 years operation in the United Kingdom.

I was one of the first in Australia to undertake the accreditation. It was a way to recognise my management and leadership expertise, as well as evaluate where I was in my journey at the time. Particularly, it was invaluable when I was undertaking a potential management buyout process in 2017.

Having a third party assess and provide objective feedback helps determine whether you are on the right management and leadership track, and what, if any, changes you may need to make. I am a strong believer in continuous personal development and learning, and have instilled that in all the teams I have led.

IN WHAT WAY HAS ACHIEVING INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED CHARTERED MANAGER STATUS IMPACTED YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?

The greater recognition of achieving Chartered Manager status affords opportunities to help others. As your leadership journey is recognised and valued, you are given opportunities to help others and provide advice.

WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS?

Define what success means to you holistically. Don’t worry about what others think is successful as it is different for everyone. Know what you want and take risks. Believe in yourself and hold your own values no matter the pressure. Open yourself to opportunities and continue to learn – we live in a time of continuing rapid change.

To find out more about Chartered Manager, visit charteredmanager.com.au.

The best manager I ever had

Behind every great leader is a manager who offered inspiration and mentorship. We talk with four leaders to discover the best managers they ever had.

By Nicola Field

Holding the reins loosely Kristen Turnbull, Director of CoreData WA, doesn’t hesitate in nominating Andrew Inwood, founder and principal of CoreData, as the best manager she has ever worked for.

“He’s not just a good manager. Andrew is a great leader,” says Turnbull.

Turnbull began working with Inwood nine years ago when CoreData was in its infancy. It was a big change for her, as she was making a career switch out of journalism and into financial services research.

From the start Inwood stood out as an exceptional leader. “I’ve had good managers before,” says Turnbull. “But Andrew really wanted me to succeed and took the time to understand what makes me tick.” Guided by his example, Turnbull recognises the need to know her own team and keep lines of communication open. “We all have external stresses, and when you truly know your people it’s a lot easier to help them manage external issues that may be impacting their professional life.”

She says Inwood demonstrates genuine interest in his staff, and one particular instance really stands out. “One December I casually mentioned to Andrew that I’d lost my sunglasses. When Christmas rolled around, he handed out gifts to all the staff – and my present was a gift voucher for a new pair of sunglasses. It really highlighted how he listened and cared.”

More than helping her transition into a new career, he encouraged an investment in her personal brand. “Education is very important to him,” notes Turnbull. “And he suggested that I complete a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).”

What was remarkable was the no-strings-attached support provided.

“The company funded my MBA, which is an investment worth tens of thousands of dollars. Even more amazingly, there was no lock-in attached – no formal expectation that I would remain with the company, even after I had completed my MBA.”

For Turnbull, Inwood’s willingness to invest in her as an employee has created a tremendous sense of loyalty to both her leader and CoreData. Six years into the role, this two-way street bore fruit. Expecting her second child and keen to be closer to family in Perth, she approached Inwood about relocating from Sydney to Western Australia. She acknowledges that Perth was not a strategic market for CoreData, but both she and Andrew were willing to turn the move into an opportunity.

Turnbull admits, “Andrew really put his faith in me and let me spearhead CoreData’s entry into the Perth market. Andrew talks about ‘holding the reins loosely’, and by trusting me to build the Perth office, he has encouraged me to share that same approach with my own team – letting them know that support is there if it’s needed but otherwise giving them space to achieve independent success.”

Today, CoreData WA is thriving, and a little over a year ago Turnbull became an equity stakeholder in the business, a step that was especially noteworthy for her. “In previous roles I only felt valued when I had one foot out the door. Andrew has taught me to reward my people in the moment and acknowledge their value today.”

Looking back, Turnbull observes, “Having an outstanding leader has shown me the value of being willing to invest in my own people. It helps them grow – and ultimately that helps the business grow.”

Firm but approachable 

Mark Hayball CMgr FIML, General Manager at RCS Telecommunications in Brisbane, says he didn’t directly work under the best manager he has encountered. Rather it was someone who worked in a different area of the business. He explains: “I wasn’t aware at the time that he was monitoring my progress. It was only much later that I connected the dots.”

According to Hayball, the light bulb moment came when he was nominated to attend in-house leadership training. “I didn’t know who had nominated me,” he says. “I later discovered it was this particular manager. After that I became much more aware of him and his management style.”

What especially impressed was the “firm but approachable” style of the manager involved. “I was in the early stages of my career, and I didn’t really know what management was all about. I wasn’t getting a great deal of leadership from my direct managers, and I was focusing on the technical process. This manager took a very different approach. He was more about engaging people, understanding individuals and what they needed to perform well.”

The absence of bias also left an impression. “I saw a sincere commitment to people in this manager. And he never showed bias to any one particular person.”

Those observations have had a lasting impact on Hayball. “Being able to recognise where staff need help, and giving them opportunities to seek recognition, are essential skills of a good manager.”

These days, it is “ingrained” in Hayball to support his team and offer recognition. It’s also become a two-way street. Mark developed a self-assessment tool for his staff to provide feedback on him as a manager. “It’s a wake-up call!” he says, though he adds that this is fundamental in developing trust. “Senior managers need to be able to guide others, but it’s also essential to be able to receive feedback and not take it personally. One of the biggest challenges facing senior managers is that they don’t let others in, so there is no real opportunity for self-reflection.”

Resilience and emotional intelligence

Aletia Fysh, Head of Marketing at Community First Credit Union in Sydney, says that throughout her career she has benefitted from the support of several good managers, and has distilled the best learnings from each into her own leadership style.

One manager in particular taught Fysh the value of brainstorming the rules of engagement with a team as a whole, so that everyone is on the same page. She notes: “When you set clear expectations it is far easier to explain to team members ‘we agreed to do this’ if things don’t go according to plan.” She adds that it is critical for the team to collectively develop these rules. “When everyone takes part in setting the rules it’s more likely each person will take ownership and adhere to the ground rules.”

Fysh says one manager stood out for encouraging leadership and development training. “This particular manager invested in staff – not just to do their roles, but to learn to lead and manage change,” she explains. “I was encouraged to attend courses that were incredibly effective at developing my leadership skills.”

One learning experience stood out in particular. “I attended a course that taught the value of listening to others to gain insights into how they think. It’s then possible to use this knowledge to convey information in a way that each different person is best able to relate to.”

She provides an example: “I was trying to explain to a colleague how we needed to improve our processes. By listening to their response I could see this person wanted numbers and statistics to make sense of what I was saying. Without this, I wasn’t able to influence the team member in the way I wanted. Realising this, I pulled together some key data and statistics, which the person took on board. I could immediately see a big difference in their reaction.”

The value of formal learning has encouraged Fysh to invest in her own team. “I strongly encourage learning and development among my people.” She is quick to point out though that this doesn’t have to mean funding expensive courses. “Development can come from something as simple as teaming a staff member with a peer they can learn from.”

Across the best managers she has worked with, Fysh says a common feature is resilience and mastery of emotional intelligence. “Managers who get overly emotional when things don’t go to plan can have a very destabilising impact on their staff,” observes Aletia. “Resilience matters because if something doesn’t work out, you need to be able to learn from the experience and not take it personally.”

One of the most useful tips Fysh has picked up from a former manager is having monthly one-on-one meetings with each of her team members. “It’s very effective,” notes Aletia. “You only need to ask three questions – ‘What’s going well?’, ‘What’s not going well?’ and ‘What can we do better?’”

According to Fysh, the beauty of this approach is that it empowers team members. “As a leader, people should feel you are open for feedback. At one-on-one meetings I hand the floor to each staff member and they run the dialogue. There is no need to write up notes. It’s about letting your people think through their progress. It’s also a good opportunity for your team to give feedback about you as a manager and leader. And you need to be prepared to take this on board.”

Galvanising a team

Benjamin Brown MIML, Graduate Civil Engineer in Bundaberg, is still in the early years of his career but he is lucky enough to have encountered a great leader in his current manager, Joe Saunders.

One of the key aspects Brown has learned from his manager is the value of culture. Brown explains that Saunders has been in his current role for 12 years and “embodies” the company’s culture: “He works in the way the company is looking for and that’s something the whole team respects as it sets a strong example.”

Brown also says he has benefited from the investment Saunders makes in one-on-one time with team members. “As I move more into a project management role, Joe regularly checks on me,” he says. “That means he can pull me up at an early stage if I am starting to take the wrong direction. I appreciate that he genuinely cares about my progress, and this gives me confidence in my role and what we’re working towards.”

One aspect of Saunders’ style that Brown particularly appreciates is his frankness. “He speaks his mind. It can be confronting at times but by calling things as they are without sugarcoating the issue, I know exactly what needs to be done to get back on track.”

As Brown’s office team expands, he finds himself moving into a project management role. He says, “I now appreciate the value of being able to galvanise a team. Joe is very good at binding everyone together and providing clear team objectives. Having firm objectives across multiple teams working on the same project helps in providing quality outcomes, and this has helped to set our company apart within the market. It’s taught me the value of keeping in touch with individual team members on a regular basis to achieve the highest level of quality with the experience they have.”

Make your mark. Go Chartered.

IML offers the prestigious and globally recognised Chartered Manager designation to leaders in Australia and New Zealand. Have your leadership experience formally recognised through IML today. Contact our Chartered Manager team on 1300 661 061 or email chartered.manager@managersandleaders.com.au

Details online at managersandleaders.com.au/chartered-manager

 

Blending The Four Personality Types of Leadership

You have a great bunch of people, everyone’s working hard, but you’re just not quite hitting the mark as a team. The problem may not lie with the mix of skills but rather the blend of personalities.

 

By Nicola Field

Building a like-minded team can seem like a strategy for success. However, it could leave you short on a key ingredient – a diverse blend of personalities.

As a leader you’re probably aware of the technical strengths and weakness of those who report to you. And you know you need a high calibre group of people. But a strong group isn’t the same as a strong team, and all organisations need the right mix of personalities to achieve maximum productivity.

Are you dominant, or an influencer?

Teams are typically made up of a variety of personality types. This inherently creates scope for friction and even poor performance. The challenge for managers and leaders is not to resolve “personality clashes” but rather to understand the strengths, weaknesses and quirks that each person brings to the table – and help them work together more cohesively.

So what are these personality types? Charles Go MIML, Research Product Manager at the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML), explains that a key resource for use in this area is a behavioural profiling tool, such as Everything DiSC.

A variety of psychometric tests are available that centre around the DISC concept. They are based on the work of US psychologist William Moulton Marston, who identified four primary emotions and associated behavioural responses. DISC itself is an acronym that reflects the four different personalities of dominance, influencer, steadiness, and conscientious.

A “D” or dominant personality, for instance, is strong willed, outgoing, direct, fast-paced and task-oriented. “I” personalities – the influencers – are sociable, talkative, lively and people-oriented. Those steady “S” personalities are kind-hearted, supportive, accommodating and prefer things to move at a moderate pace. The “C” people on your team are logical, private, cautious and analytical.

Go says that we each have a personality that can broadly be slotted into one of these four categories. However, as complex beings, few of us will fall absolutely into a single category. We aren’t just one style – people tend to be a blend of styles. DISC profiling recognises this. For example, a “CS” personality type may have a cautious disposition, and be careful, soft-spoken, and self-controlled.

Go explains why it is worth knowing where your personality sits within DISC, saying, “Once you find out which category you fall into personally, it is much easier to recognise the different types of personalities within your team.” From here, leaders can form a clearer view about the way their team interacts.

Juggling diverse personalities

A report by the Stanford Graduate School of Business noted that diversity in a team can be a plus. It found the mere presence of diversity – even something as simple as race or gender – can cue differences of opinion. This cueing can enhance a team’s ability to handle conflict. A more homogeneous team, on the other hand, may not be able to handle conflict as well because the team doesn’t expect it.

That said, Go believes having a team filled with, say, D types is not necessarily a bad thing. “It’s easy to assume the team should have a balance of personality types,” he says. “But if one particular personality is dominant it doesn’t mean the team is weak. It can be a strength, because everyone has a similar way of doing things. The key is to look at how you can manage these people as a team.”

It would be easy to assume that leaders need a blend of each personality type, and Go points out that “leaders do need a bit of everything in the sense that in some situations you need to be an influencer, while in others you may need to be more dominant.” This, he believes, is where the value of DISC lies: “It encourages self-reflection as a leader, and makes you aware of situations where you need to think differently”. If you’re a strong D for instance, you might have to make a more conscious effort at moving slowly and methodically on a project than would,
say, an S.

None of us like to feel we can be pigeonholed into a certain personality type. To avoid this, and to allow team members to better understand the dynamics of the group as a whole, DISC testing is typically followed by a debrief session with a trained facilitator. “This helps to create a common language among the team,” says Go. “It also reduces the possibility of individuals being branded as a certain type of personality, and avoids the risk of people looking at their own DISC report in isolation.”

Understanding the personalities on your team can deliver multiple benefits. It helps to build a sense of trust and encourage team members to tap into each other’s skills and experience. It saves time and energy that is otherwise wasted on office politics and conflicts. And cohesive teams are more productive, which can ultimately create a competitive advantage.

Increasing use of psychometric tests

Of course, there is nothing especially new about these sort of psychometric tests. According to Hudson’s The Hiring Report: The State of Hiring in Australia 2015, 54 per cent of senior executives value psychometric testing as part of the recruitment process. And 40 per cent say they’re seeing more psychometric testing being used now than in the past.

What’s different this time around is the recognition that psychometric testing doesn’t have to be limited to the talent acquisition stage. As the Hudson report points out, most senior executives have been through an assessment process themselves and understand the value it can add. Test results help leaders understand more about themselves: who they are, what drives them, and the strengths they can play on.

Having a grasp of what motivates people is one of the most critical levers of leadership – and organisational success. A review of psychometric tests by the London School of Economics and Political Science found that they deliver “significant correlations between personality scales and measures of job performance”. Nonetheless, knowing how to make the most of what you learn from psychometric testing still hinges on your ability to lead and manage people.

Most personality psychologists believe that traits and situations are interactive. This is one reason why DISC can be so helpful — you can learn to adapt your own responses depending on the DISC style of individuals in your team. The bottom line is that as a manager and leader, you may choose not to behave in a way you’re most comfortable with, but instead use one you know will be more effective for your entire team. It takes conscious effort but as the motto for DISC goes: “It’s not all about me. It’s about us.”

About Everything DiSC

Everything DiSC is part of a suite of analytical people tools offered by IML to members and non-members. A number of Everything DiSC tools are available, and depending on the version, an Everything DiSC survey can take as little as 15-20 minutes to complete. It measures personal tendencies and preferences. It does not measure intelligence, aptitude, mental health or values.

For example, the Everything DiSC questionnaire asks about how you respond to challenges, how you influence others, how you respond to rules and procedures, and about your preferred pace of activity. It does not measure every dimension of personality.

Managers are discouraged from completing the test and interpreting the results themselves. Facilitators available to conduct a debrief with follow-up activities. IML’s Charles Go MIML says that learning outcomes tend to be better when smaller groups are involved, but Everything DiSC can work for larger teams of up to 25 people.

Read full details on Everything DiSC at managersandleaders.com.au/people-analytics

Understanding where each team member fits in the work wheel

Leaders can also tap into another important IML resource, the TMS Team Management Profile (TMP). The TMP uses the Margerison-McCann Team Management Wheel to identify the individual’s work preference from eight core activities (starting from the creation of an idea, assessment of the idea, planning and so on).

IML’s Charles Go MIML notes, “The TMP tool works on the theory that when individuals are matched with what they do best, they are more likely to perform at a high level in their role.”

The TMP is based upon self-assessment and identifies where in the eight-stage process each person is best suited. Go adds, “It’s a great way to discover the preferences of each member of the team and enables leaders to successfully and confidently assign people to projects and tasks.”

Full details on the TMP can be read at managersandleaders.com.au/people-analytics