What do you think sets successful leaders apart and how do you strive to embody those qualities?

I view 3 key qualities.

Clarity and consistency of vision - Leaders need to develop, communicate and align their decision making around a clear and consistent vision for the team or business.  This creates the clarity that is needed for all team members to see how they are contributing, to make decisions and to prioritise their workload.

Decisive but not dominating - Leaders need to be able to make decisions quickly and with confidence.  However, this does not mean holding all decision making in the centre, dominating discussions or over ruling your team.  This means listening to your team and actively seeking out opportunities to delegate where appropriate, while being brave and decisive when decisions are required.

What and How - Leaders need to balance delivery of what needs to be done with operating in a way that motivates and develops their team.  The quickest way to complete a specific task is often to do it yourself or give it to your most trusted team member.  However, this is misaligned with an approach that builds future capabilities within the team.  Leaders must proactively seek out opportunities to deliver important work in ways that empower, develop and motivate their teams, in order to build the capabilities that will deliver long term success.

All of these qualities are things that are not difficult to do.  The challenge is to be diligent in keeping them at the front of mind, particularly during periods of stress or pressure.  

What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career? Earlier in my career I often saw work success as out performing my peers within the business or being seen to win internal debates.  While it is important to be willing to have robust discussions internally and to argue your points firmly, it is far better to focus on how to work with colleagues and build internal relationships to win together.  This means listening and being empathetic to other teams perspectives and spending the time working with those teams to find an approach or solution that we can all get behind.  It also means prioritising work that other teams see as important even if they are not top priority for your area if it moves the wider business towards it goals.  Winning together is far more impactful for the business and is also personally far more enjoyable and rewarding.     

What book/Ted talk or other resource has been most impactful to you in terms of developing your leadership/business skills? Following a period of high stress that impacted my mental health and wellbeing I spent some time working with a Resilience Coach.  This enabled me to become more aware of my stress triggers and the things that helped me build my resilience.  It also helped me to adjust how I react to periods of adversity and to accept that there are many things that I cannot control.  This enables me to focus on finding the most impactful action I can take to improve the situation and to recognise that if I have done my best and given my all then that is always enough.  Being able to focus on the actions that we can take and the impact that we can have is key to moving forward any project or situation. In terms of a book, I have recently read Brene Brown's "Dare to Lead".  This helped me recognise that strong leadership requires you to take risks and to put yourself in vulnerable situations where you are open to criticism and challenge.  It has helped me find a balance leading with confidence and questioning and challenging my approach in order to find a better way.  I have always been an emotional person that struggles to hide how I am feeling, and this book made me see that as something to embrace and be proud of, rather than something I need to change.

What do you think sets successful leaders apart and how do you strive to embody those qualities?

They need to be inspiring and create the right kind of followship.  This means giving teams that sense of purpose and challenge that motivates them to achieve great things.  Success often comes from having a clear mandate to act on and creating the positive conditions and environment to deliver within.  

What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career?

You can get trapped in corporate life, move on as soon as you see the pace slowing.  And don't be afraid to start something yourself!

What book/Ted talk or other resource has been most impactful to you in terms of developing your leadership/business skills? 

Working overseas.  I've been fortunate enough to live in Australia and work in the US and across Asia.  The different cultures, customer behaviours, markets, business practices, good and bad - they've given me a broad perspective that I've found very valuable.

What do you think sets successful leaders apart and how do you strive to embody those qualities?

I’m a fan of high-challenge, high-support leadership. Recognising that there is tension between the role of a leader in delivering performance and bringing people with them this sums it up to me. To achieve big things, a highly challenging mindset is required - you have to be pushy and sometimes bold to get to the cut through ideas. That doesn’t however mean that has to be done in a toxic or dysfunctional way - that’s where the high-support comes in. The leaders role is to create those conditions where awesomeness is strived for, but it happens because people want to and are inspired (supported) to - not because of positional power or something like that. 

What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career?

Emotions in your career are a good thing. Frustration, shame, excitement - they can all help get organisations to the next level, don’t hide away some of your true self. You just have to get better / more self aware and conscious of how you use them. Also, take time to stop and look at what you’ve done. 

What book/Ted talk or other resource has been most impactful to you in terms of developing your leadership/business skills?

I went on a speed reading course years ago and it changed the way I learn things. Blinkist is my goto - then if I’m really into a subject then I’ll get the Kindle/audible edition of things! 

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What do you think sets successful leaders apart and how do you strive to embody those qualities?

Let me list some words, human empathy, listening and connection, curiosity as a seeker of knowledge, challenging what is today and anticipating what might be tomorrow, the ability to tell stories and share information in a way that resonates with both yourself and the audience, intentionality and purposeful, inspiring others through mission. Without talking about each in turn, I'm always tuned in to how I feel and how this translates to others - being conscious always of the light and shadow that I might cast.

What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career?

Don't sweat the small stuff!

What book/Ted talk or other resource has been most impactful to you in terms of developing your leadership/business skills?

It's so hard to answer this as there is no one particular thing. Different tools and resources have been useful at different stages. One of the most profound leadership programmes I ever did was coaching - of everything I've done and everything I remember, this is the one that has lasted for 10-15 years in practice.

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