GREAT LEADERSHIP IS NEVER ABOUT ONE LEADER
A new book delves into the seven key attributes of successful leaders.
David Pich is CEO of the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand. The organisation arose from the merger of the New Zealand Institute of Management, the professional association for managers in New Zealand, and the Institute of Managers and Leaders, Australia’s peak body for managers and leaders.
His new book, Leading Well, coauthored by Ann Messenger, is a research-based guide to the seven key attributes of successful leaders, compiled in consultation with the institute’s 10,000 members. Members were asked to rank a total of 35 leadership attributes in order of importance.
David Pich told Management that if there was one lesson from Leading Well to take away, it would be that great leadership is never about one leader; it's the combined attributes of good leadership performed by leaders.
“The book is about the inspiration of leadership; it’s intended to give you the tools to be inspired. It doesn’t tell you who or what to be inspired by, it shows you how to be inspired by leadership.
“Knowing how gives you the ability to grow into a great leader by learning from leadership’s best attributes.”
The top seven attributes as decided by IML ANZ members were (in order): Integrity; emotional intelligence; ability to inspire; authenticity; self-awareness; respect; decisiveness. Others to make
the top 15 of the 35 attributes voted on were: Accountability; passion; resilience; innovative mindset; adaptability; humility; commitment and fair-minded.
Among the personal attributes leaders need, respect was ranked highly. Why is it important and why do you think your members ranked it so high?
Respect is a particularly poignant attribute to highlight because it’s essential to navigating leadership in 2019. Leadership practice has evolved so much in the past 50 years, moving away from the commandand-control style and towards the empowerment of people.
Respect lies at the heart of this evolution and there’s still some way to go before workplaces become a place where people are enabled to become the best versions of themselves in and outside of work.
I think our members ranked it so high because it resonates with them as current and future leaders at the forefront of this transformation in the leadership landscape.
In fact, in some ways, this kind of respect is a very new concept. With advances in technology, ongoing globalisation, and phenomenon of social media, our workplaces are finally being strengthened by increasing diversity – with people from all walks of life.
Working in 2019 means professionals must consider the multitude of different experiences others may have and lead in a way that is sensitive to others’ beliefs and practices.
We’ve never lived in a more diverse world, but it means we need to learn to respect each other on a deeper level to navigate the complexities of the modern world of work.
In the book you have a case study of great leadership by GM Holden. Could you describe briefly what they did and how it embodies the notion of respect?
The first and most important thing that GM Holden did was reset its approach to leadership; it saw that being peoplefocused was the same thing as being business-focused.
After years under the command-andcontrol style of leadership, its staff were understandably resentful, unengaged, and underperforming.
The new culture of respect that lay at the centre of the business’s new leadership practice saw immediate positive business results but resonated particularly in 2013 when GM Holden made the difficult decision to close the plant.
Staff communications were transparent, a four-year notice period was implemented and most significantly, GM Holden invested $15 million in transitioning the employees and families to the next phase of their lives through financial, health, training and job search support.
Treating their people with dignity and respect as the company transitioned allowed 90 percent of their employees to leave with transitional success rates, and the programme received enormous praise around the world.