Warren Cammack

The Australian Computer Society hosted an event for CIO’s, Directors and Senior Managers to discuss the question of “What Distinguishes Great Leaders”? Preetha Shekar of RedGiraffe gave a great presentation on the topic to start the conversation on the tables, asking pertinent questions and making some great points:

• Is leadership part of you?
• How focussed on outcomes is the company?
  I’d ask if this isn’t what every successful company is focussed on? If they’re not then how can they survive?
• Who is the key influencer in the team?
  Not necessarily the manager, you don’t need accountability to be an influential person.
• Leaders when know when to bat and when to hold back.
• How do you build emotional infrastructure in the team?
• Motivational strategies are a band aid for poor leadership.
  All of the money spent on motivational consultants for teams may be better spent on hiring new leaders!
• Promotions to management positions are typically based on technical accomplishment.
  But what other tangible way is there of measuring success? This is particularly difficult when promotion to management is seen in many cultures as success and therefore people strive to obtain such a position when it may not suit their natural capabilities.
• There are two types of leadership – positional and true “leadership”.
  The former is controlled, safe, focuses on fixing errors and optimising process. The latter involves helping others to achieve their goals and brings out the ability to shift gears and work around obstacles when required. There is nothing scientific to the approach, it’s all about having a vision and focusing on getting there. Target the outcome rather than the detail of how to get there. When asked if they doubted they could get to the end state a true leader would reply they had no doubt and could always see this happening. Confidence is paramount to being able to leading others to this end state.
• It’s about courage, not the kind where you would run into a burning house to save someone – that’s more akin to bravery.
  Courage to keep going when people doubt you and stick with the vision you originally dreamed up.
• Authenticity is key. Many people say that they can’t be who they truly are at work – ask yourself why not?
  Be 100% real, it’s less work to be yourself and it means you can focus on getting things done rather than maintain a façade.
• Communication is key – ensure your people know what you want and what they need to do. Take their input and ensure you’re listening along the way, if you’ve hired the right people then they’ll tell you not what you want to hear but what you need to hear.
• Franklin T Roosevelt , “If you treat people right they will treat you right – ninety percent of the time.”
• Last but not least is that leaders should leave a legacy of inspiration to those around them.

Some great things for any leaders to think about and the conversation around the table was that everyone finds being a leader challenging – but yet the rewards far outweigh the work when you see people truly succeed.