As the world continues to reel from the fallout precipitated by the US subprime housing crisis, dubious practices carried out by a number of corporate executives connected to the industry are emerging. Not surprisingly, the ensuing investigations have prompted critics to demand changes in legislation to end what they refer to as ‘blatant criminal activity’ that has unwittingly led to the economic collapse we are now facing.

Closer to home, Contact Energy, a company that has a reputation for bullying its smaller shareholders into submission, took the unprecedented step of temporarily ‘freezing’ its increased director fee pool of $1.5 million, presumably in an attempt to try and ease growing shareholder dissent at their untimely proposal.

It is easy, given what we are currently witnessing, to lose confidence in those privileged to lead the commercial entities that govern the wealth and prosperity of a nation. Like many, I find it disturbing that some in such positions have lost sight of the purpose of their involvement to a point where they seem to believe it is their right to compromise the value and stability of the portfolios they oversee in order to accumulate greater personal wealth. However, despite such isolated cases, it is important we accept commercial ‘leadership’ is and always will be a critical element in a nation’s efforts to improve its prosperity and overall standard of living and for this reason, it needs to be supported.

A number of years ago I suggested the true measure of leadership success is governed by what we contribute, not by what we gain. Even though the behaviour of a few challenges the rationale and intellect of my aforementioned view, I nevertheless believe in what I said.

In fact, I believe it is precisely because of such failures that we need to raise the ‘mana’ or national status of our corporate leaders in order to educate the nation on the importance of assisting and acknowledging the vital contribution they make to society. Failing to do so will not only compromise our efforts to attract the next generation of sustainably focused leaders we so badly need but will undermine the efforts of those currently in charge. In other words, now is not the time to demonize our business executives the way some are doing in an attempt to bolster an argument that does nothing to foster the participation and commitment New Zealand businesses require for us to advance as a country.

Needless to say, I am a firm believer in the importance of leadership and as such would encourage everyone in a leadership role to consider the following to ensure they position themselves in the very best way to succeed:

Firstly – for what reason do you believe your company has a leadership or management team? In other words, why do you believe you are you employed in your current role? What is the purpose of your role?

Whilst one would hope all employees have an appreciation of their role, senior managers in particular need to understand why they are there. Assuming you are in a leadership role, it is vital you know why the company you are employed by believes it necessary to pay you for doing what is, by and large, a non-productive role – that is, a non-income-generating role.

I have covered much of this debate in previous issues, however, because of the challenges the commercial world is currently facing, it seems timely to refresh our understanding of the purpose of our existence in order to continue honouring our commitment as intended.

Secondly – based on the above, what must you as a business leader in your organisation do to succeed? Once you are clear as to why you are there, you can with considerable confidence ask yourself the question ‘What do I need to do?’

It is important when answering this question that you establish the appropriate context in order to create meaningful clarity and thus gain a meaningful answer. To ensure this, I suggest you arrange the question as follows;

‘Based on my understanding of my current role and the challenges or opportunities we are currently facing, what is the most appropriate thing for me to do? Not what is best for me personally, but what is best (most appropriate) for the organisation?'

Many of the issues that appear to inhibit progress are not what they seem. For example, I often observe Directors becoming frustrated by the fact their managers are not gaining the traction they anticipated and yet everyone involved may appear busy. Under closer scrutiny, it may be that in fact, very few people are applying themselves in areas that will lead to improvements in productivity or sales. So whilst managers may say they are ‘trying’, they may be investing their time in peripheral or unrelated tasks. One of the reasons for this is that very few appear to ask the appropriate questions and as a result fail to focus their teams on the areas or activities that can or will produce the desired results. As a consequence, many end up stimulating activity which may on the face of it seem reasonable given it keeps people occupied, but it may not provide any additional value to the organisation. Obviously, if it fails to deliver additional value it is probably inappropriate – not because it is wrong per se but because it is likely to be less important than focusing on the activities or initiatives that would.

In other words, if you are not absolutely clear about where and how your team ‘adds value’ it is highly likely you will find yourself pushing popular initiatives in order to gain approval or, vice versa, you may find yourself pushing unpopular initiatives in order to express your disapproval.

Assuming you have answered the question ‘What do I need to do?’ you can then ask yourself the question that eclipses all and that is ‘based on my understanding of my role, what do I need to ‘become’ in order to achieve the vision?’ —or— ‘What do I need to ‘become’ to create the additional capacity to advance the performance of my team?’

This question is designed to directly challenge your mind-set and thus your capacity to perform. In other words, it is designed to remind you that you have the ability to create a more appropriate, and thus a higher performing State of Mind should you wish to.

Why would you want to do this?

• Because the standards you set govern the pace and standards the organisation adopts
• Because your team cannot outperform you
• Because your efforts ultimately govern the performance of your workforce
• Because you are the key to improving the culture in your company i.e. the attitudes and behaviours your people embody and exhibit

Summary

Given the challenges we are facing as a nation, I believe we desperately need confident, committed, and visionary leaders. Fear and hesitation will not lift us out of the recession we are experiencing. Prudent and responsible management will help as will commercially supportive policies but neither will create growth or advancement alone. For this reason, I suggest you remind yourself of the importance of your role and that by making a conscious, deliberate decision to be an effective and courageous ‘leader’, improvements are possible.

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