Tips for leaders: using digital and online communication tools effectively

By Margot Smith FIML

So often when there is a dispute at work (or in life) it comes down to communication. But more modes of communication should mean that we get it right more often, yes? Not necessarily.

In this increasingly digital world – it’s more important than ever to make sure we do our best to communicate effectively. And effective communication is a real leadership skill – getting it right could make the difference between getting the outcome you want and not. So it’s worth fine-tuning these skills.

Understanding the many and varied online and digital communication tools

When we say online and digital communication what do we mean? It’s an ever-growing list, but let’s say: email, telephone, videoconference, instant messaging or chat, and text at least.

Keeping in mind that when we are face to face with someone, communicating your message is conveyed as follows: 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and only 7% words.

So if we’re talking email, and we are reliant on the words themselves – that’s a mere 7%. As we change mediums, we slide up that scale in terms of how much more context the recipient of your message gets and how effectively we get our message across. But it can still be fraught with challenges; room for misinterpreting tone, body language or context.

Communication is a bit of a minefield, and is the culprit for many a relationship speedbump!

Tools for the times

The current circumstances mean that we are all using online and digital facilities much more than usual. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be working from home, technology affords us convenience, but we need to ensure it’s not at the cost of relationships and connections. Hence we need to use them in the right context and be careful that our communication is effective in doing so.

And particularly right now.

That’s why I’ve listed five tips for effective online and digital communication:

  • Build a strong relationship offline.
    Doing this ensures your online message is received as intended. (This is the most important rule).

    I find the stronger my relationship with someone, the more latitude I have with the words on the page, tone of voice and, even, body language. For those times that I need to deliver a message online that is difficult – I need to hope I’ve done the groundwork on that relationship.

    If that’s not possible and it’s a new contact that you are building a relationship with, then build rapport by practising active listening. Be ‘present’, listen with all senses, paraphrase what they are saying and use your body language to demonstrate that you are concentrating on what they are saying (this might even help you if you are on the phone).
  • Use the right mode of communication.
    Tools such as WhatsApp have been around for a while now. Their speed, ease with communicating with few or many, and ability to share photos and memes mean that they are a great tool for keeping in touch. At IML we use WhatsApp frequently – great for sharing team wins, organisational updates and team photos.

    But if you’re sending lots of messages, is text or instant messenger the appropriate medium? Sometimes the answer is yes (in an effort to minimise emails or to get an immediate and short response). But if you’re writing an essay via text then maybe consider swapping to phone or email.
  • Put yourself in their shoes.
    Are your instant messages, texts or emails blunt? Read and re-read it to check it’s ok as a stand-alone message. If you were reading it, would it come across ok? Does it serve its purpose?
  • Conduct yourself as if you were face-to-face.
    If you are visible on videoconference – concentrate – no sneaking a look at emails or texts. It will send the message that you are not focussed on the meeting. This tip should apply no matter the mode of communication – to be honest you can tell when someone is not concentrating in a teleconference too.
  • Use it to build and maintain relationships.
    These tools help us keep in touch and stay connected, especially when we can’t be in the same room. Instant chat or messaging, videoconferencing, phone and similar modes of communicating are all great ways to connect. Just remember that building and maintaining relationships is key to any leader. So, use all the tools in your toolkit!

Margot Smith FIML is the General Manager – Strategy & Partnerships at IML ANZ. She is currently mastering the use of instant messaging apps, videoconference, phone and email to manage and lead her team who are spread across three different capital cities.

Communicate with clarity

In times of crisis, we cannot choose our circumstances but we can control the way we respond. That’s why IML ANZ is offering all managers and leaders a Virtual Masterclass on the ‘Communicating with Clarity in Times of Crisis’.

This online will provide you with a ready to use action plan that you can implement in your workplace. Visit the Virtual Masterclass page for more information or to register.

Attitude and actions: How to display leadership that supports equality

Less than a third of people working in science, technology and engineering in New Zealand are women. It’s no wonder that leading women in the industry, including manager of measurement, insight and reporting at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Vij Kooyela MIML, are concerned.

Vij Kooyela MIMLKooyela believes that the challenge isn’t exclusive to leadership and management in the industry – there simply isn’t a solid pipeline of young women entering the workforce in this field.

It’s not that the industry is lagging in taking positive steps toward social change. “The energy industry is in a fantastic space in New Zealand,” Kooyela admits. It is bolstered by policy directions that will benefit the environment, in particular the New Zealand Energy Strategy.

However, Kooyela can see that more can be done to grow the number of women in the energy sector.

 

Leaders’ actions matter

One factor that makes Kooyela acutely aware of the need for greater gender diversity in her industry is the team she manages. “My team are all men,” she says.

Kooyela would love to shake off the stereotype that male-dominated industries become that way due to natural abilities that men possess. “I don’t believe that girls are not as good as boys when it comes to quantitative skills. I think women have excellent communications skills and if that can be coupled with solid technical skills, then that’s an advantage.”

Simply put, the qualities of a good leader remain the same regardless of gender.

She also suggests practical ways for leaders to drive change:

  • Language: For Kooyela, leaders should start with what they say. For example, when recruiting, she believes organisations should take a leaf off the UN, which include specific encouragement for women to apply for roles they advertise.
  • Behaviour: Having once presented to an all-male room – and finding herself, the only woman, left alone on one side of the said room – Kooyela hopes more leaders will consider their actions. She challenges all leaders to remove all barriers to the equal treatment of people and to make everyone feel comfortable no matter the situation.


Leaders’ attitudes matter

Being no stranger to poor management experiences, Kooyela made a conscious decision to lead well. She found herself with a manager who didn’t do a great job and was described as a bully. Although for Kooyela, the focus was always on the silver lining. “I am so grateful for that experience because that is what pushed me to take the right steps, to demonstrate that [leadership] can be better and it can be done well,” Kooyela explains.

Since then, she has challenged herself to be a better manager and leader because of the impact she knows that leaders have on people. “If I can positively influence someone so that they make a step forward – whether that’s in their life or their career – that’s something very powerful,” Kooyela says.

However, she cautions other leaders, particularly women, to break away from the fear of uncertainty. “Leaders find comfort when we can tick all the boxes before venturing into something different and unknown. We want to get everything right,” she says.

Kooyela believes that more women should back themselves. For her, waiting for perfection is not the way forward.

Her advice? “Go for it. Don’t worry about having all the boxes ticked,” confirms Kooyela.

 

Leaders’ dialogue matters 

“The key thing we are looking for is diversity of thought. Women do bring a different perspective on things and every workplace needs that balance of views,” says Kooyela.

What better way to gather a diverse set of views than through dialogue with a group of peers?

In March, for the first time, IML ANZ is hosting two International Women’s Day (IWD) events in Auckland and Wellington. This year, Vij Kooyela will join other leaders to explore the official IWD topic, ‘#EachforEqual’. Be part of the discussion and join forward-thinking managers and leaders in creating the type of dialogue that drives change.

Purchase tickets now:

Auckland – Friday, 6th March
Wellington – Friday, 13th March

Or for more information, contact events@managersandleaders.com.au.

#EachforEqual: How to create a gender equal workplace

By Gemma Lloyd

 

International Women’s Day is on 8 March 2020 and this year’s theme is #EachforEqual. It’s a good reminder that everyone has a role to play in helping create a gender equal world.

 

And a gender equal world means a gender equal workplace, where people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender.

While corporate Australia has been making progress on this front, it has a long way to go, with women still significantly underrepresented in leadership. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only 13.7% of chair positions are held by women and only 17.1% of CEO positions.

Not only is a gender equal workplace what’s right and fair, it also makes good business sense. Working with some of Australia’s top employers, we see those companies with progressive gender equality policies consistently able to attract higher calibre talent – and retain them for longer. And the benefits of gender equality don’t stop there.

 

Gender equality health check

So how is your organisation tracking towards gender equality? Maybe it’s made progress in some areas but struggling in others, or there’s policies in place but room for improvement.

Conducting a gender audit is a good way to identify challenges and opportunities for increasing equality within your organisation, and create a plan for action.

WORK180 has gathered data from Australia’s most progressive companies, analysing their policies on flexible working, equal pay, parental support, career development and employee assistance. The result is a report and HR Health Check tool that employers can use to benchmark themselves against the best in their industry.

The HR Health Check only takes 10 minutes, and you’ll get a rating and high-level report comparing your business – you can get started here.

 

Future proofing your business

By being aware of HR benchmarks and trends, you’re in a better position to make informed policy decisions, and implement strategies that grow and future proof your business.

According to an EY global study, millennials will make up more than 75% of the workforce by 2025. And for them, a healthy work/life balance isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a deal-breaker.

In order to grow and future proof their businesses, and be able to attract and retain this massive segment of the workforce, organisations need to make changes to the way they engage with employees.

Smart companies are already doing just that. They’re changing and developing their policies and HR benefits, promoting positive outcomes for employees and employers, and offering greater support than the archaic and rigid workplace policies of the past.

 

8 ways to boost gender equality

Aside from conducting a gender audit and evolving policies, what are some practical ways that organisations can foster gender equality? In this WORK180 blog post, Dr Leonora Risse from RMIT University offered some useful tips:

  1. Make everyone automatically eligible for job promotions – instead of relying on candidates to self-nominate, which women are less likely to do, switch promotional opportunities from a choice to an automatic process.
  2. Don’t ask for volunteers, appoint them – don’t rely on community-minded women to voluntarily do the ‘office housework’. Instead, appoint these tasks systematically to ensure everyone in the office does their fair share.
  3. Remove gendered language from job ads – words that are stereotypically masculine or feminine in a job ad can have a powerful impact on whether a candidate applies or not. Use online gender bias decoder tools to screen job ads and make them more gender neutral.
  4. Calculate your organisation’s pay gap – companies need to first measure and recognise the existence of their gender pay gap, before they can fix it.
  5. Banish ‘manels’ – ensuring women are represented among panellists and speaker line-ups is critical for generating diversity of thought.
  6. Hand the microphone to a woman first – research shows that if a female asks the first question in a Q&A situation, it leads to more women asking questions than they would otherwise.
  7. Whose names and faces are on your walls? – if it’s mainly men, think about the message this sends about gender equality in your organisation.
  8. Explain why gender equality matters for men too – clearly communicate to your employees how gender equality and inclusive work practices deliver better outcomes for all.

Gemma Lloyd is the founder and CEO of WORK180, a recruitment platform that pre-screens employers to see how well they support women’s careers.

Join Gemma on 6th March at IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate Event in Brisbane. Gemma will be joining five other leaders to debate whether ‘The world won’t listen unless women shout’.

Register here.

How can your workplace help end period poverty?

This is a collaborative article written between women’s charity Share the Dignity and the Institute of Managers and Leaders. Share the Dignity are the official charity partner of IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate on 6th March. 

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If you’re a woman reading this, you’ve probably been caught out in a public bathroom without a pad or tampon inside your handbag. You probably let out a swear word, a sigh and felt some frustration that you once again forgot to leave a tampon or pad in your bag like you promised yourself you would. You probably folded up a few tissues, placed them inside your underwear and ran to the closest store to purchase some sanitary items without a second thought.

Imagine that choice being clouded with the realisation that if you purchased a packet of pads or tampons, you wouldn’t be able to purchase dinner that night. Would you sacrifice skipping a couple of meals for a packet of tampons? Is that a decision you’ve ever had to justify? Every day, thousands of Australian women are deciding between eating a meal or taking control of their period.

Women’s charity, Share the Dignity, believe every woman has the right to her own dignity and should have access to pads and tampons regardless of her situation. Each year they host two sanitary item drives and an annual ‘It’s In The Bag’ campaign to collect much needed necessities for women across the country doing it tough. They rely heavily on the selfless work of volunteers to coordinate these donations to charities all over Australia. They also supply vending machines filled with free pads and tampons to low socioeconomic areas for those in need.

Without any government funding, Share the Dignity relies on the generosity of the public and corporations to help women in need.

If gender equity and female empowerment are important to you and your organisation, then supporting women who experience period poverty is a great way to make a difference. It doesn’t take much to help solve this issue and make an impact on the lives of thousands of women.

Here are several ways you can assist:

Become a collection point

As a collection point, the public and those within your workplace can donate pads and tampons to your collection box. A volunteer will collect the items and distribute them to local charities.

Make a monthly corporate donation

We all know periods are a monthly occurrence, making a monthly corporate donation ensures women are being assisted each month.

Volunteer your time

Volunteers are valuable assets for this women’s charity. Without them, thousands of women across the country won’t get the help they need. If you have five hours a week you can offer us, we would love your help in coordinating our supplies to those in need.

Support International Women’s Day

IML ANZ is proud to have Share the Dignity as our charity partner for our International Women’s Day Great Debate. On the day, Share the Dignity will be running a raffle to raise much needed funds for those experiencing period poverty.

Learn more about Share the Dignity’s work.

Host a workplace event

Get creative! Host a morning tea for $5 entry, organise a workplace raffle, run a bake sale, a silent auction or a dress up day.

Let your voice be heard

Powerful, passionate and thought-provoking, that’s IML ANZ’s International Women’s Day Great Debate event. This year IML ANZ is once again bringing together six hand-picked, opinionated and accomplished Australian leaders and personalities in an entertaining debate that challenges our ideas of equality, diversity and progress.

To join the Great Debate, book your tickets now!

Reinventing business structure

By Jason T Smith

It’s often said that if you keep doing the same thing then you shouldn’t expect a different result. For more than a decade, I led my franchised physiotherapy business, the Back In Motion Health Group, with a traditional vertical organisational structure that mostly worked… up to a point, anyway. But I felt we could do much better.

Our model was unintentionally suffocating talented people through hierarchy and self-limiting position descriptions. Job titles and lines of reporting became discriminatory. Strategy and decisions were mostly formulated in a linear, top-down fashion. Conversations happened behind closed doors. Without noticing it, elitism and class divisions crept into our workplace. People were being artificially designated into executive, management and support strata. Influence was driven more by seniority and position, than by intelligence and merit. Creativity was dying.

The organisational structure that we had was quite normal – the traditional pyramid – but it certainly wasn’t optimal. Especially given that I was just about to set an unreasonable objective of doubling our group footprint over the next three years. We affectionately dubbed it ‘7/50/100’. It was the aspiration to have our brand accessible in seven states and territories of Australia, delivering $50 million worth of physiotherapy and related services, through 100 locations. So, it became time to shake things up.

3D MODEL

We didn’t just turn the traditional pyramidal organisation chart upsidedown as some have attempted. It wouldn’t have worked. We didn’t quite go flat or matrix in our management approach either. This was more about a change in our inner state, than it was a governance strategy. We needed to think, talk, and behave differently. We rounded out our organisational model into a threedimensional spherical expression with no top and no bottom.

Congruent with the spirit of innovation that characterised the change, we gave our new way of life its own name: ONEteam™.

We bounced forward. Or, as management literature might refer to it, we generated ‘adversarial growth’. We evolved through the pain of failures in the past, driven by the hope of the future. We reset our culture around the imperatives of over leadership and under-management. People had their titles stripped, and we dismantled traditional job descriptions. Colleagues were grouped into ‘functions’ and ‘pods’, and people no longer reported to a ‘boss’. We all served the mission rather than a (wo)man.

A MINIMALIST MOVEMENT

The principles of collaboration, distributed authority, and peer accountability became paramount. Individuals identified their best contributions to the workplace, kept their role profiles fluid to ensure agility and adaptability to changing demands, and no longer needed permission to get the job done. Performance was assessed in real time, financial records were laid bare, and strategic workflow became streamlined into the essentials. Minimalism reigned, as we sought to build a champion team, rather than a team of champions.

We even allowed peers to set their own remuneration bands within an overall salary cap, assist in the hiring and firing decisions, and decide their own bonus and incentive reward systems. Why? Because the owners can only guess what their people are motivated by, and inevitably will get it wrong some of the time.

We pulled down office walls, changed seating configurations to cluster people into more functional arrangements, and built additional breakout and meeting rooms. Reserved car parks were opened to all staff on a first-come basis, and we all shared the kitchen cleaning roster.

Even our meeting formats got challenged. We wanted less of them, and more decisions within them. Only those people with a contribution to make or an outcome to achieve were expected to attend. Every meeting was minuted and published for the whole team, with no secret business or hidden agendas.

A REAL SHAKE UP

In short, most things in our once-traditional workplace changed. Only a few essentials remained. We got turned outside-in and downside-up. A real shake up. But this change wasn’t haphazard or poorly considered. It was a metamorphosis of careful design. An intentionally new structure.

We bred a race of corporate freedom fighters. We fought against our own traditions, our flawed habits, and our ineffective strategies of the past. Today, we have achieved brand presence in more than seven states or territories, generated revenues in excess of AU$50 million per annum, and host more than 110 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

Our leadership revolution revealed an authentic and scalable way to give each team member the freedom to do what they love and excel at it. And in facilitating this, we gained so much more.

Jason T Smith is the founder of the Back In Motion Health Group, the Iceberg Leadership Institute and the SOS Health Foundation. In his book, Outside-In Downside-up Leadership (Major Street Publishing AU$29.95), Smith shares how he and his colleagues found the sweet spot between authentic collaboration and the holy grail of peer accountability in their workplace.

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

Take Two: A mentoring pair on the same page

By Lisa Calautti

When marketing manager Emma Tune MIML decided to seek a mentor, IML ANZ teamed her up with business advisor Sarah Hunter FIML. It turned out to be the perfect match.

 

Why did you decide to join the Member Exchange program?

Sarah Hunter: Mentoring is something I do quite a bit anyway. It is definitely a giving back exercise. I enjoy helping people who are at an earlier career stage to jump ahead – you think of all the things you know now, that you wish you had known 10 or 20 years ago.

Emma Tune: I have always been fortunate in having managers and colleagues who have been generous in sharing their time, knowledge and skills with me. But I didn’t have anyone within the business who had a marketing background. Things have changed so much in marketing in the time I have been in my role, so I sought the opportunity to learn from someone with that background and experience.

 

How would you describe the experience of being part of Member Exchange?

SH: Very good. In fact, at our first meeting we were quite overcome by how well matched we had been. We just clicked right from the beginning and it was clear that what Emma needed, and what I had, were extremely well aligned.

ET: We were so well matched. There were so many similarities in my role and Sarah’s experience. We talked the same language.

 

What did you gain from the program?

SH: A bit of clarity of thought. I had to put myself in some circumstances and try not to see things from my perspective or through my own lens. That wasn’t too hard because I was not making decisions, setting direction or giving instructions; just listening and offering reading material or an avenue to follow, then letting Emma do it herself. I had the satisfaction of seeing someone grow and develop, knowing some of the things I had put in front of her were helping her do that.

ET: Sarah was great at recommending resources and frameworks for the different situations and challenges that I had. We talked about many aspects of my role and having an outside perspective helped me to reframe the issues in many cases. Sarah was great at challenging my thinking in a constructive way. Overall I learned that in almost all cases it comes down to people and process. Having recommended resources to use also gave me something tangible I could work with.

One of the key areas that kept coming up was the importance of people management. In my head I already knew this but, through our discussions, I realised there is so much more to it than just managing a team of people. In business it is important to manage relationships at all levels across the business. Another key learning was that seeing the business from an outside perspective makes you look at the bigger picture, which is so important, but hard when you get caught up in the busy day to day.

 

What motivated you to be involved in Member Exchange?

SH: Definitely giving back, and being someone who can help build confidence. Emma taught me that really everything is all about people. No matter what business, industry or stage of life, it all goes back to being about people.

ET: I enjoy learning from people and seeing different perspectives. It had been many years since I had taken part in a formal mentoring program and thought it was the right time for the stage I was at in my career.

 

Would you recommend the program to others?

SH: Yes, I recommend people get involved in mentoring as it is an opportunity to look at things in different ways. This program is a valuable part of the membership for IML ANZ. It has a really good point of difference in bringing together a huge cohort of diversity, experience and insight. Working with younger managers I can see through their eyes the challenges they are facing today, which are not always the same challenges I was facing at that career stage.

ET: Yes, just getting that outside perspective is invaluable. People who are mentors go into it because they want to share their knowledge and coach and help you. By being matched with someone who has experience in areas you identify with, you are set up to succeed straight away.

Find out more about Member Exchange

Australia: managersandleaders.com.au/mentoring-program

New Zealand: managersandleaders.co.nz/mentoring-program

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

How Cricket Australia bounced back from defeat

By Anthony O’Brien

 

For many sports fans and members of the media, 24 March 2018 is a day that will forever live in infamy for Australian cricket.

To recap, Australia was playing a crucial test in Cape Town, South Africa, and the locals were on top. To try and stem the flow of runs, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft hatched a plan to use sandpaper on the red ball to help it swing. Simply put, a swinging cricket ball is harder to hit or can increase the chances of getting unwary batsmen out. The bottom line, whether you take sandpaper, dirt, or Brylcreem to a ball, is that it’s a form of cheating. In other words, it’s just not cricket.

After a couple of false starts, the game’s peak body Cricket Australia (CA) accepted the behaviour of Warner, Bancroft, and skipper Steve Smith, who appeared to condone the ball-tampering by his inaction, was unacceptable. The trio were given lengthy suspensions. Cricket Australia Chairman, David Peever said at the time, “The CA Board understands and shares the anger of fans and the broader Australian community about these events.”

CA CEO and former professional cricketer, Kevin Roberts, admits the national game found itself in this parlous predicament because, “cricket’s part of the fabric of our culture”. Roberts took over as the boss of Australian cricket in October 2018.

To provide some perspective about how important the red ball game is for Australians, Roberts compares the national cricket team, which is famous for its Baggy Green cricket cap, to the mighty All Blacks of New Zealand. “From a cultural perspective, cricket is a national sport just as rugby is New Zealand’s national sport.”

Before working in cricket full time, Roberts had about 20 years in sports sponsorship working with the likes of Adidas and Kiwi sportswear giant Canterbury. He continues, “When people see an example of the spirit of cricket not necessarily being demonstrated in the national sport that’s part of our nation’s culture, it becomes a big issue.”

The long and challenging journey that CA has travelled in the past two years offers a fascinating case study in organisational culture for leaders in all industries.

 

CRICKET AUSTRALIA’S RESPONSE TO CAPE TOWN

In April 2018, CA commissioned the Ethics Centre to conduct an independent review into cultural, organisational and governance issues in cricket following the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. The evaluation aimed to establish a charter setting out standards for improved player behaviour and expectations of the Australian men’s national side.

The review featured a panel of past and present players including national test captains Tim Paine and Rachael Haynes, who was deputising for the legendary Meg Lanning. Others on the panel included former internationals Shane Watson and George Bailey, the world’s best fast bowler Pat Cummins and men’s team coach, Justin Langer. Also an Ethics Centre survey garnered responses from 450 CA executives and employees, current and former players, state and territory association staff, and representatives from sponsor and media organisations.

Running parallel to this process was an examination of team conduct contributing to the events in South Africa. There has been a perception among some sections of the community that the Baggy Greens were arrogant. However, the bubble created by regular test and cup wins tended to paper over the cracks.

Despite the community cynicism, CA has responded decisively to the Cape Town fiasco, which is a credit to the leadership of Roberts, who joined the CA Board in 2012 before switching to executive roles from 2015. Unenviably, Roberts was in the CEO’s chair when the Ethics Centre released its 145-page report outlining 42 recommendations for CA’s consideration. Roberts recalled, “By the time I came into the CEO role, it was time to release the findings, and more importantly to get cracking on its implementation.”

While there was a mixed response to the report’s release, what struck Roberts was, “how isolated incidents had affected people who were on the receiving end of it”. For instance, the report asserts, “We have (also) been told of groundsmen (who) have been required to prepare practice pitches – spending time and effort only to see an elite bowler send down only seven deliveries before reaching the mandated ‘quota’ – and therefore stopping.

“This kind of behaviour speaks of gross disrespect to those who are not natives of the ‘gilded bubble’.”

While that might be an isolated incident, Roberts determined to consider how people were affected, either positively or negatively, through their interactions with cricket. As a result, the new CEO and his team released a cultural change program focused across three categories – people, high performance, and leadership.

 

HARVARD CONTRIBUTES TO CRICKET LEADERSHIP

CA launched a leadership program in 2019, which is a tailored version of a world-leading program from Harvard University, explains Roberts. Around 40 executives, senior managers, Paine and limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, as well as coaches took the program, and are now collaborating on developing CA’s leadership culture. “We’re on that journey together, which is fantastic,” Roberts said.

Additionally, CA established the Australian Cricket Leadership Team in late 2018. This group includes the CEOs of each of the state and territory cricket associations. “This team acknowledges that cricket operates through a federal structure as opposed to a corporate hierarchy, and it was about spreading the leadership through that broader cricket ecosystem.”

Since Cape Town there has been a significant turnover of CA’s executive team, including the notable resignation of long-term CEO James Sutherland. Former Hyundai executive Scott Grant joined the peak body as COO. Like Roberts, the new operations supremo is no cricket blowin, and moonlights as the president of Bankstown Cricket Club, where the famous Waugh twins played. Roberts, who also scored runs for Bankstown, said, “We’ve got Drew Ginn, the former member of the Oarsome Foursome [Olympic Games winning] rowing team. He’s working with the states and territories to develop the next generation of talent.” Also, Ben Oliver, who was working for the Western Australian Cricket Association, is now responsible for the national teams. “So, there’s been some development among our leaders themselves as well,” Roberts adds.

 

PITCHING THE MEDIA TENT

CA has put 100 managers through a cultural change program. “We’ve also identified the need to improve the nature of communication inside and outside the organisation,” Roberts said. This project includes establishing a new internal communications platform aimed at creating closer links throughout the organisation. CA has also implemented new forums for all staff to ask questions or raise issues directly with management, in a safe environment.

Additionally, Roberts and his team have improved communication with relevant stakeholders, such as the media. To this end, CA has increased media training for its leadership and players. “We are making an extra effort to bring the media into the tent and to be open with them,” said Roberts. “The cricket media are great storytellers in the game, and so we must embrace their role.”

 

HIGH PERFORMANCE: THE PLAYERS ARE DOING THEIR BIT

Under the affable men’s test captain Paine and the approachable limited-overs men’s skipper Finch, Australian cricket teams have made decent strides in reconnecting with the public. Paine for example, has introduced a pre-game handshake between the Australians and their opponents, which seems to have gone down well with the cricketing community. “The men worked together with the Australian women’s team on a players pact. Put simply, they aspired to make Australians proud in everything that they do as players,” explained Roberts. “We worked with the players to define what we stand for and agreed our goal will always be to win because it’s a professional sport.

Kevin Roberts - Cricket Australia CEO“But our non-negotiable expectation is to compete with respect. It’s not just about winning – it’s also about how we go about it.” That said, the test team’s magnificent retention of the Ashes for the first time in England since 2001 is a significant fillip for the game in Australia. Particularly given it followed just a few weeks after the Australian women’s team secured an outstanding Ashes series win on English soil too.

The proof is in the pudding for the image of Australian cricket, with the men’s cricket team not earning a single code of conduct charge in the 2018–19 season. This result was a first clean sheet in eight years for the prickly Baggy Greens, who have been notorious for aggressive sledging of their opponents. At the same time, Roberts points to the redemptive journey ‘best-since Bradman’ Steve Smith has undertaken since Cape Town. The former skipper visited many schools around Australia during his enforced absence from the Australian cricket team. “Steve Smith had a profound positive impact on several school children by having the courage to open up and talk about his experience as a leader during and beyond the Cape Town situation,” offered Roberts. “So that’s where the players are fantastic, in opening their hearts, telling their stories and I guess embracing the vulnerabilities. That’s what is connecting with the public.”

However, deep wounds will always take time to fully heal. A recent Roy Morgan poll indicated that the Australian public’s distrust in cricket is higher than any other sport. Although a level of distrust continues, there is some good news. Women’s cricket continues to provide a boost to the overall image of the sport with higher trust than distrust, according to Roy Morgan. Roberts comments, “We want cricket to be a sport for everyone, not a sport for some. That means embracing gender diversity, embracing cultural diversity and all other forms of diversity.” To celebrate diversity, CA is aiming to set a world record at the T-20 Women’s World Cup final on 8 March 2020 for attendance at a women’s sporting event. The final will be held at the mighty MCG, which seats around 100,000 and will take place during International Women’s Day.

 

ROBERTS THE BUSINESS SKIPPER

As a leader, the humble former NSW batsman Roberts says, “It’s more for others to have a view on my leadership style, but… I seek to be people-focused and to develop deep relationships with stakeholders.”

Roberts admits to presenting a straight bat when faced with difficult decisions. “I make the hard decisions required of a leader. While I try to do so in a way that shows respect for people, I must accept that people won’t always feel good about the decisions or the way I managed them. I’d like to think I demonstrate courage in leading from the front when we face issues so that our people can get on with making a difference.”

 

This article originally appeared in the December 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s exclusive Member’s magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.

Building trust in an age of disruption

By Dr Mathew Donald

 

The age of disruption may be characterised as an environment that is fast-paced, uncertain and risky. This new environment emerged from globalisation, aided by technology and trade interconnectivity, whilst facilitated by social media and the internet. A simple presidential tweet, or small change in a trade war is now transmitted instantly around the world, without necessarily any verification, analysis or investigation. This unfiltered and immediate nature of information may contribute to instability and confusion for staff and stakeholders. Leaders may not be able to control the external environment, yet through explanation, influence and engagement, leaders may be able to effectively reduce the stress and worry that results from disruption.

 

The interplay of trust and successful change

Leadership is influence. It can generate a willingness or inspiration to follow. Staff do not automatically listen and follow leaders irrespective of the environment, as they need trust as a precursor. If there is low trust in leaders, their messages may not be heard nor believed. It has long been recognised that trust is an element of leadership. Recent research now indicates that trust is also closely related to organisational change success. In a future disruption environment, change is likely to be constant and the need for trust is heightened, so future leaders will likely require excellent skills in communicating, explaining and involving staff in associated change.

Leaders set strategy, direction and plans to inform and influence their teams. The strategy and planning process is designed to signal a way forward, provide context and alignment across a whole array of staff and stakeholders. When new data and information emerge quickly, leaders could be under pressure to react to new advances, new information or developments. The risks in this scenario is where there is a high prospect of leaders regularly reversing and overriding past decisions. Reacting quickly may be just as risky as delaying decisions in disruption and the competition may react before accurate information or analysis emerges.

 

How disruption erodes trust

The changing nature of disruption creates new challenges as leaders will continue to attempt to build trust by delivering on past promises despite the change around them. Organisations will find it impossible to move forward if the leader is not able to ensure that they are believable and worth following. Imagine if a leader offers a pay rise, only to later discover that their cost of inputs has been altered significantly by a new tariff. Imagine a leader who announced a new acquisition but soon discovers that a new technology has completely eliminated the business value.  Sudden change that alters decisions are part of a disruptive world. So leaders of the future will need to explain changes, risk and uncertainty with their teams in order to prepare for disruption.

 

Leaders must be ready to respond

In an uncertain environment, leaders will need to explain the fast pace, the uncertainty and risk regularly. Failure to do this adequately will likely lead to staff confusion, or blame toward the leader for not controlling the situation. Staff will appreciate regular and open communication on disruption, even when they do not like the described environment. Communication is such an important part of leadership, a factor that is likely to be more important with constant change, so the new leader will need to be cognisant of various communication forms, language styles, formats and regularity. Leadership communication may even be so regular that staff may be included as partners or advisors, rather than merely as subordinates. Leaders will require efficient, effective and regular communication in order to build trust, those unable or unwilling to operate this way may fail to move an organisation forward with the speed required. The leader of the future will likely be comfortable in explaining the new environment and changes, whilst building teams that are resilient to multiple options and decisions despite any ongoing risk or uncertainty.


Dr Mathew Donald specialises in leadership, management and organisational change and has more than 35 years of business experience. He is the principal of Dr Mat – The organisational Health Doctor ™, available globally for consulting, mentoring and presentations. He is also the author of “Leading and managing change in the age of disruption and artificial intelligence” (Emerald $USD 100.00).

Effective change starts with failure

By Richard Shrapnel FIML

 

Because no one likes to fail, we’ve created many ‘feel-good’ sayings about it. However, most of us take these so-called clichés with a grain of salt. But in business, leaders must pay attention to their attitude toward failure – it could hold the key to success.

So, how does your business consider failure?

 

Non-compliance is not failure

Let’s define failure at the outset. Failure has nothing to do with non-compliance. And by non-compliance, I mean not upholding business values, policies, procedures – the set ways which everyone knows the business requires one to act. That’s not failure. That’s breaking the rules; and appropriate sanctions should be applied and enforced. Non-compliance is an issue of discipline, and all business must uphold discipline.

Failure is trying something new, untested, experimenting, stretching the business’s capability to a new level but not reaching the ‘hoped-for’ outcome.

I draw this distinction as many businesses around the world get caught up in not meeting appropriate standards, whether they be internal to the business or external through regulation and even customer expectations. These outcomes are often described as failures, where they are better-considered non-compliance.

Failure should be encouraged whereas, non-compliance should not be tolerated.

 

Failing forward

Success and profitability rely on a business’s ability to outcompete all others in its chosen marketplace. And that means being able to deliver greater value to customers than your competitors today and importantly tomorrow.

Stepping out, evolving, reinventing and creating are some of the descriptors I would use to flag the type of behaviours that a business must immerse itself in to be competitive. If a business simply continues with what worked in the past, then there will become a time when their customers’ needs and their competitors’ capabilities have all moved on, and they are left behind.

This ability to continually evolve requires the practice of trying, failing, retrying and continuing to learn from each step taken. Then incorporate those learnings into the value that you deliver to your customers.

 

Barriers to failing

There are many barriers that exist within a business that will prevent it from failing and taking those learnings forward, but they can all be traced back to the business’s attitude to failure.

In many businesses, failure is spelt ‘your fault’, and it is often swept under the carpet or passed around when it occurs. Such an attitude is anti-change and counter-growth. Everyone wants to be associated with the successful project, and no one had anything to do with the failure. Failure can be a source of fear – real fear – but should it be feared?

Material losses can be incurred by businesses where a fear of failure is prevalent. This fear seeds a blame culture leading to denial, no ownership, and a lack of oversight and accountability. Failures may well be hidden where fear is prevalent, and losses escalated rather than mitigated.

There can be no learnings where fear exists as no one will want to be associated with or recall the project nor its lessons.

So what attitude should a business seek to develop when it comes to failure. Well, there are, I believe, two aspects:

  • We are an innovative and growing business, so experimentation is part of who we must be.
  • Failures will occur and will be acknowledged with humility, acceptance and learning.

 

Honestly, doesn’t something only become a failure if you abandon all the learnings and hope for the future? The attitude you create and sustain in your business must uphold the right attitude towards failure. And do not allow failure to become a political tool within the business.

 

How leaders should handle failure

The way leaders act with respect to failure will set the role model for everyone else in the business to follow. Failure is a test of and testament to the character of leaders. How leaders handle their failures and those of fellow leaders and colleagues speaks volumes to their character and motive. You should listen carefully to what it says as it will identify the worthy leaders in your business.

Leaders will need to develop humility as a core character trait if they are to build a business that grows and can outcompete everyone else in their market. Humility is the character trait that allows you to listen and learn most effectively, and that is a trait you want in your business’s DNA.

The trait you do not want in your business is self-interest. Self-interest will undermine your individual and your business’s success. If you are always putting yourself first, then no one else will be uplifted, and that uplifting of others is essential for growth.

The right people, in the right places with the right attitude, is essential to the growth and enduring success of your business.

How your business views and approaches failure is a cornerstone to its ability to deliver greater value to your customers every day. Allow the wrong attitude to take hold, and your business will stagnate. Seed, feed and flourish the right attitude, and growth will never be an issue.

Richard Shrapnel is a business strategist, advisor and speaker. He is a Fellow of IML ANZ.

3 Points of View: How can leaders pause to focus on long-term strategy?

In a busy world, how can leaders ensure they are setting aside time to focus on creating their strategy? Three Chartered Managers share their thoughts.

 

Jillian Ritherdon CMgr FIMLJillian Cable CMgr FIML

CEO and Company Secretary, Venture Housing Company

 

As someone who survived a close encounter with terrorists; lost a step-son in a preventable incident; and whose mother died of cancer at a young age; I know that life can be both very short and extremely arbitrary. So, above all, do what inspires you. As a very wise mentor once said to me: “If you lead a life of purpose, your job will be an inspirational journey”.

My practical tips are:

  • Delegate day-to-day tasks. This frees up your time for strategic thinking, helps develop your people, and assists succession planning.
  • Slowly handwriting my ‘to do’ lists on paper and prioritising tasks embeds them in my mind and stimulates thoughts in a way that typing does not. I then set up alerts in my electronic diary. Freed from the fear of forgetting an important deadline, my mind can relax and contemplate the ‘helicopter view’.
  • Self-care is important. Some of my best ideas have come during a massage, riding a horse or whilst mowing the lawn! Sometimes the mind needs to be in a non-work zone for the strategy to emerge.

 

Carol Sutton CMgr FIMLCarol Sutton CMgr FIML

Director, On The Business

 

It all starts with preparation and intention. Make sure you understand what your long-term vision and goals are – and be crystal clear on how you will know when you have achieved them. Then be bold and begin. Just as you would never dream of waiting to start a journey until every traffic light en route was green, you should accept that there will never be a time when all the business conditions are perfect. So get started! (See CE Lindblom’s papers on Muddling Through and Still Muddling, Not Yet Through for a useful and enjoyable read on this subject.)

Periodically schedule time to check in on your progress and be smart about when you schedule that. I’m a big advocate for active procrastination. Accept that you won’t always be in the right frame of mind to tackle strategy – and don’t feel bad about that. If you struggle to focus on the written word during the afternoon, try and organise meetings or schedule phone calls during that time. (Eisenhower’s decision matrix offers a great rule of thumb for how to spend your time effectively.)

 

Michael Coe CMgr FIMLMichael Coe CMgr FIML

Support Services Manager, Maritime Saab Australia

 

Taking time for reflection can easily be pushed aside due to day-to-day demands. In my experience timing is the key. Ideas can sometimes come from the most unlikely sources and at random times. Capturing these ideas, whether relevant or not at the time, is key to successful planning. This includes process/organisational changes, business opportunities or any other puzzle pieces that contribute to strategic planning. In this way, the time spent on reflection for strategy has more meaning and content.

It is easy to set high-level plans that remain dormant afterwards because they are prepared for representation rather than genuine change. It is pointless attending planning meetings with a blank sheet because that’s unlikely to achieve productive outcomes.

Big picture planning is easier with content. It can sometimes be more effective using a ‘bottom up’ approach rather than ‘top down’. Laying out the opportunities and ideas can make the strategic pathways more apparent. This makes the eff ort spent on reflection and planning worthwhile – delivering real outcomes – and therefore encouraging us to commit our time to it, either individually or collectively.

This article originally appeared in the June 2019 print edition of Leadership Matters, IML ANZ’s quarterly magazine. For editorial suggestions and enquiries, please contact karyl.estrella@managersandleaders.com.au.