Leadership for the Real World – Your Personal Invitation to a Complimentary Information Session

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Hello 

As part of your 2011 membership provided by Total Executive, we occasionally have exclusive invitations to unique leadership workshops, forums and events...

The complimentary information sessions and networking options described below are hosted by Social Leadership Australia - created for leaders who are looking for new methods to work beyond the limitations of formal authority and create lasting solutions to entrenched problems...

If you are not in Sydney at these times, we recommend you invite your senior colleagues and peers.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards
Grant


Leaders need to see the real world - not the inside of a classroom.

Why would you send your best people into a refugee support centre,  public housing estate … or a remote Aboriginal community … or a prison to learn about leadership?

This is what Social Leadership Australia does with over 500 leaders from Government, NGOs and Top 500 companies each year and here's why:


“Extraordinary …a once in a lifetime experience … the most challenging and most valuable development experience I’ve had in my career.”
—Simon Terry,  General Manager, NAB
“Without a doubt the best post-graduate program that I’ve ever attended. I got enormous value out of my MBA but this was much deeper learning.”
—Rod Douglas, CEO, SuccesSystems


The Sydney Leadership Program.
Challenge yourself. Change your world
.

Join us for breakfast or evening drinks and hear Robbie Macpherson, Head of Social Leadership Australia, explain why a dynamic leadership program that combines the Adaptive Leadership model with teaching in the community is having a bigger impact than most other classroom based approaches.

If you are working with increasing complexity and change; if the toughest issue you face is actually beyond your four walls; if the projects you are driving require cultural shifts or changes to values and behavioural norms, then Sydney Leadership just may be one of the best professional development opportunities you have come across.

Download the Sydney Leadership information brochure HERE.

Join us for a complimentary breakfast or evening introductory session

Breakfast Session: Tuesday 6th September 7:30am to 9:00am
Stockland Learning Centre - Level 2, 133 Castlereagh St Sydney

OR;

Evening Session: Wednesday 21st September 6:30 to 8:00pm
The Benevolent Society - Level 1, 188 Oxford St Sydney

Bookings: Call (02) 9339 8057 Or, email Leadership@bensoc.org.au

It will be great to see you there.

Yours sincerely,
Robbie Macpherson
Head, Social Leadership Australia


Limited Bookings Available...

 

To book or invite one of your senior staff - simply reply to this email with your preference of breakfast or evening session, OR Email Social Leadership Australia HERE

To discuss involvement in future Total Executive programs please Contact Us


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Leadership and Boards of Directors - An Interview with John Vines

 Yesterday I met up with John Vines, Chairman of IBSA (Innovation and Business Skills Australia)

John is widely experienced on the boards of organisations and I asked what Responsible Leadership means to him.

John explained that responsible leadership means that organisations need to take into account every external environment and how their decisions make impact internally as well as externally.

Many boards of directors need to think more broadly.

This brings with it an implication...

Boards need to recognise multiple stakeholders...

 

  • Staff
  • Shareholders
  • Beneficiaries

Read the rest of this post »

Results of Responsible Leadership 2010 Live Conference of Leaders

RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP 2010 ONLINE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE RESULTS

Immortalise Thought & Help Create Leaders

Robert (Bob) H. Bloom
Retired US CEO Publicis Worldwide - Author The Inside Advantage and The New Experts

Chairman and MC

Bob chaired the online conference this morning Thursday November 11th 2010 with leaders attending from Australia and other global locations.

Attendants included Chairmen and Chair Women of some of Australia's premier organisations, CEO's and Managing Directors, Human Resource Directors, Sales and Marketing Directors, Owners and Founders of businesses, Consultants and Students - our future leaders already recognised for their experience before entering into employment...

Several Topics were covered as listed below.

We have provided a selection of the feedback provided by these leaders under each topic.

We are now looking for YOUR FEEDBACK on these topics - contributehere

Your feedback will be collected to join with all the research we have gathered to date to help produce...

The Global ROADMAP for Responsible Leadership into 2010 and beyond

So far we have had hundreds of executives complete our SURVEY and dozens of leaders have been interviewed about their thoughts on Responsible Leadership as shown HERE

We look forward to your support of this global initiative

(Please note: Attendant feedback on the inaugural Responsible Leadership conference is provided beneath this summary of leaders responses to the topics covered...)

Topic #1

Responsible Leadership is defined as…

Empowering others with guidance whilst helping them achieve the best they can be, encouraging moral and ethical conduct…

So they can guide and support others simultaneously...

What additions would you make to this definition in relation to the global marketplace?

Selected Responses:

  • Every form of leadership should be accountable. Responsible leadership should also be accountable!
  • Leadership whether responsible or otherwise will only work with a focus on the long term…
  • Empathy and emotion are a big part of this definition I believe
  • Accountability
  • for the advancement of all stakeholders
  • Social innovation should be included in the definition
  • encouraging is a nice word and probably appropriate, but if we are really responsible leaders we must ensure moral and ethical conduct in those we empower
  • Responsible leadership should be based on the ethics and values of our society as a whole, taking from knowledge we have via the not for profit and community services sectors and incorporating those values into how we run business and government.
  • A responsible Leadership definition should take account of the advantages of using all the best technology and communications available to us so we can best respond to the needs of customers, society, stakeholders and staff.
  • Responsible leadership considers all global communities as businesses extend globally
  • None.
  • The leader's vision casting must reflect and embody his ethical values.
  • Competitive advantage through responsible leadership is the way forward
  • Competitive advantage is not the most important element - society is! Particularly globally!
  • Competitive advantage needs to be presented as the benefit for businesses focussing on the long term - including society
  • I like the idea of empowerment of others
  • Another matter to be considered (particularly with respect to global communities) is how you establish how you define morals OR ethics; this deffinition presuposses a shared or agreed lnowledge and understanding of the term(s)
  • We need real leadership, governed by an agreed standard.
  • Being aware of the implications of my decisions as a leader for my business, relationships, staff and family members
  • Being across your business and taking forward your learnings and experiences to help all business and the market to move forwards.
  • Helping others in the community understand insights and key ideas for bettering the future
  • In relation to the Global Marketplace is tough! With so much hardship around the world and so much graft and corruption distorting any efforts to help the particularly needy - the only real solution is to concentrate on the 'ordered' societies and let the others succumb to revolution - where hopefully less corrupt regimes will emerge

Topic #2:

What are the key fundamentals of a responsible leader, ethically and on a philanthropic level?

  • Responsible leaders look long term
  • Ethically - work in the interests of all of those served: Shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. Subjugate personal interests
  • Caring for others - without caring for others their responsibility can be seen as shallow…
  • They come from heart first then head
  • Every responsible leader looks at what their business needs, customers, staff, stakeholders, society and develop a strategy that aligns with these needs
  • ethics are key for a responsible leader - they need integrity
  • It's OK to have ethics if you are accountable for your actions
  • I think gratitude is important and acknowleding your gratitude
  • Do unto others as they would do to you.... this saying holds true today as it has done so for many hundreds of years.
  • Take time to think before your act and assess likely outcomes from different perspectives.
  • Take into account how your decisions will affect and be taken by partners, staff, customers and others.
  • Another big question! Ethically, treat all of the persons he serves with dignity and fairness - and by this is meant - shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and governments. The highest urgency is for leaders to stop grubbing in the food trough and taking the maximum they possibly can from themselves. Philantrophy from commercial business is a nonsense - unfairly distributed - serving the interests of the philanthropist - this is the region of enlightened government - elected to serve their people
  • An observation on this issue; I have noted a high degree of volunteerism as a core value in many leaders I classify as responsible leaders
  • Supporting causes is great when you have the cash, though in-kind support is I beliueve the best way to support communities and NFPs so they can learn how to be more successful
  • humility
  • self awareness, balanced, doing the right thing for the right reasons at the right time even in the face of adversity
  • transparency
  • They dont offer leadership in or to businesses that prey on the weak. eg people in addiction
  • TRUSTED
  • Creating Consensus
  • Integrity - in mind body spirit
  • Adaptable to changing situations and circumstances
  • Can handle ambiguity - is not 'black and white'
  • Is analytical - can get to the core issue quickly
  • Astute people selection - does not seek clones but rather those who complement his / her skills and who won't be afraid to challenge
  • Balanced - has a life outside the office
  • Challenges the status quo
  • Clarity - can think and talk clearly, stays focussed
  • Is a willing and available coach / mentor to others
  • Shows commitment - to the business, the task in hand, the executive team and staff generally
  • A good communicator- both in one-to-one and group situations, as well as in writing - in substance and not just style
  • Competent in the role / level
  • Confident of his / her ability but keenly sensitive to the dangers of hubris
  • Has the courage of his / her convictions- particularly in troubled times, but is not foolhardy
  • Delegates - doesn't try to do everything him/herself, but expects accountability
  • Is clear on his / her direction - knows where they are heading and why, and how to get there
  • Has 'emotional intelligence' - can empathise and manage relationships with others
  • Is energetic - but knows when to slow down / switch off
  • Is engaging - and genuinely interested in people and their well-being
  • Minimises the casualties from his / her decisions 
  • Maintains focus on the strategic direction
  • Generates 'buy-in' from all parties
  • Humility - keeps feet on the ground
  • Has high standards of integrity - and insists on the same from others
  • Intellect - has a high level of intelligence
  • Exercises sound judgement - particularly under pressure
  • Knows the business and its operating environment well
  • Knows the questions to ask
  • Is a good listener, emotionally as well
  • Is numerate - can read and understand financial statements
  • Doesn't 'play games' or mess people around - ensures others do likewise
  • Is passionate - about life, the business, family, other interests
  • Has top grade people skills - encourages their input, values their opinions, develops their skills and is motivating, supportive, caring and constructively critical
  • Is perceptive - can read situations and other people well
  • Persists - when the going gets tough...
  • Is persuasive - without being bullying or dogmatic
  • Prioritises tasks - works on the important stuff
  • Is resilient - bounces back from setbacks
  • Is self-aware and self critical - knows his / her deficiencies and addresses them; can accept criticism from others
  • Has a healthy self-esteem - but does not believe he / she is infallible
  • Is strategic in thinking and outlook - but is also aware that successful implementation is what counts
  • Is a team player - not an autocrat, gives credit to others and seeks and values their opinions
  • Trusts others - but verifies what she or he is told
  • Is trusted by others - is honest in all dealings
  • Understands the 'value proposition' of the business
  • Is unwavering in the pursuit of his / her goals - but is aware of risks, monitors progress and is not afraid to change course when needed 
  • Has clearly developed and articulated values
  • Is visionary - can see the big picture and read future trends
  • Walks the talk - always
  • Is consistent and even-handed in behaviours and decisions
  • Watches the details - while delegating and not getting bogged down him / herself; well understands that inattention to the detail can bring them undone
  • Is not afraid to admit mistakes - learns from them and moves on
  • Has a degree of luck, even though it is true that we can make our own. Sometimes, just being in the right place at the right time does help!
  • builds other leadership roles replaces themselves effectivly

Topic #3:

What do you see as the key challenges for responsible leaders across commerce, communities and cultures?

  • communication
  • Developing strategy across global boundaries
  • managing and developing culture that shares the values we want to work with
  • continuing to be competitive as a small business givinf back to our community as larger competitors with more resources continue to screw our supply chain
  • People's general Intransigence
  • Differences in values, communication style and culture
  • Collaboration keeps being presenteds as the key but how do we collaborate without giving away secrets and our IP?
  • supply chains are the key to help manage communications
  • with a global organisation cultural differences play an important part in everything we do. The biggest challenge is having the right people to engage in the local commerce and community with specific skills that align with each culture we work in.
  • people harbouring lower level values and not letting go of them
  • proactively promote diversity
  • Cultures are dynamic and they change - creating challenges in how to keep on top of these dynamics
  • Greed
  • Different generations working together because their needs, wants and values are different
  • Scarcity mentality
  • Every time I hear the word global I think what is the future of small businesss. If we are looking at this topic globally, then looking at the concept as a reasonably small business owner I would suggest that every global organisation looks at how they work with these elements and challenges as if they were a small business in each area or country
  • Government regulations and big business thinking, stifling innovation and creativity
  • we need to empower those to own the issues and find the solutions in their own communities, we can show and guide them, however we cant do it for them
  • Be able to find the time.. don't rush into making decisions.
  • Also be prepared to make the decison and then implement it as soon as possible.
  • Be prepared to stand by your deciision, however unpopular. However, always assess the imlications and changes that may force a rethink and need for a new direction
  • Commerce - maintain the temp of economic development so that everyone is able to participate in the general wealth rather than an elitist few.
  • Communities - perhaps the community in greatest need is India. The challenge is the fair distribution of wealth and the abandonment of the absurdity of the caste system
  • Cultures - all must learn to produce the rounded man and woman. Such areas continue to be dominated by the elites

Topic #4:

How do you see technology and communication can help responsible leaders provide solutions to address these challenges – more effectively and efficiently?

  • think it's great how we can communicate in so many ways now
  • it already is in a BIG way - the internet is exposing lack of integrity in ways we have never seen before
  • Dont use email! It is defunct the future options with technology available now are so much better and you no longer get spammed
  • Part of being responsible is being secure as technology helps more with this all the better
  • totally re converged communications via ICT and the Internet allows for many gains in communmication AND allows a choice for what works best approach if it flexible
  • one of the best things technology has given me is management of knowledge - this same process should be used in all leadership discussions so we all can collaborate efficiently
  • Its now so much easier to reach your target group more quickly and more cheaply than ever before
  • Leaders can now address problems and issues almost immediately (i.e. video conferencing). This can prevent any challenges from becoming worse. In addition, any unethical deals will be exposed immediately - knowledge for the people
  • technology only works when it is adopted by everyone usually only about 15% of people are early adopters - great to haveit but realistically our business wont use it till it is at least a couple years old and tried and tested
  • We should always ask ourselves how we can use technolgy to help solve problems and improve situations
  • Has to allow for options and variety of comms modalities though and we need to be able to 'value' each choosen method appropriatly
  • how would I ever have learnt about how to collaborate with you without google
  • telecommuting is a good option to move work to people and enable work life balance
  • There is too much communication and hype! I am limiting all the ways people communicate with me only contact me directly if you have something worthwhile to say or I will not only not respond I won't even look at it
  • We are starting to employ more young people and they are doing great work if we didn't allow them to use all this technology available they wouldn't work with us. They know how to use it and are bringing in more new busness than we could have ever expected. Facebook was the start, though now they are really getting into linkein and understand how to use it - we are talking with clients we never imagined - use these skills is my recommendation
  • technology is the tool but the focus must be on people's own behaviour and ethics, skills training in responsibility or relationship management is more important than new communication technology
  • I'm looking forward to technology when I no longer need to type - it's almost there
  • but you need to be cautious so that excessive communication does not supplant time spent on strategic thinking
  • A mechanism responsible leaders to be aware of the variety of updates that need skill development into the future with so many options
  • By being more aware of what is happening elsewhere.
  • Technology and the internet helps us to know more of what is happening.
  • However, always note that what is provided by the internet has been determined by someone else. In the end, you have to find out for yourself.
  • Technology by taking the manhours from the production process
  • Communication by permitting all to understand the basic humanity that drives us all irrespective of religion and other quaint and archaic beliefs

Topic #5:

How do you recommend responsible leaders work collaboratively into our future?

  • Networks like linkedin are helping a lot
  • more conferences like this with leaders from government nfp's and business
  • What is the context here? If it is business it is a totally different response to if it is charities…
  • created opportunities for idea exchange
    even TED helps
  • Companies need to look beyond the IP they are protecting to how it can help others everywhere
  • Network events and breakfast meetings with key speakers are very useful for future collaboration.
  • Share knowledge with those who need it in developing countries to help them develop further
  • working in the innovation area, you will be surprised who could be your collaborators into the future - from industries you would never consider even contacting
  • peer support networks
  • Collaborative technology like we are using works well - if it was easier to login to I like how are sharing ideas here to help provide the start of something - could be using this style of collaboration in many areas
  • industry or sector specific leaders to combine service offerings and present them as a consolidated offering
  • If you look at the fashion industry there is no IP - they make millions by always being new - what other industries could learn from this?
  • If companies looked less at how to protect their IP and more about how to share it they would probably make more profit - instead of paying the legals
  • I find forums are also very useful, both in sharing information and ideas as well as simply keeping in touch with your marketplace.
  • nothing replaces a phone call and face to face meeting
  • At the moment of truth when faced with the key ethical and moral issues responsible leaders will benefit with collaboration from like minded leaders outside the organisation. Sharing the issue, confronting the issues/solutions together, dealing with it as a group movement creates momentum to do the right things faster and more often.
  • We need to encourage responsible leadership and discourage the cut-throat tactics still so common.
  • Educational programs and the online programs you are doing
  • Examples of leaders that have acted responsibly and that there modus operandi is the means for lasting impact. Mandela and Gandi stand out because their achievements have lasted.
  • Through the institutions established for the purpose - in particular, the United Nations. Stop the so-called 'Great Powers' from undermining it or making it serve their interests.

Topic #6:

What are the key business models and processes that will help responsible leaders achieve ethical results across education, government, industry sectors you work within and society?

  • Integrity is key.
  • The model should be comprehensive, catering for all who will be affected.
  • Every business model must respond to the needs of shareholders / stakeholders, customers, staff, society - responsible leadership should be no different
  • Social awareness, and the decision to take positive action.
  • more business leaders need to be attracted and partcipate in the political process
  • We need to think beyond our generation for this - to kids who are not even born yet - that will be the core of these models
  • The key to getting the right business model is building the right culture
  • we need to find a way to bring responsible leadership into government as it seems almsot non existent in the major parties
  • Consistency of application across the government departments, consistent standards across Australia's education suite
  • Always question the business model. An innovative business model and the associated processes will always be developing.
  • I think if a business model is to represent the creation of a responsible leader, then it should connect with everyone who will be impacted when it is put into place by the processes thast are adopted
  • Ethical results across education, government industry and society - nice thought - reality?
  • As a follow on from - We need to think beyond our generation for this - to kids who are not even born yet - that will be the core of these models - We often have to consider how we define what are the stakeholders sometimes say in the world of Internet I work in we need to consider this - NOT yet connected to it yet...
  • I work within the mining sector, ethical results have come a long way - safety is one of them. Given what we mine, society is a stretch. Ethically, I believe will only be considered if there is a profit in it for the long term.
  • the model must be the river than runs through the landscape
  • Primarily a resurgence of communism
  • Providing more leadership opportunities for women will ensure ethics and responsibility are more strongly considered in business models for our future
  • In terms of business leaders, Murdoch is an outstanding example of dedication and foresight. He may not be as responsible as the others, but he has an enuring legacy

Topic #7:

From your experience with responsible leaders, what do you see as their key attributes and values as:

    1. Individuals
    2. Leaders of their profession
    3. Contributors to family and friends
    4. Supporters of society
    • caring is at the core of all of these areas
    • Every responsible leader lives their lives with integrity
    • emotional intelligent
    • You grow up with values, responsible leaders live with these ethical values wherever they go
    • A belief in people instead of just money
    • Consistency is a key element of responsibility
    • excellent at listening
    • abundance thinking
    • the ability to challenge others with conviction comes to mind here - leaders are always ready to debate the status quo and turn it into something better
    • creative thinking
    • continual learning
    • Without a balance between life and work many leaders fail their responsibilities. I challenge that people should consider contributions to family and friends and weave into their life the responsibilities of work wherever possible
    • Foresight, persistence, an ability to respond quickly to changes, build teamwork and inspire others to work with them to achieve common goals
    • Like Bill Clinton: Insight, Intelligence, Reasoning, Empathy, Goal-orientation, Humanity
    • Think before you act, intelligence and knowledge of how organisations and groups work.
    • Understanding, perception, empathy
    • Aways note that we have a limited time to achieve things in this lifetime. So we need to think of what we can leave for our children and their children.
    • The pursuit of equality
    • conceptual and futuristic thinking
    • All responsible leaders I know support society through the charities and causes of their choice, some even create their own foundations. Support of society is at every level of community and we can all learn every time an individual supports a society cause of their choice, whether they are a ceo or anyone else
    • continuing forward against heavy resistence
    • People person, integrity, honesty, accountability, listen to others, take feedback positively, continual learning, work-life balance, willingness to share, willingness to coach
    • give first
    • High energy; clear honesty and integrityvery open accountable and transparant in ALL they do; good communicator and a charismatic "natural leader"
    • A strong set of personal ethical values. Ability to cast the vision for their organisation and convince the key stakeholders both internal and external to adopt and implement that vision.
    • speak their truth - always
    • honest reflection coupled with honest projection
    • they do thier homework
    • can the author of 'abundance thinking' comment on what this is??
    • Looking at professions, I think governance is key to a responsible leader. If they can be measured independently of their success, then they have achieved. Without governance and measurement their responsible leadership could be viewed as selft righteous discussion into the future
    • Looking at the consequences of actions and the ability to look at the long term effects
    • I forgot to add - commitment and focused
    • systems thinking
    • Willing to Take Risks
    • loving acceptance
    • Speak up and use an honest assessment of where they are at - younger group sometimes idealistic but inspiring
    • Having a belief in the people around them and not just the financial outcome.
    • they are responsible for everything that comes out of thier mouth
    • learning agility
    • No blaming or shaming (ie, Political parties dont have leaders)

    Topic #8:

    How can we improve education, training and coaching initiatives to further encourage responsible leadership?

    • It begins with mentoring
    • Depends on the industry, will be different for government in comparison to the education sector and business
    • Incorporate into our education systems the skills that people need in the workplace i.e. networking
    • open up soft skills training to the followers, makes the leaders job much easier
    • need to find concensus on a set of core values
    • Teaching ethics in schools? now there's a long overdue idea
    • school and community based practical programs to give real learning experiences where real world and learning sector meld
    • Agree about the different sectors, though the future of education must include more practical experience initiatives
    • Everyone is so busy or travelling these days, learning digitally is the way forward - we can connect with other thought leaders like here
    • There needs to be a shift in the entire approach of "big business" a more comprehensive approach.
    • All the personal research I do these days is online, extending this out across communities in underdeveloped countries is a key initiative for responsible leaders of our future
    • Make it mandatory for a personality profile assessment tool of some sort to be in the beginning of any leadership training for self awareness and identify those development opportunities
    • Restore the roles of: Ethics, Logic And intensify the teaching of the physical sciences. Forbid the teaching of religions or any philosophy inspired by 'personal revelations' - they have all blighted humanity
    • Government rebates are now available to make these costs neutral
    • Grasshopper, once you can… provide the intial steps then let every individual take their own path, with guidance
    • An open door will always provide the guidance we need
    • People learn ethics through life, in many situations they arrive in the workplace with their own beliefs, values, ethics - whatever you want to call them. Often these are sitting below the surface as people are not encouraged to speak their mind. As a leader you should be encouraging people to discuss their beliefs, by the watercooler or elsewhere so we can learn from them and they can learn more from us in a transparent discussion as we develop in life
    • Our business is not a corporate giant a healthy family business but what I would say is core values built up from the family gives you strenght in our business and no doubt in many others who want to build up their business and have it last nearly a hundred years Values are key to long life and they are taught one on one as well as in groups they are the core of family as well as business and whenever you have a problem think back to your family and what you would do
    • University education fees to be incentivised
    • we offer our services to schools packaged for school kids
    • When I did my degree I was paid to do it - now they cost tens of thousands???
    • If we can learn from our mistakes and share this across the emerging economies and up and coming generations that minght be a start.
    • get the greens into government :-)
    • training is on the political agenda in Australia, responsible leaders can take advantage of government rebates to increase skills of staff in cost neutral ways via registered training organisations
    • Put together practical training programs that teach not just ethics but empathy and understanding how communities work
    • Technology is changing - the role of leaders is to dialogue with education to ensure courses are current and relevant - renewing courses regularly
    • There has to be a massive mindset shift across the whole of society, that we are in constant competition for limited resources

    Topic #9:

    How can these responsible and ethical leadership concepts be incorporated into schools and our education system to ensure continuity through generations?

    • This is more the domain of families than schools
    • I think it is more important to look at this from a global perspective…
    • If I learnt what I did in business at school, I would have been able to help more people earlier
    • Every generation needs to learn to adapt differently
    • That is a big question, yes this needs to be started in the home, but continued through the education system
    • Yes but what about the students who don't benefit from learning at home? They need support! Schools should encourage these thoughts and in many ways they do, even from kindergarten where they tell positive stories with great ethical background through to highschool with projects designed to improve life on our planet. The future generation is learning to be more caring than ever before and we need to ensure this continues.
    • The key is to give more than you take - karma follows
    • I agree with the comment about kids who don't learn at home.
    • Our economic landscape is limited resources unlimited wants. Ie scarcity and competition. Whatever can shift this thinking at Gov and Bus levels will bring in an ethical world
    • The most valuable investment we can make is in the education of our future generations
    • integrating into some of the Future Schools and NAtional Partnership Program imitiatives (here in Aus) for example could get these leadership and ethics 'topics' into the lifelong learning agrnda early oin in formal education experiences AND need to recognise that in los SEScommunities you don't necisarrily have the expoerience or skills from the family environs
    • With our ageing population we need to consider lifelong learning - new skills as we grow older
    • Don't rely on the politicians!
    • National curriculum
    • It will also change if we can push the education across all facets of society, top to bottom.
    • Retirees can assist by contributing in workshops at schools re their life lessons.
    • the concepts must start at home, church and school use to help reinforce them, however, seems to be a BIG void
    • Rudolph Steiner has some good ideas. replicate him
    • Everything starts with individuals who want to make it happen. All innovation has been started by unresonable individulas. Find leaders who believe and they will find the ways for develop these projects.
    • Have political parties forsake their pursuit of the vote on the basis of the 'lowest common demoninator' Use logic as the basis - and demonstrate to their electorate that the biggest 'return' comes from doing so

    Topic #10:

    Which other subjects do you believe we should discuss relevant to responsible leadership into the future and who should we contact for further input?

    • I think we should look at more global issues - particularly poverty
    • Sustainability hasn't been a big topic of discussion here. What about global warming?
    • responsible leadership at the political level
    • You should start interviewing more global leaders from government and society who can make a difference like Obama, or Nelson Mandela
    • Sustainability in more ways than the environment.
    • knowledge management - how do we ensure it is passed on etc
    • can responsible leaders help to resolve conflicts peacefully?
    • Responsibilities of corporates needs to be assessed - not just GFC elements also companies like BP and other businesses working with hazardous matrials
    • Agree with (responsible leadership at the political level), until it gets into the party politics, there will be little change
    • how about the role back to some 'think global act local' approach find LOCAL heros from wherever we are but then aggregate and share what is learned freely and in an accesible form
    • The whole developing country issue needs re-assessment - as we continue to buy products that are essentially created using slave labour, what is the future of global society?
    • As discussed earlier there is the need for long term thinking rather than short termism - a problem in the West particularly with politicians and stockmarkets.
    • Protection wasn't even brought into this discussion! In Australia we appear relatively safe, though are we?
    • Have you thought of interviewing more scientific leaders on their thoughts for our future? Like Dr Suzuki?
    • This conference has been very interesting though opened more questions rather than providing answers - I look forward to you giving more answers into the future
    • Spirituality in leadership is a related topic in my view
    • Re that comment contact SLAM http://www.slam.net.au
    • Ways to encourage positive actions on the singular.
    • Help people within the organisation become active members of society instead of the 16 hour work day ethic.
    • Working to help society while also contributing to a profitable company.
    • Responsible leadership varies depending on the society and culture.
    • In middle eastern and asian countries, this would mean working wihtin the system. Don't rock the boat. Yet every society started with strong leaders (Mao, Mohammad, Genghis Khan) who changed perceptions and brought in new systems. In Western societies, we have a greater suspicion of government and the notion of group think. In other words, the subjects will depend on the level of understanding of students, the environment and societal expectations.
    • All cases, the purpose of responsible leadership is to take a long term perspective and note that decisons have lasting implications.
    • Select exclusively from the most intelligent and reasoning women - ignore men in leadership for several centuries. If not, humanity will destroy itself in nuclear annihilation. If you do not believe that refer to the history books and see how close we came in 1962 in Cuba and then only a short time later, under the same so-called 'enlightened man' John Kennedy in Laos
    • Many want smaller government, austerity measures are biting in many developed countries, who will pick up the slack and lead bigger private and not for profit sector... responsible leaders!!
    • Do more of these type of interactions and ensure outs are archived and easily accessed by others as well as remain open for building on and use by others Creative Commons use etc.,
    • Spiral dynamics is related
    • send the results to the polititions
    • Facts and evidence are needed to back up what is responsible leadership
    • Guide leaders to balance aggressive commercial actions coupled with aggressive responsibility. It can be achieved!!
    • and a spell check in this tool would be VERY much appreciated by the likes of me wioth all my typos ;-( -

    Wwell with that in consideration - NO SPELL CHECK! As independent thought all these comments have been relayed into this totalexec article publication - free of editing - they are free flowing independent anonymous and confidential thought...

    Why?

    So everyone who comments from now and add to this discussion are free to do the same!

    The White paper of The ROAD MAP to Responsible Leadership is where all comments will be polished in preparation for delivery to leaders internationally

     

    We look forward to your contributions before all information goes to our research department.

    Please contribute your thoughts on Responsible Leadership HERE


    The conference was then completed...

    Thank you very much for your contributions. We appreciate the knowledge and support you have provided...

    The Inaugural RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP 2010 conference

    You will receive our report and road map to the future...

    After the conference we encouraged everyone to support the cause of their choice. A selection of options recommended by responsible leadership contributors to date can be found here:

    www.TotalExec.com.au/kind-hearted-links/

    What was also interesting was the feedback after the conference - credit to Bob Bloom who is passionate on this area and Anne Hudson, CEO of Grouputer who managed the technology and is also highly passionate on the subject.

    Immediate feedback included...

    "Thanks for one of the most professionally run online conferences I have ever attended - very in touch with your subject"

    "That was one of the most enjoyable hours I have spent this week - Look forward to the future developments we discussed"

    "Thanks again, just re-iterating our conversation - what a fantastic knowledge base you have access to here - good luck with this project! we all need it"

    "Look forward to catching up and discussing those workshops we discussed..."

    "I have cc'd our HR director... ... thanks again"

    and the most common feedback from everyone...

    "Can I please have a copy of the presentation and discussion?"

    Above provides you the summarised discussion. Download the presentation and make further contributions HERE

    It is important to acknowledge that this project would never have happened without the in-kind support of all the individuals, associations, businesses, not for profits and enterprise recognised below. We really appreciating your help to launch The Responsible Leadership 2010 Inaugural Conference

    Thanks everyone
    Grant Crossley

    How Responsible Leadership works in the Talent and Recruitment Industry

    Today I met up with Paul Jury, General Manager - Australia and New Zealand for Talent2 Recruitment

    Paul has been a mentor for many years, so I was looking forward to his insight into Responsible Leadership.

    Image Source

    Paul began by explaining that responsible leadership is multi-dimensional and he thrives on the constant challenges of personally, professionally and organisationally getting it right and making a difference in all areas.

    Responsible leaders balance various components in business and in life. These include the people they are responsible for, their customers and clients, shareholders and stakeholders, their business / brand reputation and overall contribution to the broader community.

    What about responsible leadership at Talent2?

    “It’s a big challenge when you lead in a business that is growing fast and has rather large aspirations!!”

    That said, many have recently felt the frustration and pain of pulling back and managing for profit rather than pushing forward on our promise to be truly holistic on all aspects of the responsibility spectrum. 

    Whilst we always aimed to do more it is good to be back on script and building towards the main game of outstanding responsible leadership again.

    While we have always found ways on the CSR front, like our charity days programs we are really pleased to be working towards our Talent2 foundation which is sponsored by our CEO John Rawlinson.

    Every day, many groups and individuals in society require assistance with their careers, return-to-work challenges and other obstacles, so our staff are readily giving their time to share recruitment experience and careers advice.  There is nothing more rewarding than helping a candidate get that job!!

    At Talent2, the company culture around responsibility is moulded by an ethos that empowers the staff to:

    • Do  the right thing  
    • Be an advocate for what the business stands for
    • Be a custodian of the brand values and reputation 
    • Live and breathe our responsible leadership related policies and procedure
    • Create an ethical organisation

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    So how does responsible leadership work within the Recruitment industry?

    In the recruitment industry, the largest stakeholder groups are our staff, candidates, clients and contractors.

    In order to show respect, demonstrate responsibility and provide service excellence to these groups, we follow the code for Professional Conduct as set out by the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA).

    The RCSA is dedicated to improving regulation and legislation relating to employment and the workplace, and fostering ethical standards for the conduct of businesses within the industry.

    One of our General Managers, Laura Mabikafola, also a finalist at the 2009 Telstra Women’s Awards is a national board member of this association.

    I then asked Paul what he thought were the attributes and values of a responsible leader? Paul explained;

    When considering the attributes and values of a responsible leader, an area that has recently been on his mind is the importance of work / life balance as an enabler. 

    Responsible leaders all have a number of roles, responsibilities and obligations. Whilst often dominated by work, these include family, friends, peers and the community.

    A responsible leader's abilities to weave all these responsibilities together will contribute greatly towards true success as a leader.

    Some tips Paul shared included:

    >       Don’t separate work and life, just weave in together

    >       Identify own unique formulae for sustained energy

    >       Focus on the priorities that will make you successful

    >       Utilise resources and technology to manage workload and responsibilities

    >       Build in some pause to reflect…fuel the clarity of your vision for your business…and for your life!!

    Ideally, a starting point would be to schedule everything outside of work first, and then weave work in around it. While this may not be practical, keeping a balance and scheduling the right actions can be fundamental to living the life of a responsible leader!!

     

    Leadership, Intellectual Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence

    Leadership is not just about intellectual intelligence, it is about emotional intelligence and the ability to be empathetic, self aware and socially aware in leadership.

    Why should responsible leaders be adaptive in their style of leadership?

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    Because adaptive leadership provides fluidity to leadership. It links to wider society and puts this relationship to society above the bottom line. It recognises that the world is truly global and influences how we communicate with one another in everyday life. 

    As an Australian Leadership Awardee at the Future Summit 2009, Leigh appreciates the opportunities she has had to break into groups with alumni and discuss ways leadership can be more responsible - through adapting to change. During the Future Summit, fellow awardees shared experiences and learnt from one another. Adaptive leadership was resolved as the biggest and most prevalent method of leadership that will have impact into the future.

    In April this year, Leigh wound up the organisation she founded as a 24 year old - The Future Cambodia Fund - following soon after with her first baby. During her time with Future Cambodia Fund, Leigh was exposed to a cross section of leadership styles from all over the world, including men and women, young and old.

    Image Source

    When asked about the role of women as leaders in Australia, Leigh sees Australia as far behind some other countries in valuing the presence of women in leadership roles - potentially a big problem for a country who looks forward with a view to Responsible Leadership.

    Leigh believes women are generally more empathetic of the needs of society (a theme enunciated by many people interviewed for Responsible Leadership 2010 like Tara Cheesman - Director for CORNA here), a valuable attribute for a leader in any sector, enabling a well rounded style and approach to leadership. The truth is women are more empathetic. Emotional intelligence is more prevalent and in relation to the responsible business of change, in general women know better how to interact with an emotional conscience.

    "Australia sees and values female leaders differently", Leigh explains. "This is expressed through how they are paid through to positions they are given. It is telling that it has taken until 2010 for legislation to be passed that will see the introduction of 18 weeks government funded paid maternity leave in Australia, in stark contrast to places such as the UK, where new parents are paid for 52 weeks maternity leave, or Norway which offer 56 weeks." Leigh also points out that it was only in September this year that female directorship positions broke through the 10% mark (source: Australian Institute of Company Directors) - leaving another 40% of roles to be filled be women to achieve true parity. It does not make sense that we are only using the leadership skills of only 50% of the population.

    Coming from a not for profit background, Leigh has seen how charities and not for profits work on a professional level - including their levels of adaptive and innovative leadership. Leigh has seen society become more open to change and social enterprises are starting to create new and innovative connections between businesses and civil society.

    The process is moving slowly / slowly, though the gender change within the third sector has been remarkable, with many women heading up not for profits.

    In the field of social innovation, Leigh has worked with many upcoming male leaders who have a different attitude to leadership than those she came across when first starting out in the sector. Social initiatives are headed up by young, innovative thinkers who are just as often women as they are men.

    Leigh was previously a member of Rotary, where she was one of only four women in the club and was the youngest member by over 30 years. Most members were retired or approaching retirement and possessed a wealth of business knowledge and skills, however in many ways the organisation had become stagnant. Now Rotary is looking toward younger generations for new ideas and innovative ways to engage and adapt to a changing world.

    We live in a truly global society, we are not isolated in our communities, or countries, and life is going to become more and more global. 

    As members of a global community, we are responsible for the wellbeing of our fellow community members, and have an obligation to ensure we help and support one another, and don't impact others negatively. We need to remember that every action we take affects others around us.

    When it comes to who we should support in these endeavours to support our fellow beings, Leigh believes the future is looking at new ways forward, new ways of giving. She says charity is still important, and there will always be a place for it, but she strongly believes that the way forward is less reliance on aid and more attention to the idea of 'a hand up, not a hand out'.

    She says that donors need to ensure that their philanthropy is ethical, sustainable and effective. She urges donors to educate themselves of who they are giving to, what exactly it is used for and ensure it is effective. She believes that the key is education, and a focus on development through building knowledge. 

    One approach to sustainable giving is microfinance (http://www.grameenfoundation.org) - the gift that keeps on giving. Through microfinance, your donation can keep supporting those who need it, over and over again, multiplying the number of people beginning their own journey out of poverty.

    Consider these focuses...

    • Ethical aid
    • Sustainable aid
    • Educated giving

    These are how not for profits and charities can provide the best advantage.

    Keys to Successful Entrepreneurs - a Comparison of Western and Eastern Cultures

    Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Peter Church, Founder and Chairman of AFG Venture Group and author of Added Value - The life Stories of Indian Business Leaders.

    You can review the book review here

    My discussion with Peter was about leadership and success. Peter gave some interesting thoughts on the differences between leadership in Eastern and Western cultures.

    Peter is well connected with eastern societies. He has spent almost all of his career working and living in the Asian region as an international lawyer and corporate advisor.

    Now, with the AFG Venture Group Peter provides corporate advice across Australia, South East Asia and India, including special counsel to Blake Dawson, a leading Australian law firm.

    Peter was awarded an OAM for his services toward the promotion of Australian business in South-East Asia.

    I began with asking Peter what his personal interpretation of 'Responsible Leadership' entailed?

    Peter wanted to compare western and eastern entrepreneurs and the keys to success as entrepreneurs in relation to that subject of leadership.

    Peter explains, in Australia one may not need much of a  moral compass in how to act responsibly. However, in Asia it is much more important to have strong bearings on what is responsible or not.

    This is because in western cultures most of us grow up learning what is right and wrong at home, in school and through religion and the media, whereas in a number of developing countries children grow up with corruption all about them and thus it is much harder to develop that moral compass without much stronger guidance from parents and others. 

    The rise of  the importance of corporate governance  in the West is starting to have a positive  impact  in developing countries as  these Western businesses go global. And yet, in many developing countries the higher you are, the less likely you are to get in trouble for breaching the law or not behaving responsibly.

    Certainly most developing countries have laws or regulations which are as good as ours but the problem is enforcement.

    The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act  which I believe came into force in the 80's had a big impact on US businesses operating in countries where corruption was rampant.  The legislation acted outside the US and a US citizen could be found to be in breach, not just because he knew a practice in which he was involved was corrupt but because he ought to have known.

    This put US business at a disadvantage in winning contracts in countries where corrupt practices flourished and so over the years the US has put pressure on many countries, including Australia to follow their legislation.

    And in Peter's experience more and more Western businesses are requiring their executives working in countries where corruption is a part of life to adhere to the same levels of corporate governance as they would in the country of their home office.

    In his book Added Value, Peter interviews 30 of India's top business leaders. What he found their best attributes revolve around their perseverance and charisma.

    The level of competition in India is at a level most Australians could not begin to contemplate. So to rise to the top in such an environment requires in almost all cases exceptional talent, hard work, timing, perseverance and that mercurial quality of "luck". 

    One commonality of all the leaders Peter interviewed has been  that they all have shared  their success with the less fortunate.

    The Indian Government has little or no capacity to support the poor or infirm.

    And so, it has become the norm upon achieving a certain level of economic success for most successful Indian entrepreneurs to create and support their own charities.

    For example, Shahnaz Husain of ayervedic fame set up a school for the deaf and dumb to learn how to massage - silence being for most customers an important part of a good massage!

     

    Through Peter's book you can learn the secrets about the Leaders - their ups, downs and success that enable them to give back...

    Leaders interviewed are featured below:

     Raghav Bahl - Network 18

    Raghav Bahl, 48 years, is the Founder, Controlling Shareholder and Managing Director of Network 18. Raghav began his career as a management consultant with A.F. Ferguson & Co. followed by a stint with American Express Bank before he turned to his first love, media. Winner of the Sanskriti Award for Journalism in 1994, Raghav has over 22 years’ experience in television and journalism. He founded TV18 (now Network18 Group) in 1993.

     Rahul Bajaj
    Bajaj Group

    Rahul Bajaj is the Chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses in India. The Bajaj Group has diversified interests ranging from automobiles, home appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. Rahul Bajaj is one of India's most distinguished business leaders and internationally respected for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.

     Kishore Biyani
    Future Group

    Kishore Biyani is an entrepreneur who has been credited with changing the face of modern retailing in India, with the introduction of innovation designed discount hyper markets and forming the concept of destination malls.

    His company, Future Group operates 3 million square feet of retail space spread across 25 cities in India. He has been called India's own Sam Walton.

    Bloomberg Businessweek listed him among India's 50 Most Powerful People in 2009.[1]

     Subhash Chandra
    Essel Group/Zee TV 

    Subhash Chandra, the Chairman of the Essel Group, is among the leading lights of Indian industry. A self-made man, Chandra has consistently demonstrated his ability to identify new businesses and lead them on the path to success.

     Dr Anand Deshpande
    Persistent Systems 

    He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Computer Society of India (CSI) and the Young Presidents' Organisation (YPO). He currently serves on the executive committee of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA).

    Arun Firodia - Kinetic Group
     is a rare combination of a brilliant Engineer and an astute Businessman. He is the Chairman of Kinetic Group, India's leading manufacturers and exporters of two wheelers. A leading Industrialist, he is also a Social activist.

    Captain G. R. Gopinath (Kannadaಗೋರೂರು ಗೋಪಿನಾಥ ) is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and has served the Indian Army. He is considered the father of low cost air travel in India and launched India's first low cost airline, Air Deccan.

    To combat AIDS, YUSUF K. HAMIED insisted that supply meet demand.

    Shahnaz Husain, the pioneer and leader of herbal care in India, has achieved unprecedented international acclaim for her practical application of Ayurveda. With a burning desire to recapture an ancient heritage, Shahnaz Husain has taken India's Ayurvedic tradition to every corner of the globe. 

    Today, Bharat Forge is one of the two largest forging companies in the world, supplies engine parts to China and has manufacturing plants in India and Germany

    Mr. Habil Khorakiwala, the Chairman of Wockhardt Limited, founded the company in the early 1960s. Under his dynamic leadership, Wockhardt has emerged as a leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical company, driven by research and global strategies. Today, Wockhardt has an annual turnover of US$ 650 million, and a market capitalisation of over $ 1 billion. 

    Mr. Uday Kotak, B.Com, MMS (Masters in Management Studies), aged 50 years, is the Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Bank, and its principal founder and promoter. Mr. Kotak is an alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

    In 1985, when he was still in his early twenties, Mr Kotak thought of setting up a bank when private Indian banks were not even seen in the game.

    Harsh Mariwala
    Marico

    Harsh C. Mariwala leads Marico Limited (Marico) as its Chairman and Managing Director

    Over the last 3 decades, Harsh Mariwala has transformed a traditional commodity driven business into a leading Consumer Products & Services Company, in the Beauty and Wellness space

    Subash Menon
    Subex 

    Subash Menon founded Subex in 1992 and has been its CEO since inception. Under his stewardship, Subex has transformed from a Systems Integrator in the telecom hardware space to a leader in the telecom software space with a niche focus in revenue maximization. Subash charted Subex's growth from its humble origins as a one-man company to a global thought leader in the telecom software space

    NR Narayana Murthy
    Infosys 

    N. R. Narayana Murthy is the Founder-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, a global software consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. He founded Infosys in 1981. 

    Mr. Murthy articulated, designed and implemented the Global Delivery Model which has become the foundation for the huge success in IT services outsourcing from India. He has lead key corporate governance initiatives in India. He is an IT advisor to several Asian countries.

    Captain CP Krishnan Nair
    The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts 

    Capt. Nair (Chairman) pioneered the export of fabrics to the USA in the late 1950s with the “Bleeding Madras” fabric. He was the first in the organized sector to set up a unit to produce cotton laces in India with Scottish Collaboration in Leela Scottish Lace Private Limited. He was also instrumental in organizing the “Small Exporters’ Guild” which helped many small exporters. He promoted The Leela Kempinski Mumbai in 1986, The Leela Kempinski Goa in 1990 and The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore in 2001.

    Deepak Parekh
    HDFC

    Deepak Parekh stepped down as chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Limited, an Indian company providing home loans. A chartered accountant by profession, he started his career with Ernst and Ernst Management Consultancy Services in New York. 

    Deepak Puri
    Moser Baer India

    Deepak Puri provides strategic direction to the company. He is the driving force in creating an environment of integrity by ensuring fair business practices and profound respect for Intellectual Property Rights. It is his ceaseless quest for human capital development that has helped steer the company along a continuous growth path.

    AVS Raju
    Nagarjuna Construction Company 

    The company aims at achieving transparency, accountability and equity in all facets of its operations, and in all interactions with the stakeholders, including the shareholders, employees, government, lenders and other constituents while fulfilling the role of a responsible corporate representative committed to good corporate practices. The company is committed to achieve the good standards of corporate governance.

    Arun Bharat Ram
    SRF

    Mr Arun Bharat Ram, Chairman of SRF Limited is an alumnus of the University of Michigan, U.S.A. He set up SRF in 1970 as a manufacturer of nylon tyre cord, which over the years has not only diversified but has also acquired global leadership in most of its businesses. His strong support of initiatives of corporate governance, Total Quality Management and professionalisation of management led to SRF’s Industrial Synthetics Business winning the coveted global Deming Award in 2004.  

    CK Ranganathan
    CavinKare 

    C K Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of CavinKare, has shown the world it is possible to beat the multinationals even in the most difficult market of fast moving consumer goods.

    GM Rao
    GMR Group 

    A visionary businessman, G M Rao recognised the huge business potential in entering the infrastructure space, with the opening up of the power sector in the 90s in India. Under his guidance, the Group is now developing several power projects in various parts of India & abroad and is also expanding its presence globally. 

    Dr K Ravindranath
    Global Hospitals

    Global Hospitals was founded by Dr. K. Ravindranath, an internationally renowned Surgical Gastroenterologist and his associates in Hyderabad in 1998. Though Dr. Ravindranath had to wait a while for the passage of the Human Organs Transplantation Act before he could design and build Global Hospitals, it soon became a synonym for outstanding and compassionate health care.

    Dr Anji Reddy
    Dr Reddy's Laboratories

    Under Dr. Anji Reddy’s leadership, Dr. Reddy’s has become a pioneer and a trendsetter in the Indian Pharmaceutical industry. It turned the Indian bulk drug industry from import-dependent in the mid-80s to self-reliant in the mid-90s and, finally, into the export-oriented industry that it is today. Dr. Reddy’s was the first company to begin drug discovery research in India in 1993 and has led the industry in turning from ‘copycats’ into innovators. 

    GVK Reddy
    GVK Group

    GVK is a diversified business house. With a predominant focus on infrastructure - power, roads and urban infrastructure. The Company also have a significant position in services and manufacturing.

    Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
    Biocon 

    A successful technocrat of global standing, Ms. Shaw heads India’s leading Biotechnology enterprise, Biocon. She is highly respected in the corporate world and was recently named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Her pioneering efforts in biotechnology have drawn global recognition both for Indian Industry and Biocon.

    Shashi Kiran Shetty
    Allcargo Global Logistics

    In 1982 Mr Shetty set up TransIndia Freight Services to cater to liner shipping services.

    He has served as ex-trustee of Mumbai Port Trust and as the Vice-Chairman of the Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI). Mr. Shetty has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director since the inception of the Company.

    Vijaypat Singhania
    Raymond 

    When Dr. Vijaypat Singhania took over the reins of the company in 1980, he injected fresh vigour into Raymond, transforming it into a modern, industrial conglomerate.

    Vijaypat is famous for his 'Hot Air Travels' A keen aviator, Singhania holds the world record for highest altitude gained travelling in a hot air balloon, notably carried out at the age of 67[1].

    Professor MS Swaminathan
    The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation 

    Professor M S Swaminathan has been acclaimed by the TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century and one of the only three from India, the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. He has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as “the Father of Economic Ecology” and by Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General of the United Nations, as “a living legend who will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction”. He was Chairman of the UN Science Advisory Committee set up in 1980 to take follow-up action on the Vienna Plan of Action. 

     

    Added Value - The Life Stories of Indian Business Leaders

    by Peter Church

    This inspirational book combines invaluable advice with remarkable and candid inside stories of thirty Indian business leaders. Uncompromising vision, a willingness to take risks and exceptional business acumen enabled these leaders to add value to the business fabric of India.

    Through a series of interviews Peter Church details the paths they travelled, the obstacles they overcame and the important lessons they learnt along the way. Not only do these stories provide guidance to young entrepreneurs trying to decide whether and how to embark upon a business career, but they also provide valuable insights to those looking for tie-ups and investment in India.

    Enlightening and fascinating, Added Value celebrates larger-than-life ambition, inspired leadership, hard work and the twists and turns of fate.

    You can purchase 'Added Value' here

     

    Another directors report by Grant Crossley

    Adaptive Leadership and the Need for Reflection - Lindley Edwards - GMD - AFG Venture Group

    Adaptive Leadership and the Need for Reflection

    Several months ago Australia acquired a new Prime Minister.

    This was an extraordinary and unusual event for a first term government to depose an existing leader and elect a new one. The consistent reasons reported for this change of leader were the themes of a breakdown and a lack of confidence in leadership. The failure in leadership was not about any paucity of intelligence, or a deficiency in qualifications, or any immoral intentions, or an insufficient understanding of the challenges that needed to be dealt with. What was in limited supply were skills such as the ability to consult and listen; the willingness to seek and value broadly based experienced counsel; the capability to delegate and trust others; the aptitude to build a high performing team and the facility to create enough consensus to ensure that others were taken on a journey of change. There was no evidence of any reflective processes or incorporation of feedback mechanisms.

    I have been reflecting that one of our often innate and immediate leadership responses in a time of crisis or uncertainty or chaos is to try to concentrate power rather than devolve it. This is because our natural human response is to try to control and command the situation when we are dealing with complexity, a high degree of uncertainty and challenging environments. What we should be doing instead is having high visibility, devolving issues to the experts in our team and making ourselves the ‘glue’ that holds it all together that allows the best choices and decisions to be made.

    We can all learn from Kevin Rudd’s experiences and consider how we could become better leaders and what is that we need to personally do to develop and hone our leading skills. Wise leadership requires we expand our abilities to:

    • act with courage,

    • create, develop and use a team that is high performing that plays to individual strengths,

    • strengthen our individual character based skills – integrity, positive influencing, communication abilities, wisdom capacity

    • increase our communication abilities, and

    • improve our processes of listening, reviewing, modifying, valuing feedback and executing.

    When times are tough, the issues complex and the pressure feels relentless, it is important that we pay deep attention and part of this requires that we give ourselves time to reflect. One of the recurring themes that are highlighted about Kevin Rudd’s leadership was that he slept very little and didn’t have any personal space or time to consider the broader implications of what was unfolding.

    Recently I did a course which examined key concepts held by the ancient Greek philosophers (including Socrates, Plato and other different schools of thought). One of the most interesting insights I had was no matter what the philosophical underpinnings, the ancients emphasized that to create and foster wisdom requires daily ‘spiritual’ exercises that build fitness.

    The ancients saw that as fitness and daily exercises were required for the physical, they were also required for the ‘spiritual’. Spiritual exercises were not based in a religion or an ideology but were practices of reflecting, meditating, contemplating individual life impermanence, reading of texts, writing and engaging in robust discourse. All of this with the aim to facilitate the individual to interrogate reality, where appropriate challenge the status quo, question their own and group beliefs, thinking and motivations and act with wisdom.

    The Ancient Greek view of spirituality was that individuals must embrace their own humanity so that they could be the most fully human, alive, aware, and wise, living in harmony with others to their fullest capability.

    One of the best passages on the rationale for daily spiritual exercises quoted in book “Philosophy as a Way of Life” came from George Friedmann, who in 1942 wrote: “Take flight each day! At least for a moment, however brief, as long as it is intense. Every day a ‘spiritual exercise’, alone or in the company of a man who wishes to better himself….Leave ordinary time behind.

    Make an effort to rid yourself of your own passions…. Become eternal by surpassing yourself. This inner effort is necessary, this ambition, just. Many are those who are entirely absorbed in militant politics, in the preparation for the social revolution. Rare, very rare, are those who, in order to prepare for the revolution, wish to become worthy of it’.

    Here is a list of potential activities that can be used to create and build your menu of exercises to provide a means to reflect and assist our personal leadership journeys:

    • Writing, journaling

    • Relaxation, meditation and breath exercises

    • Imaginative and mindfulness exercises

    • Music – listening, chanting, playing instruments, singing

    • Story making/telling

    • Nature – connecting to nature through solitude, walking, reverence and living/being in nature • Painting, drawing, collage, image making – giving an opportunity for subconscious images to come forth

    • Art making in any medium or any form that we are drawn to

    • Poetry – reading, writing, reciting

    • Dream work – activating and working with dream images and stories

    • Sacred/Ancient texts – working with them in a deeply in ways outlined in this letter

    • Movement of the body – yoga, dance, walking or any physical exercise which facilitates and allows you to feel an expansion of connection

    • Intentions, Prayer and Blessings – not a necessarily a religious view of prayer, but one that suits you i.e. labyrinth walking, personal ritual, showing gratitude and creating intentions In my view adaptive and wise leadership requires a daily willingness and ability to broaden and deepen inner capacity and capability.

    Such capacity and capability (foundation or platform building) allows and facilitates wise holding (internally and externally) of conflict, confusion, uncertainty, fear, opposing views/ideologies/forces, chaos and complexity so that the wisest path can be navigated which will allow the best resolution or an elegant solution to be created. The benefit for such discipline and attention accrues to us as individuals as well as our organizations.

    Lindley Edwards July 2010

    About the author: Lindley Edwards is the Group Managing Director of AFG Venture Group (www.afgventuregroup.com) and its various subsidiaries. The Group undertakes corporate advisory work which involves merger, acquisition, divestments, strategic consulting, fund raising and licensing for its client base of public and private companies based in Australia and in Asia. AFG Venture Group has a full or representative office in nearly every Asean country. In addition AFG Venture Group also has a joint venture with Gemini Carbon, the UK carbon trading company.

    Learn more about Responsibility and Responsible Leadership and The Responsible Leadership Global Road Map project at www.TotalExec.com.au

     

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