Hamish Gordon, managing director of Natural Sugars (New Zealand) and Pure Bottling, says his concept of leadership has changed.
"I used to think leadership was about spending more hours in the office than anyone else but now when I look at the big picture it's about 'less is more'," he says.
"Family is important, as is exercise, and if you have that balance then you're stronger in more challenging times and a hell of a lot more efficient.
"I have the clearest head when I'm out of the office and I find people solve more issues themselves when I'm not there."
Gordon recently graduated from the Owner Manager Programme through business growth centre the Icehouse and says a key leadership lesson he learned was about working on the business, not in it.
"From a leadership point of view I needed to empower my staff and give them total ownership of their jobs."
Carolyn Ferrall is CEO of specialist awning firm Total Cover, part of the foundation Lead to Succeed programme run by the High Performance Centre and Kiwibank.
Ferrall says a highlight of the six-month programme was a coaching course that gave her a greater belief in her own leadership style.
"It has also helped me think about how I can adapt that to my team members.
"We did one-on-one coaching with team members alongside strategic planning [as part of the programme], which helped us make work and personal goals for people.
"It was full-on, but I ended up with a new belief in my team. Everything works so much better once you have engagement."
Carolyn Ferrall, Total Cover
Carolyn Ferral is CEO of Auckland-based specialist awning firm Total Cover.
Why and how did you get involved in Lead to Succeed?
We were approached by our bank to be a candidate and thought it sounded exciting. It started towards the end of last year and it was a whirlwind six months but we made massive changes. It began with an assessment of our business, using the best-practice framework of the Investors in People accreditation.
Then an action plan was made that needed to be completed in six months to get accreditation. They put together a 14-week training course that included a coaching course for me and another team member, and business-growth modules that covered such areas as strategy, teamwork, business planning and goal setting. We had the support of a business mentor throughout.
How did the process develop you as a leader?
I sometimes didn't feel fully in control of my own business. So it gave me the skills to take back the leadership and to become present and fully engaged again. I'm a female leader in a male-dominated business and the experience also gave me real belief in myself and helped me become a better listener.
What aspects of the programme helped you get those capabilities?
The coaching aspect was fantastic - that was a highlight for me. You learn about coaching your team, but a big part of that is about learning about personality styles and looking deep into yourself to understand your own leadership style. I learned I was good at what I did and it gave me skills to become better.
Has it increased your capacity as a leader?
We're a small business with a team of 10, so I still wear many hats, but the team has become empowered. They take on more responsibility and have input into our decision-making, which leads them more naturally to take ownership of what they need to do - and that gives me more capacity.
What plans do you have for developing your leadership?
I work alongside a business coach, so I am having ongoing self-development as a leader and I'll keep up my personal goal setting that I learned through the programme. There's a quote I like from Jim Rohn that says: "To have more I have to become more". I think I'm going to always be open to new opportunities because once you open yourself up things come your way.
• totalcover.co.nz
