Leadership has never been a straightforward task. However, in today’s rapidly changing business landscape, senior leaders are facing increasingly complex challenges, rising pressure and shrinking margin for error, making the lessons of experience more valuable than ever.
With this in mind, we asked a selection of seasoned Criticaleye Board Mentors what advice they would offer their former selves at the outset of their careers. Key themes include the value of life-long learning, mentoring, open dialogue and regular feedback.
Here’s what they had to say:
Sheila Khama, Non-executive Director, Base Resources and Board Mentor, Criticaleye
When you start off as a young person in a position of leadership, you primarily think about technical skills and less about people skills. The work environment is unique; it serves both as a platform on which you operate, but also where you learn the things that can't possibly be learnt in the classroom, like how to manage people, both as colleagues and external stakeholders. At the intersection of all that is our ability to bring technical and people skills together to achieve business goals.
My interpersonal skills were the area that I struggled with most. I took the view that everybody is good and if you ask them a question, they're going to answer you honestly. But often, people freeze, and the burden is on you to draw them out, so this was an area of my leadership skills that I had to work on.
A huge part of my earlier work in the corporate sector was just internal and not outward-looking, but as you grow in leadership, you invariably become more visible. Being in the public domain and separating my person from the corporate brand was something I had to learn, and this is not as easy as it sounds because, on the one hand, your person must exude the brand, but you cannot confuse your private person for the company either.
When I reflect on my earlier years, my approach has not changed. Quite simply, my understanding of good leadership is that you lead yourself. It's inconceivable that you can lead others without leading yourself. And leading yourself means that you are always grounded in your own personal values.
Ed Jones, Board Trustee Director, NOW: Pensions and Board Mentor, Criticaleye
Whilst the situational challenges leaders face are different today and the pace of change is faster, I don’t think the biggest leadership opportunity has changed at all. It’s still about people. I would want my younger self to recognise that development is much faster and easier if you seek support from others and many people are happy to give great advice freely and openly.
I have suffered from imposter syndrome, and ... my biggest challenge involved the ability to translate strategy into reality, and that was all about leading people and talent development. I have always been hungry to develop and curious to learn. I was lucky to work alongside a very capable HR leader, who became my leadership mentor and used a great combination of support and challenge. I also received support from other business mentors and external coaches. I now believe that leaders are made not born, so anything is possible.
I went through some tough strategic and operational challenges over a period of time, and when I led transformation programmes, there was always at least one moment in every programme where I didn’t know what to do next or how we would achieve the promised outcomes. I would advise my younger self to recognise that I would and should continue to grow my leadership skills throughout my life.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote reflects this advice: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” It’s a marathon, not a sprint and I’m still learning now!
Catriona Schmolke, Chair, Artus and Board Mentor, Criticaleye
My view has not changed over four decades, and I believe we should hold leaders to account. I worry that some people are pushed or reach leadership roles before they are ready and struggle to make the impact they so desperately want to make. My advice would be to engage a business mentor to help ... navigate pitfalls and rapidly grow into the role.
There is a balance to be struck in spending your time focused on the strategic priorities as opposed to the tactical ones. Having a 90-day plan and communicating that to all stakeholders will help set expectations on what you will be focused on and keep you on an agreed path.
I undertook a number of self-development courses and self-reflection ... and I engaged in several psychometric analyses to understand my leadership style and understand the areas I needed to be more conscious of to be the leader I wanted to be. I believe that leadership is a team sport, so the best advice would be to keep communication channels open to a diverse group of perspectives.
I actively sought feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders about my style and worked hard to understand what more I could do for people. The modern leader needs to be listening and adapting to a broad stakeholder group and be ready to explain decisions that some may disagree with. Think about the legacy you want to leave as a leader and use it as your moral compass.
Ana Dutra, Independent Board Director, Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Board Mentor, Criticaleye
One bit of advice that I would give to my younger self, as an aspiring executive, CEO or Board member, is: before jumping into any opportunity, follow your instincts. Sometimes, our egos get in the way of turning something down because the first time you receive an offer to be a CEO, or the first time you have the possibility of serving in a large-cap listed company … you want to belong to those clubs. Sometimes, that desire clouds judgment and makes us ignore certain red flags, warning signals or even our gut feeling.
I've been in leadership positions for over 30 years now, but I never stop learning, reflecting and developing myself. I do this in various ways, such as … receiving 360-degree feedback. That helps to raise your self-awareness and understanding of how others experience you.
Another way is through general leadership development programmes. I teach on several of those but also make the point of taking on a certification every year. Whether it is audit trends, cybersecurity, climate leadership or enterprise risk management, I'm a lifelong learner, and that's something that I would advise anybody who's starting any career. You never know enough.
I think that good leadership is a dance. It's the balance between being confident, assertive, and prescriptive, as well as always being open to other perspectives and incorporating more data into your decision-making. Most importantly, leadership is about empowering others and letting them take accountability to run with the execution of the strategy.
Great leaders leave behind a legacy of inspiration, development and impact on others. If I have somebody say, 'Wow, because of that person, I am a better leader, or they helped me to develop into who I am as a leader, as a Board director, as a human being', that is good leadership for me.
Emily Jones, Senior Editor, Criticaleye
