Thomas J. Watson

Leadership – What and Why

In 2001, the top 100 Companies in Australia invested $200 million per annum paying their CEOs, 38% more than the previous year and on average, 67 times the Federal Minimum Wage(1). The shelves of business bookshops overflow with leadership titles, and academic research abounds. Organisations accept that leadership is important and worth paying for.

Is this awareness making a difference? Are the highly skilled leaders of today’s organisations more effective? Are the organisations they are building able to cope with the changing environments they face? Do these highly skilled and well paid leaders inspire you?

Consider these questions with respect to AC’s identified characteristics of sustainable and effective leadership.

Since 1987 AC has been helping organisations to develop leadership character and leadership skill. If you’ve found that developing leadership skill in isolation does not deliver the change your business needs, you’re not alone. If you’ve found that being the highest bidder in “the war for talent” isn’t sustainable, you’re not alone. If you thought that leadership character could not be developed, you’re not alone. However, AC has proved through many of their course participants that leadership character can indeed be developed.

AC can quantitatively measure the leadership character in your organisation, and we have a demonstrated track record in helping organisations increase it. Organisations who offer their leaders this development opportunity “side-step” the “war for talent,” they attract the leaders of the future, they retain them for longer, and their investment is comparably small.

(1) Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Executive Salaries – Separating Fact From Fiction

Leadership – How

1. Understand Why the Leadership & Management needs development The context in which the Leadership & Management operates The organisation’s culture, product, service and industry	2. Measure AC will tailor the measurement to meet your needs and leverage existing metrics. In this phase we will agree targeted changes to organisational KPIs and where appropriate Conduct a 360 degree feedback measurement of current leadership character, leadership skills and effectiveness, using Life Styles Inventory (LSI 1&2) and Management Effectiveness Profile System (MEPS). Benchmark against a database of 35,000 other leaders in Australia and NZ, and against leaders in like industries
4. Coach AC coach the individuals, the team and the project linkers. AC will tailor our coaching to achieve the targeted KPIs. AC SMART Action Plan Review to provide rigor, clarity and cohesiveness AC 1-2-1 Coaching which supports your leaders’ change efforts with objective progress review, facilitated issue resolution, skill development and insights into individual values, principles, thinking and behaviour AC Leadership Team Coaching to proactively identify team blind spots and provide objective feedback as the team develops AC Project linkers Coaching to assist the completion of projects that had been decided on at the workshops	3. Workshop AC Engagement and Planning andAC Development Workshops. Based on AC’s 3 Stage Template, AC will tailor our service to develop the individuals and teams to achieve the targeted KPIs. Feedback results Ensure the Leadership team’s foundations are in place, review progress and issues Understand current character and skills Develop and explore more constructive character Develop skills from the Blue Tool Box© Strategise and develop individual and/or team SMART action plans to improve effectiveness Facilitated issue resolution Gain commitment to change
5. Re-measure Benchmark against targeted organisational KPIs Establish return on investment (ROI)

Leadership – Case Studies

• Yum! Restaurants International
• Adshel Street Furniture
• Kennards - Taking Leadership to the Extreme