“The Next Decade is About People”
At a recent meeting with senior leaders across the nuclear sector, a comment made in one of the presentations caught my attention:
“The next decade is about people.”
My mind was immediately transported back 30 years and I could see my then-CEO standing in front of me stating that the greatest asset this business had was its people.
“Command and Control”
The problem I had with these words was that they didn’t resonate with their actions.
There was no doubt my CEO was skilled in growing businesses and was driven by success. But their approach was very much “command and control”, and failure was deemed as a weakness. This style of leadership meant that you had to be adept at playing the game, not only for your own survival but also in order to protect your team.
I learned a lot from this CEO. They taught me how to be resilient, and my experiences helped me to become a better leader. I observed how people reacted in different circumstances, and I came to recognise that effective leadership required the trust of your team and the ability to show compassion. I also learned that you needed to have the courage of your convictions in order to ensure that your team was given the best possible environment in which to successfully accomplish a task.
My experiences also allowed me to clarify my own values and how important it was for me to stand up for what I believed in. There was, however, a price to pay from both a physical and a mental perspective. These impacts remain with me to this day.
Walking the Talk
So when I hear leaders talk today about how important people are to their organisation, you will begin to understand why I have a degree of cynicism and wonder what they are really saying. That cynicism remains until they demonstrate that they can:
- Create an environment where every voice is heard. Because an environment of trust and respect exists only when the good and the bad can be heard in a respectful and considered way.
- Demonstrate their compassion. In other words, they are able to show they are human and, like all of us, make mistakes and are able to acknowledge them.
- Allow their employees to be effective. Get rid of micromanaging, and trust people to do their jobs, even if it’s not exactly the way they would do it.
An Opportune Meeting
From experience, I know leadership can be a lonely place where difficult decisions must be made that will impact the livelihood of those you are responsible for. For me, the true test of leadership skills is how a leader behaves when they are operating in tough environments where the pressure is on.
Having stepped off the commercial merry-go-round 11-years ago, I was fortunate enough in 2017 to meet Lucy Harrison. Lucy’s views on leadership, and how she lives out her views, has not only challenged my approach to leadership but allowed me to refine my own leadership style too. Like Lucy, I share a passion for developing people across all levels within an organisation. I am particularly passionate that those who are at the beginning of their career – who are tomorrow’s leaders – are allowed to flourish and learn, often through their mistakes. We both recognise that thriving people are crucial to an organisation’s success and, yes, that they must be held accountable for their actions.
But there is something else Lucy has taught me. She is a leader who acknowledges she doesn’t have all the answers. To find those answers, she listens, not only to her team, but to fellow leaders who inspire her.
These are leaders who inspire people to follow even when the risks appear high. They can connect with people at all levels within an organisation. They recognise the value each person brings; they trust them to perform and hold them to account when they don’t.
To put it another way, I have learned the hard way that good leaders are individuals who:
- Allow their human side to show and, in doing so, are able to build relationships and inspire their staff. They know when to hold their tongue and listen, irrespective of who is talking to them.
- Are authentic in the way they do business; their values are reflected in their approach with people. In other words, they walk the talk.
- Are courageous and recognise that their courage can inspire others to look for solutions to the many problems we face, even if that means failing (safely) at times.
- Are effective in changing organisations and their behaviours and ultimately allowing every individual to thrive.
A New Chapter
I was asked to write this blog because by Christmas this chapter of my career will have come to an end and a new one called retirement begins. I begin this new chapter excited by the young new leaders I have had the privilege of meeting. You only have to look at British Energy Coast Business Cluster’s shadow board to see their passion, their excitement, and the skills they have already developed. Over the coming years they will need more leaders like Lucy who are strong enough to show their humanity, their authenticity and their courage so they learn from them and develop their own leadership styles.
If only I had met someone like Lucy at their age….
That doesn’t mean to say I will put my feet up entirely but, for now, I’m looking forward to spending more quality time with my family.
Author: Mark Hurley, Programme & Operations Lead
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