Leadership - Paul Geddes, Roisin Donnelly and Chris Jansen

3 P&G alumni - a FTSE CEO, a Non-Executive Director and a Private CEO offer their perspectives

Paul Geddes, Direct Line CEO

“Being a leader is about choosing the “state” and “culture” of the organisation and the part they play in it.”

There are several important words in this simple sentence. First is “choosing”. Every CEO has a “boss” in the form of a Chairman and Investors, and inevitably will be buffeted by competition, the market, and the media. A weak leader will allow these factors to get straight through to the organisation and as a result, if things aren’t going well, panic will set in and be difficult to expel. A strong leader is a fire break or shock absorber - choosing the most productive state for his or her organisation to be in. Clearly, there are potential dangers here - a troubled business needs to understand the truth of their situation rather than be deluded. Leaders must provide some constancy of state to prevent the organisation bouncing up and down with their mood and the external factors they face. That’s because the whole organisation follows their lead.

By “state” I mean whether the organisation is feeling offensive or defensive, innovative and risk taking or safe and delivery focused, short term or long term, cost or growth focused, relaxed and confident or wired and anxious. This “state” should fit the business situation and it is crucial that the leader chooses the right one, even if that isn’t how they are personally feeling that day. That may mean making the business more anxious by highlighting future risks or potential new competitors if they smell complacency. Similarly, an organisation may need a dose of confidence to withstand a tough period, reminding everyone of their past victories and inherent advantages. A bad leader imposes their preferred style but a great leader will choose the culture they want to build that fits the business situation and market they are in.

ROISIN Donnelly, Just Eat Non-Executive Director

“Extraordinary leaders care about their people”

At the heart of extraordinary leadership is having a purpose that inspires the whole organisation, customers and stakeholders.

The foundation of extraordinary leadership is brilliant strategic thinking based on the combination of analysis and intuition. Extraordinary leaders are curious and have strong insight and foresight. They seek to understand, asking the right questions and listening to the answers.

Extraordinary leaders inspire people to work on their team. They recruit the best people to complement their own strengths and weaknesses. They coach and develop their people to make them even better. They respect others and listen to them building a diverse and inclusive team.

Extraordinary leaders care about their people. They know them by name and treat everyone as an individual. They are open and approachable.

Extraordinary leaders have the courage to admit when they are wrong and have the humility to admit what they do not know.

Chris Jansen, Cognita Schools CEO

“It’s easier to think that you have to fix the problem rather than building a solution to make sure it won’t happen again”

Leadership can be thought of around 4 key themes:

Conviction - You have to really believe in what you are doing and believe in the company that you work for.

Compassion – When leading people they get a sense of who you are and your actions will tell more about you as a person than as a leader.

Courage – You can have ambition but you also need to do what is right.

Collaboration – The biggest successes are down to lots of people working together. Everyone has to lean on each other.

It’s easier to think that you have to fix the problem rather than building a solution to make sure it won’t happen again. It is essential to build capability instead of fixing problems, choosing more often not to react in the moment and using a better work life balance to maintain a sense of perspective.