The Blinkered Boss: The impact on management behaviour of the shift to virtual working
AUGUST 2021
Virtual working has become the norm for most organisations since March 2020, and it brings well-recognised challenges. However, we know little about the impact of virtual working on managerial behaviour. Julian Birkinshaw, a Professor at the highly regarded London Business School, has recently addressed this subject. Rather than simply ask people for their opinions about what’s changed, Julian provides systematic data collected before and during the pandemic, to help identify areas where significant differences in behaviour could be observed. It shows how managers are more blinkered: turning inward, becoming task-focused at the expense of relationship-building, while also finding few opportunities to develop new skills. His work offers practical suggestions for how the evolution of managerial work might be accelerated, so that leaders can be more effective in this changing environment.
Professor Birkinshaw will also address another area of his recent research to be published in the Harvard Business Review. His article – titled the myths of disruption - argues that while the common mantra is that most industries will be significantly disrupted by new technology the reality is much more complex and nuanced. In this intentionally provocative thesis, Professor Birkinshaw argues that a “full-on” disruption scenario is unlikely, speed is not everything, and that tightly controlled top-down leadership best copes with threats that do emerge.
Workplace vaccination issues
AUGUST 2021
The question of mandating a vaccinated workforce is arguably the key emerging OH&S and business continuity issue facing business. The Fair Work Ombudsman is changing its advice that employers are “overwhelmingly” unable to mandate vaccination and introducing a tiered system (see below) which allows for compulsory vaccination in some sectors. However, this is advice only - the legal threshold of “reasonableness” remains and discrimination law still applies. Moreover, many businesses will have employees that straddle multiple tiers. For the past 12 months, business has been calling on government to provide greater clarity, but it appears it will be up to individual organisations in most sectors to navigate the grey areas between OH&S obligations and discrimination/unfair dismissal legislation. The national cabinet has indicated that neither federal or state law will be introduced to provide cover for mandatory vaccination programs. So given the current framework, how can businesses best mitigate risk while navigating the legal, ethical and practical issues? In this session, we were joined by leading employment and workplace relations lawyer Andrew Farr from PWC Legal, who outlined your legal rights and responsibilities and how various sectors are addressing this complex set of issues. Much of the session was set aside for questions to explore the particular issues members are facing.
Emerging from Covid: The economic outlook for Australia
FEBRUARY 2021
RBA Governor Phillip Lowe opened his commentary at the National Press Club in early February by outlining how much the world had changed in the twelve months since his last address: a pandemic, the biggest contraction in output in generations, the closure of Australian borders, a very large fiscal stimulus, near zero interest rates and quantitative easing. And as he went on to note - none of it was predicted! It perhaps follows that forecasting the year ahead is problematic. Nonetheless, it is the job of economists to forecast and Lowe is cautiously optimistic - expecting GDP growth of more than 3% this year and next. However, the RBA Governor raised some concerns about the outlook, given anaemic wages growth, low levels of business investment and the continuing impact of border closures on key sectors and population growth. For his take on the year ahead, we’ll be joined by NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster, who has proven to be one of Australia’s most insightful commentators. In this session, he’ll share the analysis, forecasts and key trends developed by the NAB’s highly regarded economic research unit.
Resetting Corporate Culture
OCTOBER 2020
Six months of remote working has stress tested even the strongest of corporate cultures. The lack of physical interaction in a time of crisis has seen some cultures fray and relationships strain. So how do you reset, reinvigorate and nurture corporate culture in a more remote and more flexible world of work? And is your culture still fit for purpose – on the most basic measure – will it help deliver on your corporate strategy? Carolyn Taylor, based in the Americas working for organisations across the world, is a leading global authority on corporate culture transformation, CEO of Walking the Talk and author of the ground-breaking book by the same name. In this session Carolyn shared some of the early changes she’s seeing in corporate culture among her clients in the US and Europe, including the new cultural features supporting remote and flexible work – and their impact on leadership, behaviours and outcomes.
Innovation & Growth
OCTOBER 2020
We have provided a 20 minute recorded Zoom interview with Jonathan Ling on the theme of innovation and growth as an aide to encourage discussion on perhaps the most important issue facing organisations at this time, and in that sense it is designed to complement the below report.
Jonathan, a member of CLN, is the Chairman of Pro Pac Packaging, a board member of PACT, and chair of Planet Innovation (a largely services firm operating in the health-tech innovation and commercialisation area). He was previously the CEO of GUD, where he drove a very highly regarded innovation program, and before that for 6 years was the global CEO of Fletcher Building, NZ’s second largest organisation (he previously led a Fletcher division, Laminex, and before that was CEO of Nylex and Visy Recycling).
The Next Steps: Building conversations around growth
by Mike Riddiford
OCTOBER 2020
Planning for and pursuing growth is always a fundamental responsibility for CEOs, boards and senior managers. This perennial pursuit, however, will now take place in a business environment dramatically reshaped by the COVID-19 crisis. With any crisis, of course, also comes opportunity: organisations that can best understand and navigate the new business landscape will reap the greatest rewards.
Based on in-depth interviews with a number of senior business leaders (Chairmen/CEOs) in a range of industries, as well as a number of email survey responses, this paper has two main objectives: (1) identify the most important COVID-19 -related changes to the business environment; and (2) given that environment, identify what are the most important questions CEOs should be asking of both themselves and their leadership team about how to pursue growth. Hopefully the questions identified can serve as a useful checklist for CEOs and board members as they plan for growth in the very different world 2020 has created.
How has Covid-19 reshaped the mind and mood of Australia?
08 SEPTEMBER, 2020
In this session with Rebecca Huntley, Principal of Vox Populi Research, we explored what this crisis has revealed about Australian society, and how the community will likely change attitudes and behaviours. Will elevated levels of trust in institutions endure? What are the implications for corporate reputation and the demands on business leaders in their interactions with staff, customers and other stakeholders? And have we shifted expectations on pressing issues (such as climate change) given the economic imperative, or will government be expected to “walk and chew gum”? Rebecca Huntley is one of Australia’s foremost social researchers and experts on social trends and is the author of numerous books including Still Lucky, The World According to Y and her latest work – How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference.
Reaching the consumer post COVID
04 August, 2020
How will the consumer behave post-COVID? What impact will structural market changes and the COVID recession have on consumer psychology and expectations? In this session, Professor Emeritus, Niraj Dawar (Ivey Business School) analyses the platform architecture that is shaping the consumer economy, and provides insights into the power imbalance emerging and accelerating between established brands and the platforms that “own” consumers and their data.
Career transition, the CEO experience
by Mike Riddiford
April 2020
Finding a new professional role – either after an involuntary redundancy or voluntary resignation – can pose profound professional and personal challenges for even the most seasoned senior executive. Searching for a role often means embarking on a journey of indeterminate duration to an unknown destination: something that can produce anxiety in the most resilient of personalities. The nature of the search process itself also throws up a series of more practical questions: how much time do I allocate to job search activities, who can assist me, and how (short of landing a desired role) do I know that my search process is an effective one?
Moreover, and in stark contrast to the collegiate working environment executives typically enjoy, a search for a new role is a very personal (and at times lonely) journey.
The intent of this report is simple: to learn from the experiences of others who have been through, or are still going through, that same journey. It is hoped the report will assist executives actively searching for new roles today, and for those executives not currently searching for their next role, to stimulate deeper thinking about their own career trajectory and possibilities. Career paths and expectations can change quickly, so some forethought and planning can go a long way in assisting your next transition. And that transition may, given the contingencies that rule our professional and personal lives, be closer than many of us imagine.
Inclusive Leadership & “Which two heads are better than one?”
by Juliet Bourke
Juliet Bourke’s article on inclusive leadership is one of the most highly rated articles on HBR online in 2019 and for good reason. Rigorous research elevates Bourke’s body of work beyond the anecdotal evidence and intuition that has informed much of our thinking around diversity. Building on her highly influential book, “Which two heads are better than one”, Juliet’s latest research assesses the way leaders are perceived and analyses the behaviours and everyday actions that distinguish inclusive leaders. Do you know what shadow you cast over your organisation? The feedback and comments from interview subjects about their leaders are illuminating.
If you aren’t familiar with Juliet’s earlier work on diversity of mindset, this video is well worth a look…
“The Contrarian Guide to Leadership”
by Stephen Sample
Some books stand out because they just make sense, and this book did for me. It was published back in 2002 and was written by Steve Sample, who as College President put the University of Southern California on the map by implementing much of what he writes about in the book.
The book is critical of much of conventional leadership theory, and as the title indicates, he argues strongly against much of the conventional thinking that dominates countless management books. I particularly enjoyed the part of his book which focuses on effective decision-making. For example he asks readers to question whether it is the role of a CEO to make the decision, and argues that a decision delayed is very often a better decision as a result. It is a very readable book and for those that take the time to delve into it will leave a real impression on their approach to leading an organisation.
Chris Cheatley
Joint Managing Director
Corporate Leaders Network