What makes a good leader? Top executives share their insight

MANAGING, inspiring and leading people in the workplace is no simple prospect. A crop of top executive who’ve been there share their leadership lessons.

The Iconic’s Patrick Schmidt and Bendelta’s Anthony Mitchell share their insights on leadership. Picture: Justin Lloyd

LEADERSHIP is widely considered a learned behaviour, not a trait one is born with or without.

But what needs to be learned to create a good leader is a constant area of discussion.

Leaders from the growing food packaging, community care, telecommunications, beauty, real estate and consultancy industries share their insights on creating leadership qualities.

Anthony Mitchell, co-founder and chief potential officer of Bendelta

“Despite the turbulent, rapid-paced world we now work in, leaders must focus on the long term,” he says.

“Typically, the most important long-term investment of all is in people – attracting great people, understanding people’s talents and needs, and helping them stretch to their full potential.

“Great leaders put personal glory, ease and reward at the bottom of their priorities and investment in the future at the top.”

Bendelta recently launched its Potentiology research which analysed the mental and behavioural routines of famed prodigies from world chess champion Magnus Carlsen and Chinese-American cellist and whiz kid Yo-Yo Ma to six-time Ironman Trevor Hendy and journalist Peter Greste.

It is the foundation of the company’s development programs.

The Iconic chief executive Patrick Schmidt and Bendelta director Anthony Mitchell. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Shelley Sullivan, chief executive and founder of ModelCo and finalist in the CEO Magazine Executive of the Year Awards’ CEO of the Year and Retail Executive of the Year categories

“Courage. Passion. Vision. Confidence,” she says.

“It took a leap of faith for me to start a cosmetic company up against large, multimillion-dollar established international brands.

“I had the vision to see the big picture and the confidence to continue despite many obstacles.

“ModelCo is now one of the top two Australian beauty brands.”

Benjamin Pollack, chief executive of real estate and development advisory Urbis

“Collaboration is a necessity,” he says.

“Successful leaders must be able to move beyond the day-to-day technical discipline to fully realise the benefits of these collaborative opportunities.

“We are focused on developing leaders who build a culture of collaboration and creativity, not one of process.”

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Patrick Schmidt, chief executive of fashion retailer The Iconic

“We’re operating in an industry where there’s no playbook, which means that we largely write our own rules (and) that certainly includes how to reach our potential as we scale to keep up with sometimes unpredictable levels of hypergrowth,” he says.

“In the last year alone, two of our exceptional leaders have moved into positions managing teams of more than 100, up from mere single digits.

“You can’t always predict what tomorrow holds when you’re at the forefront of a new industry, but we have a shared belief in operating in a world without limits and I love that.”

Shelley Sullivan, chief executive and founder of ModelCo.

Jonathan Moss, global chief executive of Australasian drinks company Frucor Suntory

“Leading in a rapidly changing environment means leaders need to get crystal clear on the direction of their organisation and the culture that drives them forward,” he says.

“We’ve spent a lot of time at Frucor Suntory finding our cultural sweet spot – combining a strong sense of winning, fast pace, high standards with team work, collaboration and fun.

“With consumer needs changing so fast it’s no longer good enough to meet those needs, we need to get one step ahead of the consumer.”

Peter Worland, executive director of community care organisation Uniting

“Leading in disruption sometimes means turning left when everything and everyone is telling you to turn right,” he says.

“Some of the most successful initiatives we’ve taken in recent times did not fit our conventional mould.

“(Organisations) need the freedom for challenging ideas to emerge and discordant voices to be heard.

“The best leaders know when to heed the common view and when to be contrarian.

“I find that as the conductor of the orchestra, I need to draw on the full talent of the musicians, individually and collectively, not limit the expression of their talents.”

Vaughan Paul, vice president of human resources of Optus

“Leaders must learn to encourage and create space to generate ideas, but also allocate budget to trial, prototype and most importantly accept failure,” he says.

“The important balance between the technical breadth of the business and the commerciality to drive long-term sustainability requires leaders who are focused on innovation, culture and talent above the development of the technology itself.”

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