Malcolm Turnbull must look beyond his first three months

Corporate adviser CEB says good leadership and a smooth transition are vital to the new Prime Minister’s success.

CEB’s Aaron McEwan. ‘Research suggests that senior leaders actually start to stall at the six to nine-month mark.’

As Malcolm Turnbull vows there will be no more captain calls and he will lead a modern government that collaborates, corporate advisory firm CEB says good leadership and a smooth political transition are vital to ensure success.

“(Turnbull) must also focus on the culture of the party, and work closely with those who didn’t support his bid for the leadership, to build advocacy and a collective focus,” human resources advisory leader Aaron McEwan says.

McEwan suggests the Prime Minister must look beyond his first three months.

“CEB research suggests that senior leaders actually start to stall at the six to nine-month mark,” he says. “Turnbull must take actions now that will serve him beyond the honeymoon.”

McEwan also says there needs to be more collaboration, he must learn to rely more on the expertise of his team, and he must work effectively with peers to ensure business decisions can be agreed to efficiently.

He says research shows 82 per cent of leaders who meet their own professional objectives hamper the growth of the whole organisation.

Work time blurred

Randstad’s latest Workmonitor report has found more companies are expecting their staff to be available when on leave, blurring the lines between work and personal time.

The report found 65 per cent of workers in the Asia-Pacific expect to be available outside of office hours, and 56 per cent do not mind handling work-related matters in their personal time.

A further 67 per cent are happy to respond to emails and phone calls at a convenient time.

Conversely, the report found the more that workers are expected to respond to work requests outside of their regular hours, the likelier they are to address personal matters at work, again blurring the lines between private and personal for 71 per cent of the workforce.

The report found 41 per cent of people say their employer expects them to be available during holidays.

Banking masters

Macquarie University’s faculty of business and economics is launching a new masters program to give postgraduate students a better chance of finding a job in banking and finance.

Faculty executive dean Mark Gabbott says the degree is designed to help people wanting to work in the banking sector but who have not had much industry experience.

“What we’re seeing now is an increase of interest in careers in the banking and finance world but limited options for education, especially for postgraduate students,” Gabbott says.

“It’s essential that we teach these students the skills they will need to navigate the constantly changing world of finance.”

He says the program will allow students to fast-track careers in wealth management and financial advising, stockbroking and investment advising, risk management, corporate finance, credit risk assessment and insurance.

The program will be offered next year.

HR workshop

Workforce Planning Global chief executive Julie Sloan will provide a human resources workshop in Adelaide on October 27, on behalf of the Australian Human Resources Institute. Sloan is an expert in strategic and operational workforce planning and was the lead author of the Australian standard for workforce planning.

The human governance and strategic workforce planning workshop will provide participants with an overview of human resource and workforce planning strategies. Registrations close on October 20 through AHRI.