Editor’s view: Leadership comes with a use-by date

Every chief executive, premier and prime minister turns up on day one with the best of intentions but, inevitably, they also run out of puff. The challenge is identifying when your time is up, writes The Editor.

New QUT chancellor Ann Sherry has issued a challenge to leaders. Picture: Zak Simmonds

As a clarion call for those fortunate enough to find themselves in positions of power, the challenge issued yesterday by QUT’s new chancellor, nationally respected businesswoman Ann Sherry, was a trumpeted blast that should today be echoing across both corporate and political Australia.

“I am here to create positive change – to work with you to create positive change,” Ms Sherry said in her speech at her official installation ceremony, attended by community leaders and the senior leadership team of the university.

“That is what you have to do when you are entrusted with power and when you are blessed with ability. It’s both a privilege and an obligation.”

Imagine if a premier or prime minister on election night stood at the podium and began their speech with the same words. Or if a new boss shared the same sentiment in their first presentation to staff. It would be stirring stuff – and rightly so, as it succinctly sets out what matters in leadership: working with your team to create positive change.

Now, you would probably be hard-pressed to find a leader in politics or business who disagrees with that sentiment. And yet it would be just as tough to find a leader who actually delivers on that attitude on every single day they are entrusted with the power that comes with their position.

But that’s the point of the challenge: to be deliberate about getting off the treadmill that is quarterly reporting and political pointscoring and take the time to focus on several core questions:

WHAT is the positive change you’re delivering this week and this year?;

WHAT are the successes that you will look back on with pride when, inevitably, you no longer hold the position you do now?, and;

WHAT do you need to do today to ensure you will be able to reflect proudly on the fact you did not waste the opportunity?

It is a challenge we hope those business and political leaders who read this column will embrace. But the reality is that many will not.

As Ms Sherry opined: “Over the years, I have seen many people sitting in very powerful positions, both in the private sector and in government, who enjoy the trappings of their positions but achieve little.

“What a terrible waste of time and opportunity. If you are not making change, if you’re not creating something that’s different and better as a result of your tenure, I believe you should move over and let someone else have a go.”

This truth is probably why every chief executive, premier and prime minister has a use-by date. They all turn up on day one with the best of intentions but, inevitably, they also run out of puff – the ideas that drove them to seek the position having been delivered; the thrill of the challenge having faded.

The toughest part is to identify and accept that your time is up. It is better to choose the timing of your departure than have it chosen for you. And perhaps, as Ms Sherry says, that moment is actually easy to identify. Perhaps it’s when you find you’re enjoying the trappings of the position but achieving little.

Originally published as Editor’s view: Leadership comes with a use-by date