Stig Falster

Text of speech given to HSC students 2012

Leadership

Good morning. Firstly, I should like to congratulate all the HSC graduates. Whilst I did the Leaving Certificate and it was enough of a challenge for us, I recognise that there appears to be an increased pressure on today’s students to perform at the HSC, so you are all to be commended on your success.

Thank you for the opportunity to share some of my knowledge (and wisdom) with you today. As Leadership Development is my current vocation, I would like to share a little of this with you and hope you can take something from it to use in your future endeavours.

So, what exactly is leadership? A dictionary definition defines it as:

1. The individuals who are the leaders in an organisation, regarded collectively.

2. A process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organisation in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.

3. The ability of an individual to influence people to move in the direction he or she specifies to achieve set objectives.

4. The activity of leading a group of people or an organisation, or the ability to do this.

In its essence, leadership in an organisational role involves:

(1) establishing a clear vision

(2) sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly

(3) providing the information, knowledge, and methods to realise that vision, and

(4) coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members or stakeholders. A leader comes to the forefront in case of crisis, and is able to think and act in creative ways in difficult situations.

Unlike management, leadership flows from the core of a personality and cannot be taught, although it may be learned and may be enhanced through coaching or mentoring.

This can also be summarised as:
Leadership - is about being a leader of people
Management - is about managing risk and resources

There are countless quotes on leadership. I could have dredged up lots of them, but the following, I believe, sum leadership up quite well.

• Warren Bennis - "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a
vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and
taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

Warren Gamaliel Bennis (born March 8, 1925) is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the
contemporary field of Leadership studies. Bennis is University Professor and
Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California.

• Theodore Roosevelt - "People ask the difference between a leader and a
boss. . . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives." - 26th POTUS

• Bill Gates - "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."

There are many things that set leaders apart from the flock. One of these is to consistently achieve in all areas of life. This can very often be attributed to an
ability to set and achieve goals.

In the book What They Don't Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark
McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA
program. In that year, the students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.

In spite of such proof of success, most people don't have clear, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward.

In the bestseller "Goals!", Brian Tracy teaches you how to identify in the clearest terms the things you want out of life, then how to make the plan to help you achieve those things. Brian Tracy says there are four reasons why people don't set goals:

They don't realize about the importance of goals. If the people with whom you spend the most time — family, friends, colleagues, and so forth — are not clear and committed to goals, there is a chance that you will not be, either.

They don't know how to set goals. Some set goals that are too general. These are, in reality, fantasies common to everyone. Goals, on the other hand, are clear, written, specific, and measurable.

They fear failure. Failure hurts, but it is often necessary to experience failure in order to achieve the greatest success. Do not unconsciously sabotage yourself by not setting any goals in which you might fail.

They fear rejection. People are often afraid that if they are unsuccessful at achieving a goal, others will be critical of them. This is remedied by keeping your goals to yourself at the outset; let others see your results and achievements once you've accomplished your goals.

Make a habit of daily goal setting and achieving, for the rest of your life.

Focus on the things you want, rather than the things you don't want. Resolve to be a goal-seeking organism, moving unerringly toward the things that are important to you.

In Summary, these are my thoughts in terms of Leadership.

A Leader needs to know and apply a wide range of positive concepts and ideas, in order to be in a position to transfer these qualities to their team members. By demonstrating these capabilities, Leaders find that their team members will follow and usually try to emulate them.