Face to Face_Recipes for leadership

While he’d rather have those he work with comment on his leadership skills, Dick Brunton has been following set of principles gleaned years back from Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner who first penned their “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” in the 1980s.
Model the way: “I don’t think the leader can sit in the counting house counting out money and telling everyone else to go out and love their customers. People don’t copy what you say, only what you do.”
Inspire shared vision: “That’s the big ideal – vision about how to make difference in the lives of those you serve.”
Challenge the process: “Look for things to bust, for new ways of doing things and of course technology permits that in an extraordinary way. We had mantra last year of one third faster to help us break the paradigms we were operating under and that was very powerful.”
Enable others to act: “That’s about de-blocking things, giving people responsibility and trusting people to make good decisions.”
Encourage the heart: “Bring out the best in people, coaching them, being on their side.
“At the end of the day everyone is look for cause, something to attach themselves to and that is big part of the job of leadership. It’s not just about making money but making difference.”
As to Brunton’s own leadership style, he thinks his employees are better placed to comment though he suggests he probably over-delegates.
“I go and promise stuff to clients I don’t actually know how to deliver and give it to someone else to deal with. But necessity is the mother of invention so if you want invention you have to create necessity. But this business runs perfectly well without me… though I don’t want to say that too loudly.”