As the deadline for entries to the 2006
Leading Wales Awards approaches, John Bath, chief executive
of packaging services specialist Brecon Pharmaceuticals
Ltd in Hay-on-Wye, shares his thoughts on being a successful
leader in Wales.
People say life isn’t fair and sometimes
it isn’t. But more often than not, it all works out
for the best. Things have happened to me that seemed rotten
at the time, but they turned out to be the stepping stone
to something good. Almost everyone who has treated me or
one of my colleagues badly eventually got their come-uppance.
Fortunately, it’s the way of the world.
We would all do much better if we try
to make our own luck. Seize the initiative and don’t
just wait for things to happen. It’s surprising how
much we can influence events when we put our minds to it.
Recognise the danger of a slow walk across
a busy street. Step up to the pace of what’s happening
around you to avoid being a casualty on the thoroughfare
of life and walk with your eyes open. One boss once said
to me, “There’s only one thing worse than bad
news, and that’s surprise bad news.” We can
usually do something about bad news if we give ourselves
the time to do it.
It’s a cliché, but generally
in life you reap what you sow. Treat people well and, for
the most part, they’ll reciprocate. The converse is
also true. I was once told, “Be good to people on
the way up, because you’ll run into the same people
on your way back down.” Trust is a commodity that
can take months or years to earn but can be lost in an instant.
I’ve always maintained that regardless
of job title, we all share an equal responsibility for moving
a business forward. In fact just a few weeks ago, I had
the opportunity to match my words with actions when the
staff canteen was short staffed and unable to operate.
My offer to help was greeted with a mixture
of incredulity and amusement. After a brief period of intensive
training, I was assigned to wash-up duties. I had initially
been assigned to food preparation but a competence gap was
identified at an early stage!
The revenues for the canteen that day
were allegedly an all time high. Not because of the improved
service but with the huge volumes of people coming to see
the CEO do an honest day’s work. It was fascinating
to see another side of Brecon Pharmaceuticals though, and
to work side-by-side with people I wouldn’t normally
be able to. I think they appreciated it too.
Little things don’t mean a lot, they mean everything.
How long does it take to offer a thank you, a greeting,
a smile or a compliment? As a young man, I remember being
on cloud nine when the MD of the day walked past me in the
car park and said “Marvellous presentation, well done.”
He had been listening!
When you’re a leader, you think
you’re watching your people. You may be but they’re
also watching you - intently. And they will draw all sorts
of conclusions from what they see.
People consciously or subconsciously emulate
the behaviour of their leader over time, be it good or bad.
Good behaviour is a tonic for the organisation and bad behaviour
becomes a cancer that ultimately destroys. Like it or not,
the leader is the de facto role model for his or her people.
The leaders that have motivated me over
the years are the ones that have demonstrated passion and
enthusiasm in their roles. They love their work, their organisation
and their people. There’s nothing so infectious as
enthusiasm - except a lack of it. Leaders who are not enthusiastic
about their work should find something else to do.
Shying away from difficult or unpleasant
decisions for fear of employees’ reactions is pointless.
People are far savvier than many think. An unpleasant decision
will be accepted if it can be shown to be fair. If it is
unfair, it deserves to be challenged. It is as simple as
that and should be embraced.
If you don’t know the answer to
something, it’s far better to say so than to try to
make it up. You’ll soon get found out. The best leader
in the world doesn’t know everything. People will
respect your honesty that you don’t know – but
then go away and find out.
Build up and maintain a network of friends
and colleagues and never be scared of asking for help. There’s
almost always someone not more than a phone call or two
away who knows more than you do. One day you may be able
to return the favour.
Remember what didn’t work five years
ago, might work now. Circumstances change, people change,
organisations change, markets change. Just as “we’ve
always done it this way” is seldom a good enough reason
for continuing, “we’ve tried that before and
it didn’t work” is insufficient reason to rule
out trying it again.
Innovation is not something a leader can
afford to shy away from so keep an open mind.
John Bath won the 2005 Leading Wales Award
for Businesses with more than 250 employees. To nominate
a leader at any level in an organisation for the 2006 Leading
Wales Awards, log on to www.leadingwalesawards.com. Deadline
for entries is Friday 11 November 2005.
JOHN’S TOP FIVE TIPS
1. Get a clear vision in your own mind
of where your organisation is headed
2. Relentlessly articulate the vision until everyone else
knows it too
3. Lead with passion and enthusiasm – they’re
infectious
4. Behave as you want others to behave and watch them follow
5. Be mindful of the little things… in the end, they
can mean everything
JOHN’S TOP FIVE DON’T’S
1. Don’t be a leader if you’re
not passionate about it
2. Don’t put your own interests ahead of the business
and your people
3. Don’t shirk the difficult decisions… they
won’t go away
4. Don’t make quick decisions if you don’t have
to. Deliberation actually saves time
5. Don’t betray people’s trust or loyalty…you’ll
never get them back
