Leadership Conference: Insights from the Panel Discussion

As part of our leadership conference where we launched “The Future of CE Leadership in Aotearoa Report 2023”, Nick Edlin of Kerridge & Partners facilitated a discussion with Professional Director, Vanessa Stoddart; CEO of Southern Cross Health Society, Nick Astwick; and renowned futurist, Roger Dennis to discuss the report findings and their views on the role of Chief Executives. 

The panel unanimously agreed that Chief Executives must have a strong relationship with their Board, especially the Chairperson. This relationship is particularly important for first-time Chief Executives, to allow them to draw on the collective experience of the directors. The Directors not only serve as a governance oversight body but also as a key support mechanism for Chief Executives. 

In today's emerging BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) business environment,  Chief Executives who can define reality for an organisation and serve as an ambassador of hope, through both actions and words, can empower a business to reach its full potential.  Roger emphasised the importance of ensuring that strategic decisions are not primarily driven by what happened in the past but shaped by how the organisation perceives the future, reinforcing the importance of “having strategic foresight and long-term planning but being nimble and elastic at the same time”. 

Organisational agility was identified as a key attribute that enabled businesses to thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Organisations that were nimble and had built a culture for embracing change were much better able to seize opportunities presented by the pandemic. 

Vanessa highlighted the importance for Chief Executives in the private sector to invest time and resources to better understand how the public sector works; at the same time, public sector Chief Executives need to understand how they can leverage the private sector to help influence government policies and implementation.  In her experience, the current situation can be significantly improved, and Chief Executives need to be proactive to make this happen.   

Vanessa also challenged leaders to ask themselves “Are you ready to be a CEO, and what makes you ready?”  In a similar vein, Nick thinks it is important for leaders to be clear why they aspire to be a CEO and what type of a CEO will they be – “do not chase the CEO title just because it is the next step for one’s career advancement”.  

The discussion concluded with a focus on sustainability and what CEOs can do.  On the issue of dealing with the carbon crisis, New Zealand as a small nation is going to be subjected to the whims of the global markets.  Organisational carbon targets are often set several decades into the future, providing little incentive for leaders to sacrifice present prosperity to achieve long-term sustainability goals. On the flipside, because we are small, we have the opportunity to bring a larger proportion of organisations on board to do the right thing and shape the global narrative.  

The panel discussion emphasised the ever-changing challenges and demands that Chief Executives will have to deal with, where success will be defined not only by the business's economic performance but also by cultural, environmental, and social measures. 

In summary, although the core of good CE leadership very much stays the same, the impact of the changing landscape, expectations and skills required mean that the role of the Chief Executive has, and will, continue to evolve.  

Sam Webster, Associate Consultant