TO KNOW SUCCESS, KNOW YOURSELF

Wow! Talking about putting things into a nutshell! I have a few more to add to the equation though.

Lead by example - for me on a personal basis, I cannot follow someone that I do not respect, not only on a business and work basis, but also on a personal level. Respect is something that you earn and it is something that carries a huge value. So lead the same way that you would follow - with respect and by example.

'To know success, know yourself'
29 June 2007 at 11h00

Nick Binedell is a well-travelled, well-qualified, respected and well-connected man who passionately loves this country and truly wants to make a difference. This must be why I like him.

His purpose? "To energise and motivate people to unleash their potential." He believes that "to be successful you have to know who you are and understand yourself well enough to understand other people properly. You have to be comfortable with yourself. You have to have the insights into your own behaviour by listening to feedback." Some authors refer to this concept as the "mirror".

We had Dr Kwame Amuah on the show some time back. He is the son-in-law of Nelson Mandela and a successful businessperson. He quoted someone saying that the first law of leadership is: "know thyself". I cannot agree with this more and the principle blends well with Binedell's advice. According to Binedell, you need at least three broad skills to be a successful leader in SA:

Managerial skills - This means drawing up the budget, the financial knowledge of the business; operational knowledge, knowing the business inside out and making sure people do what they say they are going to do. In other words, it's "getting things done".

Entrepreneurial abilities - Being able to spot the gap, to see what others haven't seen; having the better insight and reacting faster than anybody else and to understand it in a realistic way. Realism is a very important part of being a good entrepreneur. We talk about dreaming, but then there is the realism.

Understanding other people in a realistic and useful way - culturally, ethnically, in gender terms, generationally. This is going to be a huge attribute of leaders. We are going to experience far more change in the next 10 years than the past coupled with this country's history, multi-culturism and cultural dynamism.

Binedell adds: "In the excitement of leading, you have to be open to that, together with the social idea that you are right for the time you're in... that's a critical quality of a leader." As you read this article, I challenge you to consider whether you believe you are right for the time you're in? Are you made for this new SA? It is no coincidence that you are here, I believe. Find your place within this remarkable country. The three points Binedell mentioned are perhaps the "bricks" needed for someone to build leadership capacity in SA, but what about the "cement", the finer skills, the "in-betweeners"?

His view is that every organisation has different realities and every person brings different "inbetweeners", but some key ones are: the ability to look a bit over the horizon; to always think about what is next and try to anticipate that as best you can; the ability to be outside the organisation, to step outside your own reality and look at your organisation objectively and ask some questions; and the ability to be the product or customer bringing that quality of understanding consumers, like Raymond Ackerman does. This is a quality that most entrepreneurs understand.

Transferring leadership skills

It is rather easy to talk about such leadership skills, but how does one successfully transfer them to future leaders? Binedell believes most of it is done through direct experience, where you are in a job and you have a task to do - you learn by what works and what does not work. The other way is the more formal side through business schools, where they can fast-track some of the experience. I made the point that one of the best ways of transferring leadership capability specifically is surely to organise productive contact between a future leader and a current, great leader. We do this on the Leadership Platform show and with our mentoring competition and monthly leadership chats (see www.leadershipplatform.com).

I was impressed with an up and coming conference that the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Leadership Works are organising for July 10. On the day there will be a session where about 20 top CEOs will each work with a smaller group of people for a few hours on sharing their personal leadership habits. As Binedell says, "A lot of effective leadership habits are personal, idiosyncratic and true to that individual. We asked them to come and share their best practices because we now need to dig beyond the broad theory into the real practices of effective leadership."

Well, how is Binedell doing on the issue of preparing his next level at Gibs for that time when he - the heartbeat, the founder, the man with the vision - leaves? "One of the things I was worried about in the early days was the difference between an organisation and an institution. In an institution there is a set of practices, a culture that isn't about the person who is the leader; it goes beyond that," he says. "Today the depth of management at Gibs is strong - there are a lot of younger faculty at the school, for example, whom I think share the same broad ideas that those of us who were there at the beginning share, and they are coming through the system … I think it is an institution and even if I got hit by a bus the place would fly."

Leaders must be involved in political life

I asked Binedell what he means when he says "we can get South Africa right". What is this right SA? "It has to do with this question of poverty," he says. "You cannot live in a democracy where one in three people are as poor as some South Africans are; we have to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and continue to do that - this country has a remarkable history of entrepreneurship; we have to have good government - the state makes or breaks the nation and politics drives economics in an emerging country.

In this country, there is no doubt about that. "What worries me is that the middle class may not be sufficiently involved in political life, which is a great danger to business in South Africa. Our fate rests on the quality of leadership and therefore we need to engage more; to not be involved in political life is a dangerous dynamic in this country. "We tend to talk of politics in a specific way - 'them' and 'they'. We have a mutual interest between business and government, between politics and economics, and great nations marry that interest in a powerful way."

Never stop asking questions

One of the best lessons he learned from another business leader was to "never stop asking questions". Binedell tells how, in his early days, he "worked with a remarkable man, Simon Dockerty, an extraordinary listener, who always asked questions of people outside their portfolio. "As a consequence, he built a team that reinforced each other instead of running in silos. The questioning and digging in to find out what's behind what they say is a great way to understand the business and Simon practised that magnificently!" To Binedell, all I can say is go, go and go! You are a valuable asset to South Africa. Don't get hit by a bus. If you do, though, I am sure Gibs will run, but I doubt it will be ready to fly yet. It and the country still need you.

In summary
Be comfortable with yourself - have the insights into your own behaviour by listening to feedback.

Acquire and develop your managerial skills, entrepreneurial abilities and learn to understand other people in a realistic and useful way - culturally, ethnically, in gender terms, and generationally.

It is no coincidence that you are here in SA! Find your place within this remarkable country!

Acquire the "cement" or "in-betweeners":

1) looking over the horizon into the future;

2) stepping outside your organisation and viewing it objectively;

3) really understanding the product and customers; and so on.

Good institutions are made by leadership.

Leadership can be transferred in three ways: direct experience; a formal approach and bringing about quality contact between top leaders and future leaders.

Create an institution with a set of practices, a culture that isn't about the leader.

Our fate as a nation rests on the quality of leadership in the state and therefore we need to engage more.

Never stop asking questions!