Lead Smart

CHAPTER 11Inspire your peers

Some leaders just shine. I get to work with a lot of people in my role, in many different organisations, many of whom are senior managers and leaders. I love my clients, and for the most part, get to work with smart, driven, passionate people who are open to learning and growing. But some leaders just stand above the rest for me — they demonstrate true leadership in everything they do.

One of those people is Chris Cowley, who was the regional GM of a global medical equipment manufacturer based in Dubai when I last worked with him. I had worked with Chris and his team in Australia a few years before, and when Chris moved into the regional role in Dubai, he asked me to fly over to work with his new leadership team there.

It was a great trip, and we did of mix of work on the leadership team's personal productivity, as well as some work creating team agreements for the communication and meeting cultures. Chris was a great support in the lead-up to the training, as although he was busy, he made it a priority to frame the vision for the training with his team, helped me design the agenda, and participated in the training himself, even though he had already experienced similar training with his team in Australia.

These were all behaviours that made him stand out for me as a leader. I am sometimes surprised when I am asked to run training for a leadership team, and the top leader fails to engage with me or the outcomes of the training, and will often fail ...