Integrated Report | 2020 - Transforming the Leadership Landscape - Kerridge & Partners
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Integrated Report | 2020 Transforming the Leadership Landscape
Contents
3 Introduction
4 Covid, Kerridge, Clients & Candidates – Impact and the way forward
5 Anthology on Leadership
6 Is your board crisis ready?
8 Developing the next generation of chief executives for Aotearoa
10 Why do boards get into trouble hiring CEOs?
12 Executive pay, post Covid-19
14 Conversation on leadership with Mike Bush
18 Peak performance and leadership with Robbie Manson
20 Reflections on Diversity and Innovation
21 Diversity vs Equity in a time of crisis
24 Profit-for-purpose and not-for-loss: Key trends and themes
26 Professor Bill Fischer – Driving strategic innovation
28 Sacha McMeeking – Leveraging on our Māori and indigenous communities
29 Professor Ian Williamson – Leading your organisation through the complexities of social challenges
31 About Us
32 Holding ourselves to account with Deloitte
33 How we work
35 Kerridge Mentoring
36 Our Wellbeing – Culture at Kerridge
37 Reverie on lockdown
39 Our assets
2 Transforming the Leadership Landscape
Introduction
Welcome to our 2020 Inspirational stories abound in these We hope that this Integrated Report
Integrated Report. trying times for those who look for them. makes for interesting reading. It is
intended to provide some inspiration
We have produced this document in Our dual existence as ‘individuals’ and challenge on subject matter that
circumstances that few would and ‘individuals as part of is relevant to board directors and
have anticipated just a handful something bigger’ is something senior executives.
of months ago. we are all increasingly aware of.
Yes we are individuals with strong Whilst we take great pleasure in
In New Zealand and around the survival instincts, however the reflecting on some of our contributions
world we see huge suffering, loss of label ‘individual’ is incomplete and achievements as an enterprise,
life, and governments wrestling with given what we see everywhere: we know we have so much more work
the daunting challenges of keeping families connecting, communities to do. That is exciting!
economies from collapsing and coming together, people helping
avoiding mass harm from the impact out vulnerable neighbours, and I am looking forward to embarking on
of the Covid-19 virus. colleagues really caring for each the new frontier with you in this great
other’s wellbeing… and the vast year of change.
New Zealand feels like a safe haven majority of our population (our team
right now, and like a number of us in of 5 million as our Prime Minister likes Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui
the privileged world, we have had a to call it) making sacrifices for the New Zealand.
good opportunity to take stock and greater good.
time to reflect in the last weeks. Given
that the number one piece of advice There is a duality too for leaders,
our team has been giving to business where we need to face our current
leaders over the last 15 years is to problems with a clinical urgency and
take more time to reflect – let us view also plan and engage for new futures –
this ‘imposed’ time as a gift. bringing together our people, inspiring Peter Kerridge | May 2020
and motivating for a bigger cause.
Personally, I find myself in awe of
the ingenuity and majesty of the Many of us will have witnessed
human being. The ability people directly the shift in the collective
have to somehow transcend their consciousness of a team when the
day-to-day realities, which are often conversation moves to developing
unimaginably tough, and get up solutions (rather than focusing only
each day and do their very best for on problems). The shift in energy
their organisations, their families and is palpable – even for those of us
communities and even the world. working solely at home and online.
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 3
Covid, Kerridge,
Clients & Candidates
– Impact and the way forward
There is a plethora of blow by blow nation crossing its collective fingers It took a couple of days to iron out
commentary concerning the current hoping the internet didn’t break. the kinks, but all came together
‘crisis’ sparking much speculation on remarkably quickly thanks to Gemma
the impact to every facet of our lives The nature of our work at Kerridge (Gemma Torr – General Manager)
– the question on everyone’s lips is & Partners has provided us years of and Paul (Paul Yan – IT Manager).
did lockdown ruin us or rescue us? practice being comfortable working Seamless communications among
remotely. Our undertakings are global, our team and with our clients and
Of course it is not as simple as media and we are used to being connected candidates has been pivotal.
commentary for or against, and the with people in other time zones, in
impacts are complex and more far- other parts of the world. This virtual In conclusion my thoughts during this
reaching than a case of those who will business terrain we now find ourselves time are ‘plan for the worst, expect
see their businesses survive through the in as a globe, is business as usual a miracle’ and ‘there is no I in Team!’
coming months, and those who won’t – for us. We are a world-class local There have also been so many random
the truth is we just don’t know. However, partner to New Zealand’s boards acts of kindness and generosity to
in order to not become paralysed in the and executives who continue to rely support less fortunate peoples and
face of so much change we do have to on us for exemplary delivery on the communities and I hope this continues
simplify – take baby steps with what we competitive world-stage. into our new business worlds.
can do individually in our own domain
to keep our businesses afloat and make Our steadfast belief that we offer Thank you Team, thank you Clients,
decisions to move forward one step leading edge and integrated advice thank you Candidates and thank you
at a time. across executive search; governance; New Zealand for your outstanding
and leadership is cemented in our efforts – because of you, my optimism
From our business’s perspective, the results – and never more than now will is unwavering.
challenges of Covid-19 have brought our full range of expertise be tested
our team closer together, and equally, and demonstrated identifying domestic Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe
the faith of our clients has allowed talent in these challenging times. me he maunga teitei.
us to deliver seamlessly. There
absolutely have been additional Our 15-year tenure in the field,
steps along the way while we found deep sector knowledge of markets
our feet in our bubbles. Some small and wide-reaching relationships, Vikki Maclean
changes from our standard routines allows us to act as ambassadors
but behind the scenes through this for our clients both nationally and
upheaval, our clients have been internationally.
reassured they are in safe hands.
In comparison to the Global Financial
Our clients have been amazing! We Crisis, this pandemic has demanded
were either mid-way through or just greater innovation in seeking
starting several assignments when new approaches to leadership,
lockdown was announced. These and for over a decade Deloitte
assignments largely carried on without has provided benchmarking
hiccup and are progressing well or to our business practice giving
coming to successful conclusions. transparency to our performance.
This is testimony to great leadership We are incredibly proud of
across these companies – many of the whole team and certain
our clients had immediate and rather individuals deserve particular
challenging changes to their business mention. The shift from office to
landscapes in the form of structural working from home was made
and salary issues, whilst others had easy by our up-to-date technology
different types of challenges in moving systems and advanced preparations
hundreds of staff to hundreds of in equipping everyone’s new home-
locations – and at the same time the working environments with ease.
4 Transforming the Leadership Landscape
Anthology on Leadership
Kerridge & Partners has facilitated a number of leadership events
and conferences over the last 18 months, partnering with many
experts and public figure speakers from both New Zealand and
around the world.
The following pages are a compilation of articles summarising the
conversations and spirit our speakers debated during those occasions coupled
with more recent thought pieces on today’s business landscape.
Whilst some of the noted events were peppered over a time before the current
crisis and lockdown, we were amazed to see how relevant and pertinent they
are for the situation we face today – topics such as leadership as a team
endeavour, the importance of diversity to innovation, and the seriousness of
business and personal resilience.
The messages here show us that the bones of good leadership, profitable and
productive business and the back bone of team culture is as relevant today
as it was one, two, three and more years ago – if not more important today as
change is afoot and hurtling towards us.
Adapt and embrace or fall behind…
“
There is an acceptance of failure among New
Zealand firms in their ability to compete with
offshore firms. They see these firms as more agile,
more technologically literate, and often (incorrectly)
having better resources.
Frances Valintine
Founder | Tech Futures Lab
”
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 5
Is your board crisis ready?
A recent conversation with a senior director
prompted this article. A board he serves on has
a very busy chair. Not uncommon...
The challenge for the CEO of the business is that the Chair These crises need directors to give time and energy ‘above
is never around to take a call and fails to call back when and beyond’ what might be considered ‘normal’. The line
requested. The effect is that the CEO uses another board between ‘governance’ and ‘management’ is blurred – and
member [the senior director mentioned] as the primary for good reason. The executives might get paid the big
sounding board. bucks, but the ‘buck stops with the board of directors.’
I raised the question, ‘how would the board respond From our conversations with boards, it is clear that you
in a crisis?’ The answer was ‘not very well’. don’t necessarily need ALL directors to be able to be
Crises happen! There are many recent examples in New ‘hands-on’ BUT you do need a core team who is able to
Zealand. These might include: ‘drop everything’. The question then becomes ‘who?’.
• Serious conduct issue found with a CEO or other key They must:
executive/s • Really know the business
• Major differences of opinion between shareholders • Have the time
• Major regulatory changes emerging • Have the trust of the executive
• Disruptions due to trade disputes • Bring significant executive experience
• Major failure of critical assets
• Environmental disaster Exploring each of these…
• Loss of market confidence due to the failure of a major
restructure to deliver promised benefits Really know the business. [Any doubts on this one, look
• Disruption caused by competitive threats or new up the case study of the failure of UBS when none of the
technology directors understood how 40% of the bank’s profits were
• Loss of a major source of revenue made]. They must have a strong grasp of the business
• Collapse of the relationship with government or loss of context and competitive landscape and they must also
‘social licence’ know the major customers, be familiar with the operations
and understand the capability of key suppliers. They are
[Of course, since this article was first published on our likely to have served at least three years on the board.
website, we have seen the world deal with a pandemic].
Have the time. This is a real challenge for many senior
directors. Dr Richard Le Blanc talks about 3-5 board
positions as being a ‘maximum’ – counting two per Chair
role. In New Zealand, it is very common for directors to have
many more – but at what cost to the boards they serve?
Whilst having full-time executives from other organisations
on the board maybe a good idea, these individuals are
not helpful in a crisis, as they typically have too little time
to devote to the board.
6 Transforming the Leadership Landscape
“
Kiwi leaders need to be able to address the unique
nature of doing business here, but couple it with a
global perspective.
Greg McBain
Leadership Coach
”
Have the trust of the executive. When we conduct
board evaluations, it is very common to hear individual
directors rate themselves higher than their peers, and also
for executives to be quite critical of their boards, or at
least some of their directors. This may be ‘acceptable’ in
business-as-usual, but in a crisis you must have directors
who can work as part of a trusted team with their executive
colleagues. This means time invested, trust is earned!
Bring significant executive experience. So, you have met
the other criteria, but if none of the three or four board
members in your ‘crisis’ team bring experience in actually
managing something of a similar scale to the organisation
they are governing, then you may have the wrong team.
Ideally some of the experience is recent [an executive
recently bemoaned the contribution of their chair, saying
they were forever harking back to their executive career
leading a business with no digital threats, little regulatory
oversight and totally different business challenges].
A quick look across our major listed businesses would
appear to reveal some vulnerability. Does your board have
a core group of directors who would bring the skills and
have the time to support the organisation through a crisis?
Peter Kerridge
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 7
Developing the next generation
of chief executives for Aotearoa
Armed with a vision of New Operating Environment achieving long-term goals and vision;
‘transforming the leadership Digital disruption, consumer power, from being locally-oriented to taking
increasing diversity and the importance a more global perspective; from
landscape’, we embarked
of total societal impact have purely focusing on business goals
on this research to better significantly changed the operating to engaging employees and under-
understand how we can fast environment. For New Zealand standing customer needs; and from
track the development of chief organisations to thrive in the ‘new being a ‘hero leader’ to developing
executives for Aotearoa. normal’, we have to leverage our unique leadership teams.
strengths, embrace change, learn from
To gather the most compelling, global best practices and contextualise Future Trends for Leadership
relevant and representative input, we solutions that work for us. Development
curated a group of 41 senior leaders New Zealand senior leaders have
from across the country, representing With the fast changing operating many inherent positive traits,
the private, public and not-for-profit environment, the skills, competencies but there are also areas that we
sectors. Interviewees held leadership and mind-sets required for chief need to further develop to take
roles including those of board chairs/ executives to be successful will need on chief executive roles. Given our
directors, chief executives, heads of to shift from emphasising shareholder geographic location, the small size
HR/people, and CXOs with strong returns to meeting stakeholder needs; of the economy, and our cultural
potential to become chief executives from meeting short-term targets to nuances, there are barriers to fast
in the future.
New Operating Environment
From Shareholders From Short-term From Local From Financials From Leader
to Stakeholders to Long-term to Global to Employees to Leadership
and Consumers
8 Transforming the Leadership Landscape
Future Trends for Leadership Development
01 02 03 04
Acquire Broad Develop a Develop Cultural Develop Network
Exposure World View Intelligence Intelligence
05 06 07
Develop Trusted Develop Learning Build Leadership
Feedback Sources Agility Teams
tracking the development of future For many leaders, these development
chief executives. Nevertheless, these approaches will require a major
constraints can be overcome if we paradigm shift in their mindset and
take a more proactive approach to self-awareness. Leaders can start by
identify potential chief executives reflecting on their career journey and
and make the right investments in what has made them successful thus
leadership development. far, and using the framework above,
identify their areas of development
The traditional academic approaches and prioritise what they need to work
to leadership development are on to develop themselves.
becoming less effective. The key Please contact us for more details
findings from our research show of our Chief Executive Assessment
that chief executives of the future and development offering. The full
will need to acquire broad exposure, research report can be downloaded
Photo by Tobias Keller
develop a world view, develop at https://www.kerridgepartners.
cultural and network intelligence, com/ceresearch
develop trusted feedback sources,
possess learning agility and build Cheewei Kwan
leadership teams.
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 9
Why do boards get into
trouble hiring CEOs?
In a 2019 article in the New Zealand Herald, Time is another issue. In order to get the chief executive
Fran O’Sullivan rightly questions whether hire right, directors need to invest considerable time in
this process.
boards are starstruck by potential chief
executive hires from overseas. Compared to many other nations, our directors are “too
busy”. In other words, they have too many directorships
Our view is that boards could well be starstruck, however,
and thus are spread too thinly. In a recent conversation
this is a subset of a bigger issue. Boards lack skills in
with one director who has come out of a private equity
appointing CEOs.
environment, the comment was made “I don’t know how
anyone can do justice to more than three board positions”.
Make no mistake, appointing a CEO is a difficult task for
Yet clearly, we have a number of our most senior directors
a board on many levels. It is a very public challenge. It is
spread across many more companies and organisations
open to scrutiny by investors, staff and other stakeholders,
than that. Furthermore, those with ‘just’ three or four
and of course the stakes are high. Get it right, and life is a
directorships are desperate to get ‘more’!! “Too busy”
lot easier for directors, and the organisation will likely do
manifests as delays getting potential CEOs in front of the
very well. Get it wrong and it has calamitous implications
board, poor candidate experience and too little time to
for everyone.
devote to this vital work.
Reflecting on the world of chief executive hiring [we’ve
Directors can be overconfident in their own abilities. This
very successfully hired well over 120 chief executives over
is a well-known problem for smart people. There is much
the last 15 years], we believe that boards are often ill-
research that intelligent people do not always make the best
prepared to manage the appointment process. There are
decisions. Furthermore there is little consciousness around
a number of reasons for this.
the impact of board dynamic on decision making in the
boardroom, so poor outcomes result. We’ve met CEOs early
In terms of training, the standard director education
in their tenure and within a few minutes worked out that they
programmes give inadequate coverage of the process
were ‘wrong’ for the job, yet somehow they were appointed.
of hiring chief executives [yet directors are told a CEO
appointment is the most important thing a board will ever
Diversity can really help! A diverse appointments
do]. Perhaps that is because very few existing directors
committee is vital. A range of perspectives and thinking
would publicly lay claim to being experts on the subject.
styles is essential to a good hire.
10 Transforming the Leadership Landscape“
Chief Executives need to be honest about what
they know and do not know, and supplement
their shortcomings with capabilities in their
executive team.
Albert Brantley
Professional Director
”
Perhaps because of overconfidence, boards often fail to As for the question of whether we are starstruck? The
use the skills in their organisation. It is not uncommon answer is possibly yes. Our contention is that there are
for the human resources director or chief people officer very capable international executives who can succeed
to be left out of the chief executive succession process. in the New Zealand context. This has been proven by
This seems nonsensical in a boardroom that is typically many. Equally there are a number who don’t. Sadly, an
populated by non-human resource professionals. assortment of these have been very high profile and have
The human resources director working as part of the managed to erase billions of dollars’ worth of value from
appointments committee can add useful insights. A board our share market.
would not think to exclude a chief financial officer from the
audit committee! Finally, we do often pay like New Zealand is a hardship
location! On top of ‘generous’ base salaries we
In many cases, boards simply afford too little time to the compound the issue by having bonus structures that seem
process of selecting a new chief executive. Consider the nonsensical. Any layman observer would see a non-
contrast with often multi-day graduate selection programs performing CEO walking away with millions as ‘confusing’
for large companies or even the sophisticated assessment at best – directors must do better here else the social
tools currently being applied to sales or call centre hires at licence that business enjoys will be eroded further.
the front line of the organisation. Often too little time, and
too little science, is applied to the process of appointing But that is another story!
a chief executive.
Peter Kerridge
A CEO hire should never be a panic project. A board
should always have options. The best boards know who is
a possible successor internally and meet external potential
Photo courtesy of Casey Horner
CEOs on a regular basis.
Nine out of 10 boards we work with rely on us 100% to
conduct the reference checking for CEO candidates. New
Zealand is an outlier in this respect. In some geographies
directors talk directly to a candidate’s referees and the search
firm does none. A balance between the two is recommended.
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 11Executive pay, post Covid-19
In the weeks since the As we commented in our last On the latter point, we have long
Covid-19 outbreak there have Integrated Report, executive pay observed that New Zealand is not
has “defied gravity” in recent times a hardship location! In fact, post
been many more important
and grown well ahead of inflation Covid-19, New Zealand may be
and immediate issues to deal and average worker pay. Clearly if possibly the single most desirable
with than that of executive we follow the logic that executive place on the planet to live. We
pay. As a ‘short-term fix’ pay should be commensurate with certainly don’t need to be paying
we have seen a number of revenue, profit, staff numbers and people “hardship location” salaries
executives, most commonly so on, then should those numbers for living in this beautiful country. It
decline, pay must come down. That is is even possible that the supply of
chief executives and their
unless boards and their shareholders executives looking for these hitherto
immediate direct reports, are comfortable with the departure hard to fill CEO/senior roles, might
voluntarily take pay cuts in the from the existing methods of setting exceed demand and thus drive pay
range of 15% to 50%. remuneration. down! Market forces at play. You may
even get executives willing to pay a
The debate around what executive Recessionary times also bring a company for the privilege of joining
pay might look like “on the other heightened sensitivity to wealth and getting a chance at gaining
side” will no doubt be had in many and wealth disparity in particular. citizenship.
boardrooms across the country. Societal expectations around how
the rich might contribute is likely to We predict that the Covid-19
Clearly the role of the chief executive change. As an IMD professor once crisis will certainly put the brakes
is going to stay the same in some commented to me wryly over dinner on the rising levels of executive
sense, and yet very different in others. [on the responsibility of the wealthy remuneration and will almost
Revenue and employee numbers are to ‘share their good fortune’], “if we certainly see upper levels of
two metrics that will likely go down don’t, they will come after us with management facing reductions in
for many organisations. Given that pitchforks”. Boards of directors must their pay across a good many sectors
many remuneration benchmarking be sensitive to the communities of the economy.
methods use metrics like this to within which they operate – more so
help determine the level of base than ever – and be aware of how Peter Kerridge
remuneration, it is hard to see a their decisions will be perceived in
good many New Zealand companies those communities.
sustaining the levels of executive pay
that they have done in the past. The proponents of maintaining high
levels of executive pay will argue that
low pay will disincentivise people
from taking roles. They would also
argue that it will make it harder for
us to attract people to these jobs,
whether from within New Zealand or
from overseas.
12 Transforming the Leadership Landscape“
Executive pay has “defied gravity” in
recent times and grown well ahead of
”
inflation and average worker pay.
Peter Kerridge
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 13Conversation on leadership
with Mike Bush
Mike Bush
Former Kiwi Police boss Mike Bush’s career in the direction you want to take the organisation, you
spans early days on the beat to top cop and now, can’t blink, and it’s your responsibility to bring everyone on
that journey as you can.’
a new role leading the operational task force
fighting Covid-19. Who did you look up to as you moved through the ranks?
Did you have mentors? What are the attributes that have
Whether Mike is in uniform or in civvies, he is perhaps
impressed you most in law enforcement leaders?
personified in our Police force’s mottos of ‘be safe - feel
safe, safer communities together’, ‘prevention first’ and ‘I was lucky to have a myriad of fantastic people as
‘protect and serve’. leaders and influencers. At the same time, I did see a lot of
people in the organisation who I wouldn’t rate as highly,
In one remarkable role to another he has proven himself to so I was able to note the differences and compare styles.
be a robust and practiced strategist, tactician, governor My leaders had a range of skills, some very technically
and leader of people spanning decades serving Aotearoa. proficient at policing, some with wonderful attitudes,
He took some time out to talk to Vikki Maclean. people who were born to communicate and reach
people. Equally, some of the mentors and people I have
Mike you joined the Police in 1978, what were your spent time with in recent years, have been outside of the
hopes and aspirations? organisation. I was able to learn from a range of excellent
role models.’
‘I joined when I was 17 years old, straight from school.
Like any Kiwi, I wanted a vocation where I could make a
In the early 2000s there was a lot of controversy in and
difference, help others and the community. I also wanted
around the Police force, often being in the news for the
a job that has variation, good work stories and where
wrong reasons. At that time of flux, when did you think –
you’re going to be personally challenged and engaged.
‘Ok, I can make a real positive difference by leading this
I feel lucky and grateful to be able to say that I’ve had
organisation’?
42 years of massive variety and doing the right thing by
communities.’ ‘Initially it was when I was in the mid-ranks of the
organisation. I was on a strategic leadership course in
As Commissioner you’ve done some great things around Australia at the Institute of Police Management Australia/
culture modernisation, you’ve talked about listening, New Zealand. Being an operational leader in the New
having vision, not blinking and getting on with it – Did it Zealand Police is hugely rewarding, really interesting and
really live up to your expectations? a very comfortable place to stay, I was quite content to
remain there, but the co-ordinator challenged me; “did I
‘More so! Hand on heart, it more than lived up to my
have more to offer, could I do more in terms of leading in
expectations. The people I’ve met, the things I’ve been
an organisation?”
involved in and the difference I have been able to
Latterly in 2008, when I was District Commissioner for
contribute to – it’s been interesting, very rewarding and
Counties Manukau when the government invested another
very exciting. Building an organisation that was responsive
300 staff into the district. The Commissioner and Deputy
to community needs meant we had to have a clear
Commissioner of the day challenged me to develop a new
direction and didn’t blink on the way through. In my first
operating model for the New Zealand Police which we did,
years as a Police officer I just wanted to be a good cop,
that was the genesis of ‘prevention first’. This gave me the
I certainly had no thoughts of leading the organisation –
opportunity to start to re-shape the organisation.’
that came much later. There are a lot of people who will try
to distract, undermine and disrupt, but if you really believe
14 Transforming the Leadership Landscape“
When they opened the doors of the hall we were completely swamped by
thousands of people who had lost their families – their children, their
parents , siblings, their friends, partners, it was something you can’t imagine
– opening the doors to thousands of grief stricken people that we tried to
comfort and help as a very small team. It did define me as a leader in many
ways, seeing that level of tragedy and grief on such a scale.
”
in Auckland. When I became Commissioner the status quo
With ‘prevention first’, how did you get the team behind was that our staff were allowed to march in the parade but
you to change the culture and drive the vision? weren’t allowed to wear uniform. They could wear a t-shirt
identifying as Police, but no uniforms. We changed that
‘It was persistence and total commitment to that cause.
very quickly and said ‘please wear your uniform and wear it
Part of it is having a ‘hook’ and I leveraged the principle
proudly ’, we value what diversity brings to our organisation
that we all come to work to make a difference. We
and our communities. “We stand for Diversity.”
engaged our people in designing the model ‘Prevention
Everyone did, you might have seen the coverage…
First’. It’s not about prevention “only” it’s about the order
The dog section is a very traditional part of New Zealand
in which you think and act – putting prevention in front
Police and has a progressive leader. He said to his staff ‘I
of our thinking and action. Every component of policing is
want you to join me on Saturday afternoon in Ponsonby;
important, it’s prevention at the front, then it’s responding,
we’re marching with the troops’. He was on his own.
investigating and getting results – so if you get the order
Twelve months later at the next Pride parade he had a
right, you’ll make a difference. We used the McKinsey 7s
complement of dog handlers, not only that, they had each
framework and built prevention first into every part of the
made rainbow vests for their dogs. A story I like to tell
organisation. It was reflected in our structure, strategy, our
about how leadership drove change.’
values, in our mind-set, in the way we behaved, and the
way we communicated and engaged with our community
In your role as Liaison Officer for South East Asia, you were
– our key stakeholders! It wasn’t easy, we got some of our
in the spotlight when you were the first official on the
communications wrong at the start. We didn’t explain
scene of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. It must have been
‘prevention first’ very well and some frontline responders
incredibly defining for you as a person, and as a leader?
felt their roles might be less important, so we adjusted our
messaging to ensure it was inclusive.’ ‘I was the Police liaison officer to South East Asia based in
Bangkok; the earthquake hit at about 8.30am local time.
Changing the operating model and the culture was a Several hours later, the first tsunami hit Phuket. I was
heck of a journey. How did you do it? alerted about midday, by 2pm I was at Bangkok airport
ready to fly to Phuket and landed there just before dusk
‘It was a 180° turn and of course, the ‘prevention first’
on Boxing Day. I joined some of my colleagues from other
piece comes with some political risk. The community
embassies to help Thai authorities deal with victims of the
bought into this absolutely. They want us to prevent harm.
tragedy. Not really knowing the full extent of what had
What we did first was redefine our strategy. Defining
occurred, we were about to learn the scale of what had
our purpose in life was the critical start point; “to ensure
just taken place in those first few hours – terrible. We had
people are safe and feel safe”. We re-shaped our values
been briefed by the Thai authorities and told to position
because they are the foundation piece of our organisation
ourselves in a large hall to deal with our own nationals
and enable our strategy. We added empathy and valuing
that had suffered through the tsunami. At that point we
diversity to our value set.
only knew what we heard from main-stream media – that a
Valuing diversity wasn’t just about being diverse, it was
handful of people had died. When they opened the doors
also about diversity of thought in our decision making.
Photo courtesy of Bryn Parish
of the hall we were completely swamped by thousands
The first thing we did was launch a recruiting campaign to
of people who had lost their families – their children, their
bring more diversity into the organisation, not just gender
parents , siblings, their friends, partners, it was something
but ethnicity, orientation, diversity of thought and age.
you can’t imagine – opening the doors to thousands of
The investment in Police, the extra 1800 Police plus 485
grief stricken people that we tried to comfort and help as a
support staff was a 20% uplift in our people and enabled
very small team. It did define me as a leader in many ways,
us to recruit more diversity. One of the things we did to
seeing that level of tragedy and grief on such a scale.
demonstrate our commitment related to the Pride parade
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 15For the next couple of hours we established processes, lot written on the topic but I’m not sure there is enough
getting information and trying to help people. I had my information out there on understanding how important it
Police contacts and networks there who helped me get is to your long term mental and physical health, and also
around the island over the next few days bearing witness your daily performance. Many leaders who are massively
to the absolute devastation. Over those few days I would capable will stop doing what they are doing because they
have seen the majority of the 5,500 victims. I attended have reached their resilience maximum. No-one tells you
briefings by the Department of Health. There was a real that once you become a leader of an organisation you are
appetite for bringing in disaster victim identification public game, it goes with the job. More around helping
teams, due to there being both local people and tourists people/leaders prepare for that would be very beneficial.’
among the dead. Governments were starting to bring in
their own teams. There is an international DVI [Disaster Your apology to Tūhoe on behalf of the Police for its
Victim Identification] process that law enforcement lead – actions in the Operation 8 investigations received a
so our question was, ‘how do we implement this and get it mixed reaction from Iwi. You led the apology but how did
moving fast?’ I spoke to my Thai General counterpart who you feel about that and what led you to that decision?
said ‘Mike, we can’t talk to government officials but as a
‘It was something the Police absolutely had to do. We
representative of an embassy, you can’. Within the hour I
shouldn’t just be apologising for what we did then. The
was appearing before the Thai Minister of the Interior who
New Zealand Police have been part of the reason we have
was leading the response. With a colleague alongside me
an over representation of Māori in the justice system both
who knew more than I did about the DVI process, I was
as offenders and victims because we’ve been present, over
able to lobby the Minister and propose a way forward. The
the last 70 or 80 years, at some of those turning points.
Minister turned to us and said OK, and to my Thai General
We have to own our part before we put them right,
friend said, ‘you lead it’, they in turn asked me to help them
apologising to Tūhoe was an important part of that. Also
establish the International DVI response. The outcome
to understand what we actually did, and how we impacted
was that over the next 12 months the international team
mainly the young people in that community. They were the
were able to identify about 4500 out of the 5000 – 5500
ones most wronged. I talked to those who were prosecuted.
people who perished and return them to their loved ones.
They didn’t have an issue with being held to account, but
I reflect on this and think we did the right thing; we used
said what we did to their tamariki was so wrong. I made
our networks and our influence to ensure so many of those
an apology to every one of those families the week before
people got their loved ones back. The first piece took
the formal public apology. A small number of my team and
seven days, the rest took the rest of the year. So many
I went to each home, sitting with the parents and tamariki
people were involved but being able to initiate the process
and listening. At the end of each one of those stories, after I
in the first instance was the right thing to do I think.’
had listened to the anger and the hurt that was inflicted, to
then see the tremendous hospitality and respect they and
Mike you have faced some tough situations in your career.
their parents showed us in their homes was remarkable. I
How do you manage to keep your resilience buoyant?
said to every one of them, if only we’d shown you the same
‘I think you grow into it over time. The biggest tool in your respect, we wouldn’t need to be here. That is part of who
resilience toolbox is understanding your purpose and the we need to be as a Police service. A week later we did the
value you can add if you do the right thing and in the right official apology and it is probably one of the most impactful
way. Remind yourself what the situation requires of you. Do things I have ever done in my life. Tūhoe leadership is
this but also take care of yourself. Self-management is key, very contemporary and they absolutely role model good
you have to be disciplined and understand the signs you leadership. There was a little scepticism around the apology
might be about to hit the wall. Allow your family to help, at the time, but it was accepted by Tūhoe. It was also how
stay fit and healthy and sleep well. I think everyone lives we honoured that apology over the next few years by
on a spectrum in terms of their resilience level. There is a demonstrating how we police differently.’
16 Transforming the Leadership Landscape“
I know if you have the right governance framework,
the right vision, strategy and system and the right
culture inside an organisation, people will get where
they need to be.
”
Mike you have recently started a different role and In your life after the government response task force, are
you’re still very much in the public eye. Now that you’re there any particular sectors that are of interest to you?
starting a new chapter in your life, how would you
‘You more or less get pigeon-holed as a long-serving
describe your core legacy at New Zealand Police?
Police officer, but I believe the learnings and insights I
‘I truly believe we have modernised and transformed every have had over 42 years would work anywhere, in any
component of policing – our strategy, our operating model, our organisation or sector whether it’s financial, business,
culture, values and leadership and how we serve the public. community, sporting – you name it. I think the principles
I was determined that we become an organisation that are very similar.
shows real compassion and caring towards people because We talked earlier about not blinking and keeping
we are very much here for them. That is the ‘cool’ part and going. I think many organisations will need help holding
I am proud of our achievements so far. We also changed their eyelids open through these challenging times…
and modernised technology as well but that’s part of ‘It’s going to be really challenging but I am also really
enablement. I would say, and of course I am biased, that we heartened by the amount of innovation that’s going on
are the best and most contemporary Police service in the out there. I also love the respect that Kiwis are showing to
world, with the highest levels of trust and confidence – and each other. It’s an opportunity to reinvent New Zealand for
that’s where we need to be, and Andy [Andrew Coster] will the better.’
continue to take it to the next level.’
So, Mike to finish up – this is a bit of a cringy question –
Mike what’s next for you? what advice would you give to your younger self?
‘Well, like everyone else I wasn’t anticipating being in this ‘You will make a few errors and mistakes along the way -
space with Covid-19, so I’m very privileged to have a role don’t be afraid to make them but learn from them. Have
in the government response task-force, it’s great working the courage to do things, different things – and of course
with this team and our mission is to keep New Zealand don’t blink’
well, safe and sustainable. I am very keen to share my
experiences and learnings with other organisations Mike thank you so much for this wonderful conversation
whether in a governance role, an advisory role or whatever and your time. On behalf of me and my team may I say
it may be.’ thank you for playing your part in steering New Zealand as
a vanguard through these challenging times.
Why would governance be of interest to you? What is it
that resonates? Regardless of a person’s politics we cannot fault our Prime
Minister and our leaders for how well this unprecedented
‘I know if you have the right governance framework, the
situation has been navigated. I believe everyone can say
right vision, strategy and system and the right culture
we are glad to be here in Aotearoa.
inside an organisation, people will get where they need
to be. I think it’s part of building a great New Zealand.
Mike Bush and Vikki Maclean
Everything we do in the positive contributes to a great
world, so in any small way contributing to that is what
everyone lives for.’
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 17From left to right: Cheewei Kwan, Robbie Manson, Vikki Maclean
Peak performance and Preparation
Two interesting points that Robbie
leadership with Robbie Manson
shared were that his level of
preparation is the same irrespective
of the competition; and that all these
many hours of work culminate in
a short, quick race. As leaders we
Kerridge & Partners was A latecomer to the sport, Robbie
quickly excelled as a rower and was are often judged on a handful of
delighted to partner with the
selected for the 2012 Olympic team. visible, key decisions – and it is the
Bank of New Zealand [BNZ] in behaviours unobserved that enable
He climbed through the ranks in
hosting world champion rower the lead up to the 2016 campaign, those to be made effectively. There
Robbie Manson in April 2019. rowing in the semi-final in the double is also a lesson for the audience in
sculls with Chris Harris. Robbie then applying the same level of rigour
Robbie spoke about his journey as an switched to single sculls and found and process to problems or decisions
openly gay man in professional sport a new level of performance, winning regardless of their value.
and provided lessons for us all on the twice in the World Rowing Cup in
parallels of personal leadership in 2017 and in 2018. Rather than focus Failure
this setting into a business context. on his successes, Robbie chose to Robbie twice lost out at the World
His reflections were supplemented speak about the difficulties he has Championships despite being a clear
by a panel discussion with Kate Daly, faced as a professional athlete. His favourite and qualifying well. He
the Chief People Officer at the bank, learnings provided the audience with put this down to overpreparation.
who discussed steps that she had compelling reasons to pause and Underlying this was a constant self-
taken throughout her career and on reflect on their application to business pressure to perform, which led to
behalf of organisations, to encourage leadership. The most discussed a loss of enjoyment in the sport for
diversity and inclusion as precedents lessons that were shared included: Robbie. Until he found that passion
to high performance leadership.
18 Transforming the Leadership Landscapeagain for rowing Robbie reflected the sake of a diverse workforce. An every meeting, with Kate describing
that he was not able to perform at important effort was making the nirvana as when you get coaching
the elite level, which is relevant for ‘tick’ come to life throughout the like that from your team. There is
business leaders working through organisation, which involved examples nothing like real time feedback – Kate
particularly stressful or busy times. such as a speaking tour by the CEO cautioned the audience to have the
The level of enjoyment we are able and a Pride parade. Practically, Kate empathy to listen.
to sustain in our work is critical in worked to improve gender ratios
how we impress upon others in these by focusing on areas where there is Speaking about leadership
moments and provide leadership. For good supply of diverse talent, such as development at the Bank, Kate
Robbie, acknowledging weakness human resources and marketing. adopted the approach to invest
has made him a stronger athlete and in the bottom 90% of staff as the
his humility has lessons for us all in There are parallels here to Robbie majority of the workforce, rather
confronting the failures we encounter leaning into his own mental health, than budget expensive development
as leaders. noting that he has obviously endured courses for the top 10% of performers
the highs and lows of competitive as can often be the case. At the
Coaching sport and a public image. Whether bank they have mapped the people
Robbie has been the beneficiary facing comparisons to Mahe experience journey of numerous roles
of great coaching throughout his Drysdale or reconciling the difference and identified seven key moments
career and described the value of a between a win and a close loss in each person’s career within the
coach as someone who can relate – riding through these ups and organisation, such as initial selection
and be attached to your experience downs is where the enjoyment factor and onboarding through to internal
without living it – have “their eyes became crucial for him. What helped mobility into new things. These have
outside of the boat”. With coaching, Robbie was the realisation that his been prioritised for investment as the
an increasingly recognised and sexuality was not at all a big deal key determinants of engagement and
utilised development tool for business among his colleagues and team, performance for the majority of staff.
leaders, selection of the right coach allowing Robbie to just be honest
is imperative and Robbie advised with himself and focus on the sport. The programme finished with an
the audience to be clear in the styles The message is that it is important interesting Q&A session, spanning
and past experience to accept in a we allow our teams to bring all of the process of selecting a coach
coach, and to be decisive in seeking themselves to work. through to corporate culture at
new mentors as careers progress and Rowing New Zealand. While the
coaching need evolves. Kate then spoke about her contexts through which Robbie and
observations of leaders as a leader Kate have experienced leadership
Diversity & Inclusion in the business world. She made are different, the overlaps in what
Kate spoke about her efforts to lead the case for focusing on leadership constitutes an effective leader of
diversity and inclusion at Fletcher teams rather than leaders, arguing teams and of the self are remarkable.
Building, which became the first that people achieve little in isolation
company in the building sector across and should consult to make effective Tim Scanlan
Asia Pacific to receive the ‘Rainbow decisions. At the BNZ the executive
Tick’. This was achieved by leaning group give peer to peer coaching after
into the hard issues on a business-
by-business basis and overcoming
a traditionally masculine culture for
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 19Reflections on Diversity
and Innovation
“ Do not underestimate the importance of learning from
younger members of your organisation – they know so
much more about technology and often make you see
Mike Bennetts
Chief Executive | Z Energy
”
things from a totally different perspective.
20 Transforming the Leadership LandscapeDiversity vs Equity
in a time of crisis
Photo courtesy of Diversity Works, New Zealand
Transformation of the workforce post-lockdown At the time of the Alert Level 4 lockdown, there were
will offer opportunities for businesses to look a 170,000 migrants on temporary visas in New Zealand,
while 2019 saw the largest net gain of permanent
lot different, writes Jayne Atherton.
migrants ever. This flow is now firmly dammed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating, global
‘The crisis will significantly
impact on business and has cruelly exposed some of
impact immigration and it
society’s inequalities and fragilities, particularly in relation
will be important for the Kiwi
to health, wellbeing, jobs and finances.
economy to optimise what it
already has,’ says Smit.
But as many business leaders focus on the fight for
survival, diversity and inclusion organisations see both
‘This means businesses
opportunities and risks in the bigger battle for a more
who have relied on travel or
egalitarian working world.
immigration to fill labour and
Maretha Smit, Chief Executive,
skills shortages will have to
National advisory organisation, Diversity Works New Diversity Works, New Zealand
look at different ways to bolster
Zealand recently released its annual report [‘New Zealand
their workforce. And it’s important for them to realise that
Workforce Diversity Survey 2020’] which captured a
investment in people doesn’t have to cost top dollar, it’s
snapshot view of the diversity issues that were most
about having a different mindset.’
important to organisations.
One of the authors of the survey, Massey University’s
Wellbeing, gender, bias, and flexibility had retained
Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley, says being
their top spots compared to last year, with disability,
prepared for the future means businesses might have
employment transition for younger staff and religion still
to take a long-term view. ‘The supply of temporary and
languishing at the bottom of the list.
permanent migrant workers to New Zealand is currently
turned off and it might remain turned off, depending on
But with travel and immigration now at a standstill,
the visa category, for between 12 months to three years.’
optimisation of the local talent pool will be key to recovery
and could mark a step-change in making our workplaces
But where there is a challenge lies a golden opportunity to
much more diverse, says Maretha Smit, the South-African
drive diversity and inclusion believes Smit. ‘We would like
born, new Chief Executive of Diversity Works New Zealand
to see New Zealand organisations more engaged with the
who stepped into her role as lockdown began.
older generation in the workforce for example.
Kerridge & Partners Integrated Report 2020 21“ Organisations must earn their social licence to
operate – you have to be responsible to both the
customer and the country you are operating in.
Chris Quin
Chief Executive | Foodstuffs
”
Fewer migrants will also mean that businesses need Smit believes boards of directors can play a pivotal role in
to more actively look at developing our younger New picking up the macro-perspective for businesses.
Zealanders because as our economy slows down, there ‘This is where I believe the Board can make a real
is a real risk we could end up with more NEETs [young impact and take an ERM [enterprise risk management]
people not in education, employment, or training]. perspective, says Smit. ‘The Board needs to make it OK to
take a chance on a more diverse workforce and consider
‘Forward-thinking leaders should be planning now to the triple bottom line of social, environmental as well as
invest in those young people and bring them into their financial to measure their success.
organisations to create the workforce they need.’
A recessionary environment however, could pose a ‘In terms of governance I use the three ‘Ps’ which are
risk to gains already made in areas such as gender Profitability, People and Planet. If they are out of
representation for example. balance in a business, it has an adverse impact on
long-term sustainability, and this will be especially so
Smit points out that many women have been badly in the post Covid-19 environment where reflections on
impacted by the Covid-19 crisis because they are highly the shortcomings of the world that was have raised our
represented in industries such as tourism and hospitality expectations about the interface between these three
and, in roles higher up the organisational structure, imperatives.’
maintaining or improving gender parity might be the last
thing on corporate minds. The New Zealand Workplace Diversity Survey showed
that public sector entities were more likely to have formal
‘Recovery for many businesses will be all about leaders policies, processes and initiatives in place to address
setting a clear agenda and strategic focus,’ says Smit. ‘But diversity issues such as disability, bullying, harassment
it’s going to be a hard, long job, and the risk will be that and wellbeing. However encouragingly, the gap between
diversity and inclusion will be put on the back burner in the public and private sector had narrowed compared to 2019
fight for survival.’ and the private sector was better equipped compared to
the public sector to formally address bias, employment
The problem is compounded by the fact that in times of transition for younger staff, gender disparity and religion.
crisis, the tried, tested ‘known’ individual who mirrors the
status quo, becomes an even more attractive prospect, Smit says: ‘The public sector mandate comes from
when ironically, the opposite might be sorely needed. Government and is driven by the State Services
Smit says: ‘There can be in-built blockers to diversity and Commission and there is no equivalent for the private
inclusion in systemic management because generally, it sector, but there have been some gains here which is a
tends to reward risk aversion, and ‘fitting into the mould’. real positive.’
This can become even more acute when management is
under pressure.’
22 Transforming the Leadership LandscapeYou can also read
