15 | How to Own being an Effective Leader

10/19/18 • 27 min

Sean held a number of positions at Smurfitt Graduate School of business over his 20-year career there. Most recently he was Director of Marketing, a role he held for 11 years until he retired in 2015. Prior to joining Smurfitt he was Director of Marketing at BUPA Ireland where he was involved in its launch in 1996. He also had significant experience in the food sector having served as a GM and Marketing Director in Waterford Foods (now Glanbia).

When it comes to leadership, he saw the good, the bad and the ugly through his 50-year career.

Show Notes:

1.02 – Sean and his career journey – 1.56 – Good and great leaders – 2.41 – Clarity of purpose is critical – 4.36 – Education is creating better (but perhaps inexperienced) leaders – 5.31 – Leaders sometimes have to make tough calls – 8.41 – Your people know more about customers than you do – 10.01 - Connection to strategy and strategic planning – 12.16 – Creating engaging teams – 13.22 – Management by walking about – 15.41 – Don’t tell lies! – 18.11 – Avoiding reputational impact – 20.11 – Leading through change –23.31 – Sean’s leadership role models – 26.46 –Sean’s advice for his 20-year-old self – know what you don’t know.

When it comes to leadership, he saw the good, the bad and the ugly through his 50-year career.

Show Notes:

Previous Episode

14 | Change Communications Tips for Organisations

Tom has worked in communications for over 20 years. He started his career in PR working with brands like Microsoft, Intel and Gateway before, in the late 1990s with the advent of the Irish tech boom, turning his attention to tech startups, working in Iona, Marrakech and Cape Clear.

In 2005 he joined Microsoft Ireland before moving to HQ in Seattle in 2009. He's worked in a number of roles in PR and CSR and, more recently, in internal communications, where he's played a key role in driving global change for 15,000 staff across 140 countries in Microsoft Services.

For more on Tom's career, see his LinkedIn profile here.

Show Notes:

58s – A bit about Tom and his career journey – 3.33 – Getting people involved in change – 4.35 – We will use AI but there’s always a role for people – 6.00 – Managing change for 15,000 people – 7.35 – Case for change, over-communicating and vision – 9.40 – Getting your people on board – 10.50 Change is a journey, not a straight A to B – 12.50 – Handling uncertainty – 13.30 – The role of leaders – 15.15 – Upskilling leaders in communications – 16.30 – Being a people manager is hard work! – 17.50 – Planning comms during long term change – 19.00 – Involving people shows they have a voice – 20.00 – The power of storytelling during change – 24.00 – Tom’s leadership role models – 26.35 –Tom’s advice for his 20-year-old self – keep learning and look at things differently

Next Episode

16 | Engaging your Front line Staff in Organisations

Paul has worked in internal communications for over 20 years - by his own admission, "that was back when internal communications was still a new thing".

He started his career in Barclays where he worked in a number of roles before continuing his career in the Insurance sector with the Prudential, and in mobile telecoms with T-Mobil / EE. He then returned to financial services with RBS to work for the general insurance business before it was floated on the stock market as Direct Line Insurance.

Most recently he was with Rolls-Royce, with a brief to unify people under a new narrative, vision and strategy.

Show Notes: