KEY POINTS:
Top business executives here are on a par with the best in the world, says leadership consultant
What's interesting about New Zealand and the talent of leadership is that it's way better than it thinks it is.
Stephen Langton, managing partner,
Heidrick & Struggles
NEW Zealand and Australia should be proud of the business leaders they produce, says an international leadership expert.
Stephen Langton, managing partner in leadership consulting for Asia Pacific at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, is due in the country next week to talk to a who's who of New Zealand's top CEOs.
"What's interesting about New Zealand and the talent of leadership is that it's way better than it thinks it is," says Langton.
Just because New Zealand chiefs are not often Harvard case studies like Jack Welch, the legendary chief executive of GE, does not mean they are inferior. The issue is to look for best practice, says Sydney-based Langton.
And New Zealand companies do that well - it's just not talked about much.
"Fonterra is extraordinarily good at maximising opportunities," says Langton.
"The fact that the world does not know Andrew Ferrier's name - so what - New Zealand has done it really, really well."
In the past, companies in New Zealand and Australia have clung to the idea that leadership talent must be "fully imported" from Europe or the States.
But there has been a radical change happening.
"We are talking about the next premium appointments coming from within their own businesses," Langton says.
He predicts New Zealand organisations will increasingly support their internal candidates, as is already taking place in Australia.
Langton has worked with Marius Kloppers in his rise through the company to CEO at mining giant BHP Billiton, and with former Brambles Industries CFO Michael Ilhein to CEO of that company.
The consultant is helping Qantas on its replacement for CEO Geoff Dixon. He is working with the top three managers to assess whether one is CEO material. He will then benchmark them against external candidates.
On his visit, Langton will be talking to top New Zealand CEOs about winning the war to find talent.
Those who win that war will have created clarity in the organisation. "Everybody understands what they are trying to achieve," he says.
The style and role of CEOs is changing around the world. Chief executives in the US and Europe once tended to be more egocentric than their Australasian counterparts, who were more geared to the organisation's success.
There has been a tendency for CEOs in smaller markets to be slightly apologetic about being leaders. But the humility and genuineness of these CEOs is increasingly attractive to markets and employees, says Langton. This new breed of CEO "apportions credit and takes blame".
Even the best of chief executives "take the job with L plates", says Langton, whose team helped prepare former BlueScope Steel CFO Paul O'Malley for his new role as CEO of the company.
The L plates stand for a few things. "The biggest one is to let go the technical skills that served you well. You can't use them again - you manage the people with the technical skills."
It's not always an easy transition. He remembers the chief executive of a bank, who, within six months of rising to the position, told him: "I miss banking."
Of all positions in a company, that of chief executive is the most unforgiving, says Langton. Media expectations of CEOs are significant these days, and it's taking a toll on these company heads.
"It is very hard to encourage people to take a CEO role of a publicly listed company because it's so public," he says.
Simon Monks, partner at Heidrick & Struggles NZ, who works with Langton, says the consultant helps companies find and develop talent in organisations - people who might otherwise take their skills elsewhere.
"With the shortage of top professionals, what organisations are finding, particularly with a flatter organisational structure, is that there's residual talent in organisations."
If developed properly, this talent won't be wasted. If not, then people leave.
Langton shows leaders how to assess the talent in their organisations "That's pretty important in NZ. There is a huge temptation for people to leave NZ and go offshore and not come back to their mid 40s - the danger is a leadership vacuum in NZ," says Monks.
Gill South is a freelance business writer based in Auckland
