Manqoba Mchunu, pictured centre, found the collaborative leadership style of RSC executive director Vikki Heywood especially inspiring
By MANQOBA MCHUNU
Are leaders born? Am I a leader? Do I have the courage to lead? And do I possess the the right qualities and skills?
These are questions many of us ask ourselves. We know we want to make it to the top. But are we good enough?
Over the past two weeks, I have had the privilege, together with nine other members of the Thomson Foundation Future Leaders course, to meet some of the most prominent leaders in the UK media industry. And the answers seem less elusive than before.
A common theme from these encounters is that leadership means having a goal and finding ways to reach it. True, there will be obstacles along the way. Tough decisions to be made. But as ITV’s editor in chief told us, the job may not be easy, but it has to be done. There will be regrets, he said, and leaders constantly question whether they have made the right choices. But that’s the way a leader learns and matures.
Former newspaper editor, Paul Horrocks, stressed that a leader should take bold risks, but know when to admit a plan isn’t working and pull out. Paul admits he learned lessons the hard way, taking editorial decisions that occasionally landed his newspaper in legal battles.
Former Endemol creative director Peter Bazalegette taught us that no idea is small, and that sometimes the smallest idea can turn into a multi-billion pound profit
Perhaps the most valued lesson thus far was from the Royal Shakespeare’s Executive Director Vikki Heywood, who has transformed the theatre into a profitable success. Heywood believes in a collaborative leadership, which she artistically refers to as an ensemble. She says it’s about bringing everyone on board and working together to achieve a common goal; about changing attitudes and behaviour, and leading by example. It’s also about valuing input from all staff members and picking the right person for the right job.
During the course, I asked Director of BBC Wales Menna Richards: “How do I know when I’m ready to lead?” Her answer: “You don’t, nobody tells you when you are ready but yourself.”
So is leadership a born gift? Well, during our visit to the Palace of Westminster we met Baroness Brenda Dean, who said she never planned to become a leader, but was nominated for it.
Barnoness Dean readily admits she never stopped learning as leader of a trade union in the UK. At the heart of her success lay a determination not to fail coupled with a passion for what she did.
Former Endemol creative director Peter Bazalegette taught us that no idea is small, and that sometimes the smallest idea can turn into a multi-billion pound profit. The moral of his story: keep developing and refining your ideas and one day you will reap the rewards.
As course leader Lyn Hartman noted: A leader brings solutions, not problems.
So it’s up to all of us to nurture our skills and reach our potential as Future Leaders.
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