InnovaBuzz Episode #99 – Anthony Howard, The Confidere Group

 Anthony Howard, The Confidere Group

In this episode of the InnovaBuzz podcast, my guest is Anthony Howard, the founder of The Confidere Group, a mentor and a coach for leaders, CEOs in large public companies across four continents. He’s also the author of the book “Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century”, and a sought after speaker.

The Confidere Group exists to build a better world by building better leaders.

Kristi Faulkner of Womenkind on Episode 79 suggested we interview Anthony.

Listen to the podcast to hear Anthony discuss Leadership in the 21st Century with me.

Listen to the Podcast

Show Notes

Key points and take-aways from this episode with Anthony Howard of the Confidere Group include:

• In teams, we get work done through people, so leadership of people is a critical skill to develop and have.
• The lack of leadership training provided to people in organisations is one of the biggest barriers to success in those organisations.
• If you don’t have a leadership strategy in your organisation, then people will default to their own personal view of leadership on an individual level and there could well be hundreds of different leadership styles in action – most of them not good!
• People default to a “command and control” style of leadership when under pressure and when not clear on the ONE leadership strategy in an organisation.
• The primary role of the leader is to create an environment in which people can flourish. What that means is, what a leader’s job is to create a space and environment where people can come to work and do their best work, every single day. In creating that environment, one of the first things the leader does is to create clarity of purpose and direction. Then train people on what their specific role is in that purpose.
• The purpose for an organisation has to be aspirational. It must go beyond just making money and satisfying shareholders. It needs to be something that people will support and feel compelled to contribute to.
• At an individual level – be clear with your purpose first and think about what you can do to move towards that purpose.
• When finding yourself struggling to be your “best self” in an organization, think of something you can do to transform yourself and your attitude. Think differently of the work you are doing. How can you transform your beliefs and attitude to take some steps to move towards your purpose. We cannot change others. What we can do is create an environment for ourselves, that allows us to change.
• Staying ahead of disruptive change is critical to every organisation. The first question to ask is not “How to stay ahead of disruptive change?”, rather “What is the trend that our business is built on? What will happen if that changes?” This will give you ideas to becoming a change agent and perhaps event being the disruptor.
• Human intelligence is being outsmarted by artificial intelligence. Technology is ramping up faster than humanity. We are less connected at a human level with all the technology that is designed to make us more connected! We’ve lost trust in the traditional institutions of authority. So what does it mean to be human in the 21st century in the face of these challenges? The number one challenge confronting leaders is to build human centered organization in the face of these major trends.

The Buzz – Our Innovation Round

Here are Anthony’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.

• #1 thing to be more innovative – Get out of your world, your community, your industry and see how things are done outside of your world.
• Best thing for new ideas – Combination of “gray matter” and conversation. Applying thought and reflection to what I’m hearing and trying to apply that to some problems. Have a playful curiosity.
• Favourite tool for innovation – Have a check-in process. Set expectations for each phase and have intense clarity about the outcome.
• Keep project / client on track – Set clear deadlines and timelines, with milestones and stick to them.
• Differentiate – Ask your clients how they differentiate you. Ring the clients and ask, “You could have chosen anybody but why did you choose me?” Find out what clients really value about you – it may be something you yourself take for granted.

To Be a Leader

Get out of your existing world, and see the future. Remove restrictions in your thinking imposed by your current environment. Find better questions – much more effective than finding a better answer.

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Anthony via the Confidere Group’s website.

Suggested Guest

Anthony suggested I interview Stephanie Lorenzo of Project Futures on a future InnovaBuzz podcast.

So Stephanie, keep an eye on your inbox, for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Anthony Howard.

Links and Books

• The Confidere Group
• Anthony on Twitter – @anthonyphoward
• Anthony on Linkedin

Books

• Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century by Anthony Howard.

Cool things about Anthony Howard

• He was a navigator in the Merchant Navy, and learned to lead through influence there.
• He lives in the beautiful township of Yackandandah in the Victorian High Country.
• He is a keen motorbike rider.

Listen to the Podcast