Young Executive of the Year 2012 | Pass it on Published 13 July 2012 02:57

Catherine Fox

From left: Matthew Brown, Jill Charker, Steven Sharp, Lawrence Narayan, Robert Iervasi and.Jessica

Barber. Photo Louise Kennerley and Ross Swanborough

There’s a penny-dropping moment for most winners of the Young Executive of the Year Awards. It’s when they realise that no matter how good their technical skills or knowledge, without the ability to lead and motivate a team they will get nowhere fast.

How they come to that understanding and the ways they hone those skills vary, of course. But the winners this year have all made a significant investment in their own development that included using mentors (in and out of their organisations) says Bonnie Boezeman, who has been a Young Executive of the Year judge since the awards began in 2004.

This is not a group that puts their own needs last. They understand that what works for them also delivers performance for their businesses.

“They all had a vision for their company, but also a strong vision for themselves, and that there should be balance between the company’s direction and where they think they’d like go in their careers,” Boezeman says.

Our 2012 winners come from a variety of sectors. They range from Australian Bureau of Statistics division head Jill Charker, who saw her department through an extensive restructure, to Canadian engineer Jessica Barber who manages 350 staff and 200 contractors as head of mining production at BHP Billiton’s Mt Whaleback iron ore mine, 1000 kilometres north-east of Perth.

The group are adept problem-solvers at a personal and professional level, the judges discovered. They’ve learned how to negotiate challenges through experience.

Having a mentor also played a crucial role in their development. “Good mentors, internal mentors – and external mentors – who they can say anything to no matter how silly and get a positive listening ear, that’s made a major difference,” Boezeman says.

The managers they report to are stronger and more skilled than those of 20 years ago and the young executives see them as role models. In turn, these young bosses are conscious of playing it forward. “They were all saying they feel like role models and have a sense of responsibility [to pass on their knowledge],” Boezeman says.

The factors that stood out in the 2012 cohort were the quality of their interactions with others and the effect that has on employee productivity and innovation, according to DDI’s managing director for south-east Asia, Mark Busine.

“It’s one of the key differentiators that we look for in the assessment centre, and the winners of the young executives are those who bring a rich portfolio of experience – but also typically demonstrate strong skills in the area of interactions, they’re the standouts,” Busine says.

This group was strong on networking with each other, too, and for the first time in years they went out for drinks together after their simulation day.

From the judges’ perspective, keeping connected should be a top priority for a young executive. “There is a real opportunity for them to further enhance their career development by building their professional networks,” says co-judge Grant Harrod, who heads Salmat Ltd.

“The business environment is increasing in complexity and competitiveness, so to draw on a network of mentors and senior business relationships will aid their development.”

Some of the winners have taken a novel approach to that. Matthew Brown shadowed Canberra Airport chief Terry Snow, who took him on in an undefined role three months after interviewing him for a management job for which he wasn’t qualified.

Society for Knowledge Economics founder, Telstra director and co-judge Steve Vamos believes that better management is producing a more skilled crop of future leaders. Older managers need to come to grips with that.

“Baby Boomers and older Gen Xs who lead organisations across our economy need to accept that young people today have greater knowledge, connection, expectations and opportunities than we had at the same stage of our careers,” he says.

R E I N V E N T I N G L E A D E R S H I P

Young ExEcutivE of thE YEar awards 2012mATTHEw bRowN • jILL cHARkER • STEVEN SHARP • LAwRENcE NARAyAN • RobERT IERVASI • jESSIcA bARbER

JULY 2012, VOLUME 13 WWW.AFRBOSS.COM.AU