Get Tough But Be Emotional Says Business Performance Expert

A high profile leader in executive training has called on New Zealand business to improve performance by getting tough when making hard decisions but also be emotionally intelligent when building effective working relationships.

The contrasting challenges were highlighted by Katheren Leitner after a recent special breakfast meeting for The Executive Connection, an organisation dedicated to ongoing learning and development for Chief Executives, Managing Directors, business leaders and owners.

“All business owners and managers constantly face the dilemma of infinite requests and pressures on time, compared to a finite number of hours in the day,” Ms Leitner says. “At times it seems these pressures are unmanageable but armed with an ability to be tough and emotional at the same time can help overcome this.

“The idea of being both tough and emotional is a difficult concept for many. However, evidence shows that high performance business leaders are embracing this and making a difference,” she says.

Ms Leitner’s comments followed a presentation at Highwic House, in Newmarket, Auckland, the former home of Alfred Buckland one of New Zealand’s most successful foremost entrepreneurs. The breakfast meeting was one of a series run by The Executive Connection aiming to bring business managers and owners together to share insight, issues, advice, experience and solutions.

“Business owners typically face the challenge of balancing management and leadership,” she says. “Most did not set out to build a company but follow a business opportunity based on a passion or trade. But with this comes the inevitable challenges of managing and leading staff, dealing with suppliers and customers, and managing finance. The purpose of the breakfast was to give some local Auckland business managers and owners a sense of the value they can gain from the well structured and facilitated group discussion offered by The Executive Connection,” she says.

The Executive Connection (TEC) is part of Vistage International, Inc., the world’s largest CEO member organisation with more than 14,500 members in 16 countries. Its core programme has three key parts: a monthly peer group session where members from different industries share information and successful strategies about challenging issues, a monthly presentation by a highly trained expert in a relevant area, and a monthly one-to-one coaching session with an experienced ex-CEO who mentors and leads the group. In New Zealand it operates groups in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Recent research shows organisations whose leaders are TEC members outperform their peers. During the GFC period of 2008 and 2009, the average TEC SME member company’s revenue (excluding the finance and insurance industry) increased by 7.6% compared to an average 0.8% decline for other similar sized businesses. In the same period, TEC member companies increased staff numbers by 3.3% on average, compared to a 3% reduction for those not involved.