CEO Today - November 2022

THE CEO INTERVIEW www.ceotodaymagazine.com 14 You’ve had a distinguished career across a wide range of industries including serving as the former Chairman of Shell UK, British Rail and even Deputy Governor of the Bank of Scotland. Given your experience what do you consider makes a business leader great? Self-belief certainly. Not necessarily over-confidence, but a fervent desire to achieve a long-term goal. This selfbelief results in a total commitment. Followed closely by the ability to identify the people critical to the success of the goal, endeavour if you will. This could be people with particular knowledge… lawyers, financiers etc. Let me be clear, identifying means firstly really knowing what the business needs. Great business leaders always pick the right people, not necessarily the brightest, often the skill is gauging how a human being will fit into the narrative and work within the team. Great leaders are always natural communicators. They are ready to engage with people at any time, actively projecting the vision and seeking their input. Leaders are always seeking to learn from the response of others so they can improve the narrative for everyone. This is always an ongoing process, never stops. Remember a leader is only made great by the situation they find themselves in. Great leaders will seize the opportunity of the situation as it arises. Leadership and management styles are constantly evolving but are there principles behind them that you feel are timeless? Firstly, honesty and openness. Successful leaders don’t promise progress hopefully. Their forecasts and predictions of successful leaders are invariably accurate. Transparency focuses people on the problem quicker resulting in better outcomes. When we built the Channel Tunnel, we had a Program Director who always told it as it was and was rarely wrong. This allowed us to react quicker to situations as a team. The ability to communicate at all levels is timeless, I learnt early on from observing senior Shell executives and their ability to talk and engage with all members of an organisation. I also think visibility is important; I don’t mean at social events e.g. horse racing, I mean at the place of work. People, employees, want to see their leaders where the work is being done. Which CEOs today do you feel are doing an exceptional job leading their companies? Without an intimate association in the work area, it is impossible to comment. But I do have examples from my own experience. When I was MD of Shell UK, my partner from Esso was Archie Forster. When Archie was leading Esso, Shell and Esso made a lot of important progress largely because we didn’t argue. Archie worked hard to maintain a strong relationship with Shell. From Esso’s perspective, they were able to greatly benefit from Shell’s strength in projects. The speed at which we, Shell and Esso, were able to progress together became an advantage because it was effective. For Archie it wasn’t a personal narrative, it was a joint narrative that everyone could benefit from. How has the power dynamic in the modern boardroom changed? What are your thoughts regarding the “rise of the CFO” for example? The Boardroom dynamic is the Board’s operation. Members bring their own experience, and that experience is part of the Board’s momentum. The Chairperson then melds their contribution to producing an aggressive achieving company. I think in the past, because often organisations were owned by a small number of families (Shell was a good example), boards tended to be made up of family members who were there to observe. This has changed, board members are invited to join a board for their input. Board members are expected to analyse and comment from an unfamiliar perspective. As AN INTERVIEW WITH BOB REID

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