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Collective Leadership & The Long Haul: A Conversation with Dr Nicky Howe
What I find interesting about the timing of this podcast episode is that this conversation originally took place in the second half of 2020 while Australia, like the rest of the world, was navigating the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What we could never have predicted is that we would be publishing the episode fresh out of another lockdown. While the insights Dr Nicky Howe, CEO of Southcare, offers in this conversation with Michael Prince are not limited to the challenge we continue to face, the relevance of her practical wisdom in light of what seems to be an ongoing climate of anxiety should not be overlooked.
What Caught My Attention
Nicky’s energy and joie de vivre is coupled with a strength, wisdom and love of people that sees Nicky lead with inspiration and intention.
There are a number of ‘bumper sticker’ moments for me in this episode as Nicky introduces us to her committed journey to align deeply held values and passion with her chosen vocation. As Nicky intimates:
I don’t want to leave my soul at home and then go to work…
Nicky is a builder - of organisations and their people. Of course, there are many who want to be known for building great and successful organisations in their life; what strikes me about Nicky is her deep commitment and genuine desire to develop the people she leads.
For me, this second type of building requires a valuing of the other over self. Such prioritisation is apparent in Nicky’s preparedness to have a challenging Board-level conversation more recently, asking “Am I past my CEO used-by date?” It is the hallmark of the type of Level 5 leader that Jim Collins writes about when he says:
Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company…. Their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.
Collective Leadership - a unique approach and language
Out of all Nicky covers in this conversation with Michael, it is the thoughtfulness, intention and approach to developing collective leadership and a culture sustained by meaningful and story-based ritual that is most notable to me.
I won’t steal Nicky’s thunder here but will simply say that there is, for example, an unapologetic application of unique language that is helpfully unsettling and disruptive of the common leadership-speak that quickly becomes beige through overuse and by careless co-opting.
The final thought
As you take on the observer role in this coaching-type conversation, I hope you, like me, are challenged to freshly think through with imagination and intention how you might show up in your vocation with a greater sense of alignment with the values and passions you hold deep inside.