Ms Iris Dempsey at the Regenesys Leadership Exchange
Iris Dempsey, CEO of FNB Commercial Banking, spoke about Women in Leadership, at the Regenesys Leadership Exchange seminar held on 14th May, 2010.
She has achieved personal and professional success in the male-dominated world of banking, not by trying to emulate her male counterparts and colleagues, but by taking hold of- and maximizing- her feminine qualities. That, and being passionate about what she does, being participative and constantly learning.
I didn’t do it, I participated in the valuable agendas that were going on around me.
In this regard, she shared a particular leadership secret with us. When faced by something new and unknown, she seeks out whoever knows the most about it, and she gets them onto her side and into her team if possible. Then she gets them to teach her all that they know.
She shared another secret with us, when she admitted that she lists the things and characteristics she hates the most – contrary to the more common practice of listing the things and characteristics we admire or aspire to – and then she steers clear of these.
Ms Dempsey said that several critical leadership attributes are required to achieve success in challenging times. Among these is a future focus, with a need to look ahead and instil innovation in the workplace, since things change overnight in our fast-paced world. People leadership continues to be at the forefront of leadership success, since business is all about the people. She suggests that one should always choose people to work with who are more knowledgeable and experienced than oneself, since we can then learn from the best. Having good people with specific competencies around one also allows for necessary balance in the team. She reminded us that it is incumbent on a great leader to unlock the potential of other people. Another leadership attribute is that of resilience, which is evidenced in toughness, courage and risk-taking, none of which need detract from innate femininity.
Practical competencies for leaders include learning in action, reality testing, interpersonal effectiveness, results focus and managing uncertainty. Leaders should reflect on what they have learnt, each day. They should not be glibly optimistic, but should rather face, and deal with, reality. An ability to deal with others is essential for effective leadership, and is even more so as the tendency is towards matrix management. Since the purpose of business is to be profitable and to create wealth for shareholders, Ms Dempsey says that we must not apologise for creating wealth, but that we should be proud of achieving or exceeding that goal.
Ms Dempsey contends that whoever is in a leadership position should ensure that they use their leadership platform to make a difference beyond their work role, or they should not be in the position at all. Furthermore, she believes that ordinary people can do the extraordinary, and that there will always be a need for great leaders.
