I recently was guided to the bio of Steven Gunby, CEO of FTI Consulting, where he notes he states his management philosophy:
Changing the trajectory of a company requires major insight. But it’s also about getting enormous numbers of people helping you figure out the right change and then being committed to drive that to fruition. Our clients (and we) are not studies. We are people who are trying to make a difference in our institutions and the world.
In my work supporting CEOs and other senior leaders, I often note to them that their role is to ask their business the right questions, and that their one-line job description is “Keeper of the Vision“.
I have added at the top of this post the collage of my three core models, Open Leadership, Scale for Impact, and Cascading Leadership.
- The first is about the attributes we need for the leaders of modern business, a combination of openness, humility and curiosity allied to bravery, hunger and drive for success.
- The second is about why our businesses exist. I truly believe that leading with Purpose, People and Planet in the forefront, when allied to an unerring focus on making a Profit as an outcome of that focus, allows us to scale our impact.
- The third is all about leading in emergence, that the modern corporation is a complex, adaptive system, that we must be constantly enquiring of the business about what we need to succeed in achieving our vision.
When I read the bio of this CEO I immediately saw in it many of the attributes and approaches I believe work for modern leaders. He sees a vision for change, is committed to it, knows he needs to talk to everyone in the business, and that each person is an individual and that they, individually and collectively are there to make a difference, doing business while doing good.
From what I understand, FTI is a highly successful and fast-growing professional services firm that is one of the leaders in attracting and retaining top staff, alongside a strong and positive culture.
After pausing it after 100 shows, I’m beginning to move back towards restarting my “What Comes Next Live” podcast, as I would love to have guests like Steven Gunby share their thoughts on leadership!