The Pro IQ Interview Series: Energy industry expert, Tim Duignan

In the next instalment of our ProIQ interview series, Resourceful Pro‘s General Manager Matthew Woodall recently spoke with energy industry expert and consultant, Tim Duignan.

In the first of a two-part interview, Tim shares his thoughts about growth leadership and the critical components for organisational success during the growth phase. Whilst many organisations will be feeling the impacts of the Covid-19 situation currently, it’s inevitable the economy will bounce back. Upturns often tend to happen faster than downturns, so it’s critical executives can lead through growth in that period.

RP: Can you please start by telling us a little about your career?

TD: I’ve had over 35 years in the energy industry across all industry sectors including retail distribution, transmission and generation. My most recent position was as CEO of Territory Generation in the Northern Territory.

Since leaving Territory Generation last Christmas I have returned to the consulting world and, in particular, new project development work which is a bit of a passion.

RP: How important is it for members of a leadership team to align with organisations’ vision and strategy?

TD: It’s absolutely critical. Both the CEO and the executive team must be fully aligned and own the vision and strategy set by the board. You must own it, communicate it, live it, breathe it. That’s a sign to the organisation that you’re serious about the delivery of that vision. If you don’t have ownership and alignment at that level, it’s hard to bring others along.

RP: How do you filter it down through the rest of the organisation? How does the receptionist see it, for example or the finance manager?

TD: You’ve got to break it down into how each individual’s roles relate to the achievement or progression towards the vision. The strategy is how an organisation is going to move towards that vision. Setting KPIs for individual staff and teams that align with the strategy ensures there is a shared responsibility for achieving company goals.

RP: As a leader, should there be alignment between your own personal values and that of the company?

TD: You can have a personal vision for your own life and personal goals that might not have any relevance to the company vision. Values on the other hand are different. Your personal values need to be substantially aligned with the corporation’s values. It is very difficult to live the values of an organisation if they are misaligned with your own personal values – you cannot live a lie!

RP: What do you consider a growth mindset to be?

TD: The growth mindset is really the entrepreneurial mindset. An effective leader must break down the organisation’s vision into achievable steps and communicate these steps for delivery right across the organisation.

Growing a business is not easy and takes real determination and commitment. You need to be a true believer in the path you are taking and in the projects that you are undertaking. If not, then the team or organisation will be less committed and failure is more likely.

As a leader it is paramount to have a positive attitude about the projects the organisation is developing. Projects ebb and flow from positive to negative and back to a positive outlook. Although difficult at times, a growth leader must have a “glass half full” attitude or good projects will potentially fail at the first hurdle.

A growth mindset is equally about communicating how day-to-day activities of individuals, teams and the business as a whole relate to the delivery of the vision. A good leader brings people in the organisation on the journey and keeps everyone informed of victories and failures as the organisation learns and develops skills from the highs and lows.

RP: Can you develop an entrepreneurial mindset over time or is it something you need to have in your toolkit from when you are younger?

TD: People find it difficult to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. I think you’ve got it or you haven’t. It is more difficult to develop over time.

RP: What are the key behavioural attributes of growth leaders?

TD:  Focus – you have to be absolutely focused on what you are trying to deliver. Nimbleness – the ability to change direction when you are running up against issues in the delivery of the strategy. And integrity is critical. You need to be a visionary and you need to be a great communicator. These are the skills I look for when hiring executives.

Within an organisation, I’ll identify people who I believe have the ability and a growth mindset and give them opportunities. I’ll throw them in the deep end and provide training, coaching, mentoring and support. I’ve found that is a very good way to measure someone’s ability to succeed in a changing environment.

I’ve discovered people with potential in areas, for example, such as economic modelling, recognised that they have an innate commercial nous and provided them with an opportunity to grow. Supported and encouraged, these people really can flourish and succeed.

RP: What are the keys to maintaining organisational effectiveness throughout a growth spurt?

TD: Many businesses that have grown fast through mergers and acquisitions have struggled with integration and the current good business that has placed them in a strong position has suffered as a result.

Maintaining your financial capability and keeping a close eye on financial management, accountability and delivery of targets while you are growing the organisation is crucial. Continuing to focus on the existing business ensures that the new businesses are integrated well, fit into the overall business culture, and the existing culture doesn’t get destroyed on the way.

RP: Should organisations change their CEO when moving into a period of growth?

TD: If you are going through a strong growth phase then a growth CEO is certainly advantageous. A CEO focused on asset maintenance and business as usual without a big focus on growth is not an ideal leader during the growth phase.

RP: What are the biggest differences in the job of a CEO between the two phases?

TD: If you are in the operating phase of the business, there’s less focus on entrepreneurial activities and more in the operational side, such as achieving the highest efficiency and managing costs. The growth phase involves a lot of time and energy from the CEO.

The ratio of time spent on growth versus maintenance depends on the size and structures in the business. If the organisation has a Chief Strategy Officer or Chief Entrepreneurial Officer, the CEO might spend 30% of time on growth and 70% on operations. If not, it might be more like 50/50.

RP: What do businesses need to do to foster a culture of innovation?

TD: The first time you crucify someone for “having a go” is the last time you will have anyone provide entrepreneurship or innovation. I think it’s advantageous if everyone in the organisation feels safe to provide ideas about what the business could be doing and is rewarded for their entrepreneurialism. That can be really powerful.

At Territory Generation, people knew that I was happy for them to make decisions. My approach is, if it fails, it fails. Learn from that mistake. I’d be upset if they went down the same track and had the same failure again. It’s all about providing the ability for people to feel comfortable in making decisions and bringing forward suggestions.

There’s a real absence of decentralised decision-making in the utilities sector. If organisations in the sector don’t move to a mindset of creating a comfortable zone for people to feel as though they can have a go, they won’t be nimble enough to survive against companies that are continually innovating and growing.

RP: Do you think ideas for innovation lie within an organisation or do they need to draw from what’s going on in other countries and industries?

TD: I think you need to learn from other people’s experiences. Personally, I point to a number of different sectors that have been through disruption and transformation. The telecommunications sector is continuously being disrupted; they are disrupting themselves every time they bring out a new mobile phone system.

To be in front of the curve, I think you need to look at other industries. They have been there, have learnt and have transformed the way they operate. Other energy markets around the world are all struggling with the same things that we are in Australia, just at very different speeds of disruption. If you want to be in front of the game and maximise the advantages of disruption, then I think the ideas must come from industries that have previously experienced significant disruption.

As a leader, you have to continually evaluate new models for business transformation. What are the success models and what are the failure models? How can they be applied to our business and operating environment?

RP: Describe an innovation executive dream team.

TD: A team that is fully focused on the strategy to achieve the vision of the business. A group of people who are great communicators, have high integrity and are accountable for their part of the strategy to achieve the vision. They work well as a team, are supportive of each other and work collaboratively.

My ideal innovation dream team encourages and supports continuous communication and feedback right across the organisation.

Getting the balance of people right is key. I think it is a lot harder to keep focus and balance with a large executive team so I prefer to work with a smaller, more focused team.