David Stewart, RYP International

I am a co-founder and Chair of a business (My Word) that enables families to capture the life stories of their loved elders. Storytelling is the oldest and most accurate way to pass on history and wisdom. To know where you have come from is to know who you are ... The elderly, with decades of life behind them, offer unique insights into what it means to lead effectively and meaningfully.

When the leaders of large brands or Government agencies are dragged in front of any parliamentary enquiry, you get the same infuriating behaviour when they are caught out ... “It is not my fault! We did not know! We broke no laws! I cannot remember!” ... Leadership, at its core, is about setting and upholding standards that define a team, organisation, or community.

Recently I attended a family wedding in country Victoria. It was a magical evening with a perfect sunset. Mother Nature really turned on a show! An observation several of us made at the recovery the next day was that a few family members did not leave a wedding gift or simple card, nor did they say goodbye to the bride and groom when they made an early departure. This got us talking about manners, and whether they are diminishing.

I am often pulled aside and asked how to approach a specific coaching conversation with someone. Usually, the nature of the topic may be a little delicate or uncomfortable, so they are looking for the best way to broach a topic. Often these coaching conversations are unplanned, so are in the moment and require the right tone, framework and context to be an effective and respectful moment.

You need to unplug your laptop, Wi-Fi, and phone every so often, to let it reset, recharge and reboot itself to ensure it performs at maximum efficiency. Everything improves once it has been unplugged. This also applies to humans. No one can work 100 per cent effectively 100 per cent of the time. It is not possible. Being available and accessible 24/7 is a learnt behaviour that has evolved with technology.

Let’s be clear, any team environment must be emotionally safe, respectful, inclusive, and welcoming. This should be a “do not pass go” expectation of any team in any setting. But do not confuse being nice with a winning mindset ... "Good, better, best" mindset is a key attribute of a wining culture.

No matter how you cut it, every leader must manage people. Whether you are an employer, farmer, leader of a sporting club, or head a volunteer organisation, if you oversee just one person or thousands of people, you are in the people management game ... Let’s face it, some people are easier to manage than others, but that should not be an excuse for not trying to engage, inspire, and develop someone.

I was recently facilitating a leadership workshop where one of the participants raised the question if we are losing the art of civility and respect in our society. The context was how we handle a divergence of views in a work or community setting. It seems nowadays the default political discord is to assume our view is right and your view is wrong, rather than respectfully listening to and exploring differing views.

Over the Father's Day weekend I was out having a family lunch at a restaurant full of families celebrating father’s day, recognising their fathers and grandfathers. It got me thinking about my dear Dad, and how I have fathered my children and now grandchildren.  Being a dad is the most rewarding – challenging – difficult – all-consuming leadership role any father undertakes - There is no rule book. There is no greater leadership challenge than parenting.

There is an old saying “not a lot of sense is common!” There are things that should be taken as a given in life. Things such as manners, not talking over people, being polite, saying please and thank you, looking at people who are talking to you, and assuming best intentions when dealing with colleagues. To be respected you must first be respectful. So, when our elected Members of Parliament require a code of conduct on how to act and behave to prevent bullying, sexual harassment, and inappropriate behaviour, you have to ask what happened to common sense?