Forward Fifty: September 28, 2017

Leadership | 3
Flying is another passion in Rob Hoult’s
life.
The importance of leadership
Following a 30-year career as an officer in the New
Zealand Defence Force, Rob Hoult left the service and
established his consultancy Team Leader Leadership
Development Limited. Forward 50 talks to Rob about his
career change, his passion for leadership and why we
need good leaders across all sectors of our community.
You were in the defence force for 30 years -
what made you decide to step back into ‘civy
street’?
I’d run out of things to do! I’d made the decision back
in the late ’90s to limit my career for the sake of gaining
stability for my family, and had made the Selwyn District
my home. The army had been fantastic in allowing me to
work in niche areas and thus not have to move around
over my last 10 years of service.
Were there challenges moving from military
to civilian life and if so what were they?
Surprisingly, there were very few challenges. My roles
in the military had been quite autonomous, and most
of them had required wide engagement across other
government departments and organisations in the
private sector. The hardest thing was leaving the security
of a salary and accepting the uncertainty that goes with
owning and running your own business.
I’m pretty laid back, but I also must confess that I
found people out of the military are a little more relaxed
about keeping to time – which isn’t necessarily a bad
thing of course.
I also had to go and buy a lot more clothes…there’s
something about the ease and convenience of having a
uniform. That said, I love being able to wear the work
clothes I want to wear.
When did you first discover your passion for
leadership and what triggered it?
I first tasted the challenge and satisfaction of
leadership as a high school student, both at school, and
through the Air Training Corps. If I’m really honest, I
think my attraction for leadership roles comes from
being pretty purposeful, and wanting to achieve. It’s much
easier to get the things done that you believe in when
you’re in charge!
I’ve never considered myself as a particularly good
leader – like many others, I am pretty conscious of what
I’ve got wrong, and it’s not good to get too big for your
boots.
What are the essential characteristics of
an effective leader and are these innate to a
person or can they be learnt?
There have been literally thousands of books written
on the topic of leadership, but that said, I do have
my opinion. Leadership effectiveness is pretty much
determined by personality – things like being curious
and open-minded, conscientiousness and determination,
being interested in and getting along with other people,
and having enough confidence to take on challenges.
So, whilst these things are to a degree innate, most
people have some capacity for leadership, especially
if they are willing to learn and listen to feedback. I
also think it’s important that those in leadership roles
understand that they are there to serve their followers,
as much as their followers serve them.
Why do you see strong leadership as
important – in the business community and in
society as a whole?
Leaders are the people that work out what needs to
be done to make the world safer and more prosperous
for their people (tribe, team, company, family, sports
group etc.) and then harness the individual efforts of
many into a strong and unified collective effort. It’s
all about understanding what motivates the people
that make up the team and pointing them in the right
direction to get the important things done.
What difference can a good leader make
and what are the outcomes if the quality
of leadership in an organisation is less than
ideal?
A good leader makes all the difference. The symptoms
of a good leader are a highly performing team of people
who get the job done whilst feeling safe, contented and
enthused.
Poor leadership is disastrous to a team or group. The
group won’t achieve the things it sets out to do, there
will be conflict within the team, and the end result is that
people leave the team because it does not give them
what they both deserve and need as a human.
How did you develop your Team Leader
programme?
I spent over a decade designing and running leader and
team development activities and courses for all levels of
the New Zealand Army and the wider defence force. This
has given me a very wide perspective on how to grow
capable leaders and high-performing teams. I also had the
privilege of leading military teams both in New Zealand
and in multi-national contexts overseas throughout my
30-year career.
Leaders and teams have similar characteristics
no matter what organisation they exist in. Once
I understand the culture and context of a client
organisation, I am able to use all of my expertise and
experience to develop world-class team and leader
development opportunities for my clients.
One of my highlights this year has been working with
the successful Crusaders Super Rugby team. My role was
to help them be the very best team members that they
could be.
Are there any leaders in New Zealand – in any
field – that you particularly admire, and if so
why?
There are so many outstanding New Zealand leaders
that it’s hard to single one out. Two that I will mention
are locals – Scott Roberston, the Crusaders coach, who
has a very expressive style, yet has a big heart – he
completely understands what makes each and every
one of his players tick. The other is Peter Beggs, the
boss of Antarctica New Zealand. Peter is an incredible
ambassador for Christchurch and New Zealand, and
leads through very strong values, a sense of fairness and
a keen curiosity for possibilities and how we can build a
better New Zealand.
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