If you take away anything… 'On your own, you travel faster, together you travel further.'
To kick-off the second series of our podcast, OxTalks, which aims to answer some of the biggest questions in business to support and nurture business growth in Oxfordshire, we invited Dan Geoghegan to the studio.
Dan, the Chief Executive of Bicester Motion, has over 20 years of experience in business development, currently utilising his expertise at Bicester Motion and Bicester Heritage of which he is the Founder and CEO.
He is also a passionate vintage car enthusiast with a keen interest in the preservation and promotion of the UK’s automotive heritage, as well as serving as a board member for several organisations including The Bicester Aerodrome Company, Historit Limited, and StarterMotor.
In the episode, host Howard Bentham delves deep into Dan’s career journey, experience of leadership and explores how his organisation is shaping leaders of the future.
We have picked our five top tips from the recording to help businesses develop their leadership capabilities, nurturing the leaders of the future:
Do not underestimate the importance of shared values
It is essential leaders of the future are aligned with an organisation’s values. So, one question to ask is – are the values of your organisation clear and adopted across the entire workforce?
A leader should understand how their team best operates
To develop future leaders, the current leaders must have a deep understanding of their workforce. What are their strengths that can be supported? What are their weaknesses, and how can be they protected and minimised? Leaders should understand how best to support, not exploit, their workforce and encourage the next generation of leaders.
Accept you won’t get it right all the time
Businesses will always face challenges, and in turn their leaders. When you are growing, you are under-resourced and when you have issues, you may have the opposite problem. By accepting no one is a perfect as a leader, future leaders in the workforce have a realistic role model to respect and aspire towards.
Are your company objectives clear?
For future leaders to understand how best they can contribute to an organisation, they must understand the shared goal they are working towards. Is your strategic objective clear? And is the direction you are travelling in clear to all members of the team?
Growth opportunities for the next generation are non-negotiable
If you want to develop leaders of the future, you need to nurture them. However, you must understand the support future leaders want. For example, it may be perceived that training courses are the most valuable form of professional development for future leaders. However, in reality, they may find mentorship programmess more effective in supporting them toward their future leadership goals.
Curious to find out more? Watch the full episode below and hear more of Dan’s expert leadership advice.
We’d love to hear from you so don’t forget to rate, review and follow OxTalks and interact with us on our social media channels.
WATCH: OxTalks series two, episode one: 'How to Lead By Example: Shaping Leaders of the Future'.
