Joe Garner -  27 February 2019

Leading for mutual good

Joe Garner, Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide Building Society, delivered an inspiring talk, giving insight into the leadership strategy of Nationwide Building Society and how the organisation plays their part in shaping leadership for the future.

Joe began his talk highlighting the current external challenges for businesses - the future of world trade and GDP, the impact and disruption of technology, shifts in climate change due to global warming. He then focused on Nationwide and his own experiences of leadership, explaining how Nationwide was founded on the principle of cooperation, the belief that more can be achieved together, than individually and that leadership should talk to the needs of the wider society.

Joe then talked about Nationwide’s definition of leadership, including 3 E's which are embedded in the leadership framework at Nationwide:

1. Envision, the ability to create a picture of a possible world
2. Empower, empowering people to move towards the vision and creating an environment of accountable freedom.
3. Energise, trying to create energy and giving people permission to create energy. He says "It is not selfish to look after yourself as a leader. If you don't look after yourself, how can you look after others?"

Joe finished his talk by emphasising the importance of letting go as a leader, and creating space for opportunities, resisting temptation to manage down and control.

In Joe’s talk, he refers to competing in the European Triathlon Championships. Watch his video about the experience.

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