York St John Business School heralds new era for leadership
More than 100 of North Yorkshire's business
leaders gathered in York to discover the new rules of leadership,
according to a top leadership guru.
Speaking at the York St John University
Business School second birthday celebrations, the internationally
acclaimed Professor Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe highlighted the need for
business leaders to cast off 'old school' leadership methods and
embrace 'engaging leadership' to survive the current economic
crisis and meet the changing needs of today's employees.
Business directors, public and third sector
managers from across York and North Yorkshire attended the event
which, in addition to marking the Business School's second
anniversary, introduced delegates to 'engaging leadership' - a
style Professor Alimo-Metcalfe believes senior managers cannot
ignore if they want to ensure their business operates at peak
performance and gets the most out of the people they employ without
decreasing their motivation and increasing stress.
Professor Alimo-Metcalfe has spent more than
twenty years studying effective leadership and yesterday spoke
about the findings of her three year long study, which demonstrated
tangible links between employee engagement and high levels of team
productivity.
“Stress currently costs the UK economy more
than £4 billion every year and there are no signs of stress levels
amongst the working population easing,” she said. “In fact, as
businesses start to recover from the recession, there will be even
more pressure on employees to do more, often for no extra financial
reward, which can only add stress. Add to this the fact that
the most common cause of stress amongst employees is their manager,
the case for effective leadership that both engages and motivates
staff has never been stronger.”
Professor Alimo-Metcalfe told business leaders
that the so called 'heroic' leadership style of the 1980 and 90's –
which assumed that leadership was the domain of charismatic leaders
at the top of organisations - is dead, and that today's employees
are looking up to leaders who display very different
characteristics.
“While we still look to 'distant' leaders for
vision and charisma and although we still want to be inspired by
our bosses, humility, genuine concern, accessibility and open
mindedness are the traits that engage staff most effectively,” she
said. “What's more, our research showed that engaged employees are
more productive employees, delivering tangible performance benefits
for the organisations that employ them. They not only get the
best from their staff, they also motivate them, appreciate their
contributions, and welcome their ideas, thus sustaining their
efforts and supporting their well-being.”
Business School dean, Jackie Mathers, said
feedback from delegates to the event had been very positive and
that there’s plenty to look forward to at the Business School over
the coming months:
“It was fantastic to have Beverly here to help us celebrate our
second anniversary and share such valuable
insights. Developing effective leaders is a vital part of the
support we provide for businesses here at the Business School and
over the last two years we’ve developed a strong programme of
support for businesses alongside undergraduate and postgraduate
courses, which have been very well received.
“We’re looking forward to taking this support
to the next level over the next 12 months. We’re currently
recruiting five new people to strengthen our team and preparing to
launch York’s first MBA programme. It’s a very exciting time for
us.”
For further information please contact Amy Hall, PR
& Communications Officer on T: 01904 876466 or E: a.hall@yorksj.ac.uk