Dr Anthony Howard, CEO and Founder, The Confidere Group and Socratic Leader Academy
He is the CEO & Founder of The Confidere Group, a leadership practice consisting of a team of former Chief Executives who act as independent sounding boards to current Chief Executives.Â
Podcast
Overview
This episode of The Brand Called You brings you the one who is called the CEO Whisperer and the Business Philosopher. Anthony Howard, our guest for today is a mentor. He lives in Australia and is the founder and CEO of the Confidere Group and the Socratic Leader Academy. He is also an author. The name of his masterpiece is, “Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century”
The CEO whisperer and the Business Philosopher
Anthony lives in Australia and after he completed school he started to work as a navigator in the merchant navy. Anthony tells us that one day he was on a night watch duty when a man came to him and told him that his wife was divorcing him. Anthony just showed him concern and said that it must have been tough. Anthony was powerless and he couldnt help it. He tells us that the fellow did not want any advice, he was just looking someone to hear him. Anthony tells us that he has found many people telling him tragic and awful stories of their lives. He would just listen to them. Anthony eventually made this behaviour his career and now he is called the CEO Whisperer.
Anthony also tells us that he is a very curious person and is a doctorate in Philosophy. He is also called the Business Philosopher because of his ability to ask questions and seek meaning.
Challenges faced by Business Philosopher in working with senior leaders
In Anthony’s opinion, the fundamental challenge for most leaders is to figure out what matters the most that they should do, because the to-do list of a senior leader or a CEO never gets shorter and they never have enough time. They are always overwhelmed with work. Anthony helps them give clarity on what their priorities should be and helps them make decision.
Difference between Coaching and Mentoring
As our host asks Anthony about the difference between coaching and mentoring, he tells us that he appreciates that people use both the terms interchangeably. However, to answer the question, Anthony tells us that coaching is more technical and might be limited to one particular field. One might need different coaches to polish different technical skills, whereas mentoring is more like an emotional support and helping a person to deal with his thoughts.
Anthony’s mission to reinvent the way the world does leadership
Anthony has seen people being used as rescorces rather than human beings. Humans are being treated as disposable assets. He believes that human are not commodities and they should be treated as humans only. This is why he wants to reinvent the way the world does leadership.
Amendments Business Philosopher wants to make with current leadership style
In Anthony’s opinion, the world has lost sight of a person. Humans are being trained to succeed on numbers. He further tells us that when he talks about human centred leadership, he often gets questioned about the business case of this idea. He believes that treating people the right way is just morally the right thing to do. He believes that treating people the right way would also increase the numbers. He hopes that some day people would agree to it.
Are leaders born, or are they made?
According to science, human behaviour is 30% nature and 70% nurture. However, Anthony believes that if we do something good and somebody follows us we become a leader, hence we all are leaders. He says that we are always following somebody or something, so if we are a good follower, the chances are that we will become good leaders too.
Profile
CEO and Founder, The Confidere Group and Socratic Leader Academy
Dr. Anthony Howard is known as the ‘CEO Whisperer’ and as a business philosopher.
He is the CEO & Founder of The Confidere Group, a leadership practice consisting of a team of former Chief Executives who act as independent sounding boards to current Chief Executives.Â
Anthony is also the CEO & Founder of the Socratic Leader Academy, on a quest to re-invent the way the world does leadership, in more human ways.
He is the author of Humanise—why human-centred-leadership is the key to the 21st century, the outcome of a series of conversations with leaders around the world.
He holds a PhD in leadership, where his ground-breaking doctoral research examined new models of human-centred leadership.
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