Each year, at The Lloyds Bank National Business Awards UK, Ashridge Executive Education presents the highest accolade, the Leader of the Year Award. The Award goes to an exemplary leader who has successfully led a strategy for outstanding performance.
A long list of potential candidates is submitted to the National Business Awards each year, but it always comes down to four finalists who demonstrate exemplary leadership, customer focus, staff engagement, innovation, ethics, growth and financial performance. For 2016, those four finalists are:
- Rooney Anand, the chief executive of Greene King.
- Peter Cruddas, founder and chief executive of CMC Markets.
- Andrew Davies, chief executive of Wates Group.
- Liv Garfield, chief executive of Severn Trent.
Ashridge Reveals What Makes a Good Leader
To gain insight into the prestigious award, Ashridge revealed what they feel it takes to be a good leader. For 2016, they looked for three skills in particular:
- A demonstrated awareness of and engagement with global, societal, and organizational issues.
- A robust engagement with socio-economic and socio-political issues on diversity and inclusion.
- A willingness to engage with challenges and opportunities related to a globalized and digital economy.
“Our research has shown that the most engaging leaders are those who are able to forge deep and trusting relationships across the organisation; lead with emotional intelligence and authenticity and who are genuinely open and honest,” Amy Armstrong, a faculty member at Ashridge, explained.
The reality is that senior leaders are vital to organizations. They not only set the direction and strategy for their company, but they are role models for all of their employees. Because of this, a leader’s behavior can and will “trickle down” throughout the organization and a problem higher up can have compounding negative effects lower down.
The Awards
To see who will come away with the Leader of the Year Award, you can attend the awards on November 15th. The event will welcome over 1,200 business leaders from over 350 businesses across the UK. Book a table today.