Name: Geoff Folland

Title: National Director

Organisation: Power to Change Australia

Since 1995 Geoff's passion has been to lead missional teams that help fulfil the Great Commission. After twenty-five years leading teams on campus in Sydney, in April 2021 he moved to Melbourne. He now serves as National Director overseeing teams with a passion for making disciples on campus, in local churches, in the digital realm and among youth across Australia and worldwide.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Geoff's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

The key to building trust is to make sure that your actions match your words over and over again. This means delivering on promised results. It also means quickly recognising and apologising when mistakes are made. I find it important to adopt an appropriate level of transparency - people know me, what I value, and what my strengths and weaknesses are.

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

A vision is a picture of the desired future. It provides some boundaries, but it is important to let others fill in the colours (details) of the picture. The job of vision-casting, then, is to get the picture that is in the leader's head into the heads of the team through various forms of engagement and communication. A vision statement can quickly lose its impact, but a vision allows for endless creativity.

A mission defines what we are trying to accomplish. It helps determine decisions, decide between competing opportunities, and define activities. It makes clear what our contribution to the vision is.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

There are several key elements:

1. Ensure that everyone has the vision and mission. Then they will instinctively make decisions and carry out actions that move in that direction;

2. Keep them informed about the current position of the organisation - its areas of strength and weaknesses. Let them know what challenges the organisation is trying to overcome.

3. Clear away hindrances or blockages (internal and external) that prevent them from accomplishing their goals. This helps them see you as a positive contributor to their productivity and not just loading them up with more work.

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

I've had so many who have invested in my life, and I have learnt something different from each of them: parents, parents of my friends, trainers within our organisation, seminary professors, pastors, and professional coaches.

Professor Craig Blomberg wrote several important books on the issue of poverty and wealth (see "Neither Riches nor Poverty"). One day, I arrived in class early, and he was struggling with something on his phone. It looked like an old model. He said something like, "I just don't think I can justify getting a new phone."

As someone who had always been surrounded by people who wanted the latest and best gadgets they could afford, seeing my professor wrestle with the issue of spending money on a new phone or on helping out someone who was less well off helped me see his integrity. He didn't just teach on the issue of wealth and poverty, he lived it out as well.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

I appoint leaders I can trust to serve in particular areas. Then I make sure that they have the authority and resources to execute in their areas of responsibility. Then, if something is sent to me that is in their area of responsibility, I redirect it to them.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

I make sure I put the big rocks in the calendar for the year ahead by September of the previous year. Monthly plans are less important. But then I use my calendar to execute the plans each week that need to address the big rocks. I allow margin to respond to unplanned opportunities or threats.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

Understand your strengths and weaknesses and focus on executing as much as you can in your area of strength. Form partnerships or alliances or build teams with people who you recognise their strengths and weaknesses complement yours. In other words, understand yourself and others. Self-awareness and trust are key.