A personal leadership conversation with Avinash Singh, Head of Absa Private Bank, is about entering the sophisticated world of banking and financial risk management, but is mainly exposure to the personal leadership journey of a remarkable young man.
Over many years of leadership research we have come across many examples of remarkable people who worked themselves up from impoverished backgrounds into prominent leadership positions. Avinash is one of these people who grew up in the marginalised Phoenix suburb in Durban and from an early age was exposed to a variety of pressure situations that built his character and drive to succeed. Prominent to him amongst all the trials of his background is the influence of his father who by constant precept and example endowed in his son a passion for education and hard word as the key to economic upliftment. Avinash has been following that example from his youth.
In spite of political activism, he obtained excellent grades at school in Phoenix, He forged ahead over many barriers in a highly politicised period of our history to obtain a degree in pharmacy and some years later a life changing MBA degree at Wits.
Defining experiences along his leadership journey
Avinash went through several defining experiences along his journey that may well have broken the spirit of a lesser man. In his case it bred character and leadership confidence.
Leadership humility and teachability
Avinash left with the Wits MBA a changed man with great confidence that he was now able to achieve anything that he put his mind to. This confidence was a great asset to him yet he tells us that it also generated an arrogance that was subsequently painfully bruised by the realities of career and leadership. He became far more teachable as a result and his passion to learn from mentors and others have become a dominant pattern in his life. Avinash is now in the position of sharing his hard won experience with others around him. Two of his mentors with whom he worked closely were Steve Booysen, the previous CEO as well as the existing CEO of Absa, Maria Ramos. These are powerful leaders to learn from.
Crisis of confidence
It is amusing to identify with a fine young and confident leader as he tells us about various times in his career that he experienced a crisis of confidence. I understand what he means! Often when a new and difficult assignment was thrust on his young shoulders by trusting superiors, he went through what he called a ‘crisis in confidence’ It is amusing only in context with his proven track record of facing up to these challenges and establishing a firm pattern of humility and diligence in meeting the new challenge. I imagine it was not amusing at the time and can be very traumatic, but it is encouraging to all of us who experience similar crises of confidence.
International exposure
Before he entered the banking world, Avinash served stints with large multi-national organizations, Adcock Ingram and Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he gained invaluable training and experience in marketing and leadership both locally and internationally. The international corporates have a great deal to offer in the way of business and leadership development or else they would simply cease to exist in the competitive world markets. It was also during this time that Avinash was exposed to the committed work ethic of eastern countries. As a result he resents the feeling of entitlement that often permeates our own society and can easily become our “Achilles heel” in our drive to become a globally competitive nation. His personal career is a reflection of a positive attitude of making things happen.
A passion for continuous learning
Every time Avinash was given a new posting and responsibility he defaults to a pattern that has served him well. He studies the new job with passion and commitment, often after normal working hours. This habit and dedication explains to some extent how he has been able to achieve so much in his young life. He goes the extra mile in preparation. He believes every situation is a learning experience.
Perseverance
The leadership journey is about perseverance and tenacity. After qualifying with a degree in pharmacy, Avinash wanted to join an international company. He sent his CV to 50 large pharmaceutical companies. He received 50 refusals. He still keeps these refusals on file to remind him of that period in his life. Later on in his career, after he made the crucial decision to move into a financial services career, he was one of 700 applicants for a Strategy Consultant position at Absa. He went through a confusing process of several meetings where he was required to ‘fill in form after form’, without really knowing what the job was about until the final stages when he was getting close to selection. He persevered, was selected, and is now a senior executive in a large bank.
Leadership style
Many factors in his background had a profound influence on developing his own leadership style. One of these ‘wow’ experiences was an internal leadership development program of Absa Bank called the Absa Development Initiative. The initiative was based on self exploration and the systemic role of business. He benefited considerably from this program.
Know yourself
Avinash believes that one of the key lessons he learnt is to get to know yourself. Only then can we really lead others.
Issue of interdependence
The silo mentality is a serious bottleneck to excellence in many organisations. The desire to be independent often stands in the way of an attitude of interdependence that Avinash strives for around him.
Relevance
He believes in the imperative of remaining relevant, and to constantly benchmark against customer expectations, peers, against competition and to remain globally relevant.
Attitude
He believes (along with a multitude of seamless leaders’ world wide) that a positive attitude is an imperative of good leadership.
Fit
He believes everybody has value to add and that we should always strive to find the right fit between who we are and what we do.
Leadership challenges
Avinash considers the following to be major leadership challenges:
- Continually reminding our self what is within our control and what is not as we focus our efforts in trying to influence reality.
- Change remains a big challenge for people and organizations. Ensuring that energy is spent to create the right context for change is often lacking and can be destructive to people and productivity.
- Making the right people choices and being able to spot the right talent.
Phoenix heritage
Studying seamless leaders who manage to perform against great odds is a thrilling experience. After hundreds of personal leadership conversations all over the country and with international icons a pattern emerges that may surprise some of us. This pattern indicates that a person who grows up in a privileged environment who is not taught the value of his or her background and is denied the right to earn self respect and live up to high values, is in fact very often the person that is really deprived. Avinash I am sure appreciates the heritage of his Phoenix and family background that motivated him to embark on a life style of study and hard work. He is an example for many others to follow.
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Do you recognize some areas in yourself or your team that need improvement? Email Louis on louis@leadershipplatform.com for more on creating “Leadership Fit” leaders that generate successful movement (performance) inside your organisation.
