Dieter Weinand is a South African who has been in Australia for 22 years. In South Africa, he worked with young people to develop leadership skills. Then he joined BMW in leadership development. He visited Australia and decided to live in Australia. Since being in Australia, he has worked with clients on leadership development, executive coaching, organisational development and transformational change consulting.

Youth leadership programs start with getting people to learn about each other and share experiences and knowledge. They were putting the plans in place for the future and working to make them happen. The youth were given structure and purpose and then taught to prioritise the essential things for success.

A CEO for the humanised workforce needs to develop human skills. CEOs must address challenges using a sounding board and an opportunity to be vulnerable. Some components include talking, telling their story, the family of origin, belief systems, life and work balance, and the whole person.

A vulnerability has always been a requirement for a leader but is necessarily recognised as necessary. It's a cultural thing. Vulnerability is now much more required. CEOs need to be able to relate to the people in their teams. Vulnerability needs a purpose. When leaders are working in a silo, there may be little relationship between the other leaders. Introducing vulnerability helps to increase trust in the team. It needs to be reciprocal.

Mental health is another area of vulnerability. It is now much more acceptable to talk about struggling with mental health and actively seek support.

CEOs need a strong relationship with their leadership team. Clarify the culture, purpose and Vision of the organisation? What is the culture that you want to create? Is everyone in agreement with this? This is the more human side of the job, and many CEOs need support to ensure the messaging and the correct behaviour is role modelled. How does your individual and group behaviour reflect the company culture? 

Employee engagement is directly related to the culture and the degree of psychological safety in the organisation.

Collaboration skills are essential  If the CEO does not feel confident in this process, then find someone in the organisation who can facilitate a collaborative process. Delegating can be part of the vulnerability piece.

CEOs need to be able to relate to the board. Understand the culture the board and the company operate under. The board needs to support the CEO but the CEO needs to develop appropriate relationships. The board is required to have a humanised approach. The chair is critical in setting this culture.