Page 24 - Gi flipbook March 2018

BE THE BEST

VERSION OF

YOURSELF

Denise Massey, Managing Director of the
Energy Innovation Centre (EIC), reflects on
the energy sector and offers advice to younger
women keen to take up the reins of leadership
in the industry

BE INNOVATIVE have different expectations of their
From the first flint tools to the working life. Money is no longer the
invention of the internet, the human primary driver for employment.
race has survived and flourished by Crucially, millennials want to feel that
being innovative. Innovation isn’t a their work has a purpose and they are
‘nice to have’ – it’s an essential of life. keen to maintain a work/life balance.
Innovation is already a driver for As a sector, we have purpose in
change in the energy sector but the abundance. We provide energy to
gap between new technologies every member of the UK population.
trialled by industry and those Access to energy is a basic human
accepted into business-as-usual need and access to heat and light
remains a challenge. As leaders and improves the quality of people’s
future leaders, we need to be clear lives and contributes to social
on the vision we are trying to realise progress. In addition, the energy
and have the tenacity to drive sector is striving towards a low
through the innovation that will carbon future to save the planet and
deliver the change. safeguard the lives of future
generations. Is there a higher
EMBRACE CHANGE purpose than that?
Change is a constant, so embrace it. As leaders, we must be clear about
The energy industry is currently facing our sense of purpose and that of the
unprecedented levels of change in teams we lead; having your own
every area. With the drive for a low sense of purpose, adhering to your
carbon future and clean growth, we own values and doing the right thing
are seeing unprecedented changes, will pay dividends. Don’t be swayed
new market entrants, distributed by the perceived status, position and
generation, the rise of renewables and power of others.
the increasing expectations of energy
customers. These challenges can seem DON’T FORGET ABOUT PEOPLE an optimal innovation model which
overwhelming but it’s important to As an energy industry, we are brilliant aligns business processes with the
remember the change can start with at drawing up policies and procedures cognitive function of people. In simple
you and can happen by degree. to implement changes which are terms, to create the right conditions
Incremental change can ultimately absolutely necessary for safety, quality, for innovation to flourish, 40 per cent
result in cultural transformation in clarity and value for money. The piece of business activity should be
your team or within a global business. of the puzzle we aren’t very good at is focussed on process and function as a
winning the hearts and minds of our proportion of time and 60 per cent
DON’T LOSE SIGHT colleagues and taking them with us on should be focussed on fostering the
OF YOUR PURPOSE the journey. It is, in fact, people who correct environment which creates
There are now more millennials are often cited as the greatest blocker the right behaviours enabling
(people aged up to 35 years) in the to change. So how do we, as leaders, innovation to flourish. This will help
labour market than any other age get behind our teams to support deliver long term sustainable change. I
demographic. There is extensive them? Based on learning from would suggest we probably spend 95
research to suggest that this cohort neuroscience, the EIC has developed per cent of our time currently on the

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