Avison Young Real Estate: The three pillars of a consistent leader and a great human being

If you have attended at least one, if not tens of business events in Bucharest or elsewhere in the country, it is almost impossible not be charmed and fascinated by Colin C. Lovering Vice Chairman – British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Senior Vice-President – Avison Young Real Estate, one of the most familiar and appreciated voice and presence on the business events scene.

Within the more and more complicated global and local work landscape, complex and changing company structures and more sensitive than ever human relationships, The Diplomat – Bucharest talked with Colin in order to find out what does it take for a leader to truly inspire others and move things further?

Leaders are built from genius, humble and dignified ingredients

Colin believes that, becoming a leader is a measured process and, in many cases, people who are rising through the ranks of an organization don’t always receive the key support in their development from a rising star to a management position. “For me, the best leaders are humble geniuses who simply surround themselves with people much more cleverer than they are which, of course, takes courage and dignity but, the end results provide more flexibility to focus on the valuable tasks that a leader needs to undertake each day,” Colin says.

What else is a leader? As Colin adds, a leader also means being a great listener and always creating the right environment for the people to express, share and even advise. And in this context, the location always matters. “Many leaders choose their office as the main communication hub which is a great error. A neutral place such as the coffee area is a great place to catch up with emails and be available for those impromptu interactions with your team,” Colin explains.

Creating a glass half-full mind-set

Colin thinks it is fair to say that Romania and Romanians have developed an ongoing strong global reputation over the last 2-3 years which has resulted in a much-needed confidence and longer-term optimism which has been desperately missing in recent years. There is still a lot of work to be done in creating a more ‘glass half-full’ mind-set but, according to Colin, this critical evolution is accelerating which is great for the country’s future prosperity. “Traditionally, Romanians are a very ‘task orientated’ group of people as opposed to the British who are very people orientated and, therefore, not so direct and efficient which was a challenge to me when I first arrived over 11 years ago,” Colin states and adds: ”This efficiency and work-ethic is a great asset to international business investors but the ‘people’ element providing a great customer experience is still something to work on particularly in the hospitality business where, as I witness every day, is still very weak”

Empowering and engaging people 

The words of today are “people empowerment” and “people engagement” these days. In Colin’s opinion, who says that he likes the both words, however, the rising entrepreneurial structures being created in organizations now will push the focus more towards ‘engagement’. In the current context, keeping people actively part of a team and its organizational culture become more and more challenging particularly with the advent of remote working (in and out of the office). The telecommuting is becoming the norm along with more ‘project based’ employment practices and it is making it difficult to cultivate engagement and medium-long term team commitment, as Colin explains. The manager who inspires audiences and panelists as well, also thinks that, “as human beings, business leaders and even parents, its essential that we discipline ourselves to perform to the max every day in front of the people who are, by culture, looking at us for inspiration and guidance.”  For Colin, it is about 3 key pillars of leadership that, if implemented correctly, will always help maintain the vital sought consistency and professionalism: Dignity, Integrity and Benevolence.

(From the print edition)