Lessons in leadership for Social Purpose

Morality is the most fundamental ingredient of leadership according to Shane Logan, CEO of Bryson Group, as he revealed seven lessons for leading with purpose at Bayes Business School.

Shane spoke powerfully about the roots of his leadership journey, having left school straight for Sandhurst to serve in the military. It was there that he gained his first taste of leading and a realisation that individuals could be capable of great things with guidance and belief. “People who society have written off have the potential to be outstanding,” he said. “As a leader you exist to do the best for those who work for you.”

Leadership roles with Coca-Cola, BP and Ulster Rugby followed, before Shane stepped into the role of CEO of Bryson Group in 2018 to oversee one of Ireland’s largest charities, which aims to lift thousands of people from extreme poverty and help them to unlock their potential.

Recalling vivid accounts of how families on the very brink had been able to transform their fortunes, Shane outlined the importance of the charity’s work. He then described seven fundamentals of strong leadership, using experiences of Ulster’s sporting success on the rugby field and in the community as well as Bryson’s targets to eradicate extreme poverty:

• Have a clear and executable vision
• Keep your finger on the pulse and focus solely on the most important metrics
• Keep pace with the direction of market travel, and where there is the most need for the organisation’s services
• Unleash the potential of your people with key levers
• Break down tasks and progress into small components rather than ‘eating the elephant’
• Focus on return on investment
• Be moral and use the ability to make people’s lives as good as they can be, while salvaging the positives from difficult situations.

Following Shane’s talk, Professor André Spicer, Executive Dean of Bayes Business School chaired a fireside chat exploring each of the seven qualities and the lessons they could provide for young and aspiring leaders.

“The energy and pace come from a leader,” Shane said. "If a leader is not optimistic about picking people up, that is a failure of morality. Instead, be the best you can be in an area you enjoy, and recognise the potential in people to get them to be better than you are.”

On facing the fight against humanitarian struggles, Shane called for greater planning and understanding of issues.

“The biggest efforts against strife are seen in times of crisis – be it poverty, civil war or famine – and without enough focus on solving longer-term root causes they will just happen again and again.”

An audience Q&A then included questions about uncovering the causes of extreme poverty, motivating people to better themselves, keeping team members resilient to avoid burnout, and Shane’s own motivations for getting up in the morning and striving for change.

“What we do is not achieved overnight,” he said.

“It can take 20 years of work to undo physical and psychological damage caused by extreme poverty, but if we focus on people’s potential and don’t give up on them then they can achieve more than we ever know possible.”

Professor Spicer said:

“Successfully leading an organisation takes many qualities on its own, but being able to transition skillsets across entirely different sectors and use them to help bring impactful change to those in most need requires something very special.

“Shane’s leadership story and illustrations of Bryson Group’s work to end extreme poverty were very poignant, and his words will have carried with everybody in the room.

“At Bayes we want to create the next generation of leaders, teaching students not only how to think but also make a difference and change business for the better. Our thanks go to Shane for sharing his own story with us.”

The event was organised and opened by Dr Haseeb Shabbir from the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes and Dr Matt Barnes from the Department of Sociology at City St George’s, University of London.

Find out about the Voluntary Sector Leadership and Management MSc at Bayes Business School.