Becoming a Better Leader Is Key to Success for ANZ Speakers

Unpacking the complexities and best practice of leadership took centre stage at CompTIA’s latest ANZ Channel Community meeting in Sydney where attendees received valuable insight and guidance from the channel’s best.

Moheb Moses, co-founder & director, Channel Dynamics, and director, ANZ Channel Community, CompTIA opened the event to more than 120 attendees from channel, sales, IT, finance, and more, where almost 35% of the guests attended for the fourth (or more) time. Moses highlighted CompTIA’s mentoring initiative aimed at encouraging collaboration and learning in the industry.

Keynote speaker Brent Valle, founder, The Future Phase, shared his personal childhood and business stories to demonstrate the important traits and values newer industry members should have as they move up the ranks towards leadership positions. Valle revealed the ways channel members can repurpose life experiences into strong leadership qualities, and emphasised the importance for leaders to look after their mental and physical health. He also echoed the importance of mentorship for prospective and current leaders alike, stating that connections and guidance from influential and respected channel players can help inspire and motivate mentees in highly worthwhile ways.

Grant Cleary, senior business marketing manager, AI Group, and CompTIA ANZ Executive Council member facilitated a fascinating expert panel on leadership values and challenges. The panel included:

• James Bergl, director of sales, APAC, Datto
• Rachael Broadfoot, distribution manager, ANZ, Citrix
• Alicia Lykos, talent optimisation director and owner, Red Wolf Group
• Nick Verykios, managing director, Arrow ECS ANZ.

The panel shared insights into leadership experiences, analysed the changing nature of leadership, and weighed the different leadership styles fit for guests’ various types of workplaces and business. Broadfoot encouraged leaders to get in the trenches with their employees to collaborate on joint outcomes, and Bergl shared insight into how leaders can create unique and meaningful experiences for their teams, boosting morale and productivity. 

Lykos shared her thoughts on how leaders can let their employees make didactic mistakes without threatening business success, and Verykios let the audience in on his secret to creating a diverse and attractive work environment that boosts employee satisfaction, and attracts new staff. The panel agreed that diversity in the workplace is essential, and leaders are responsible for ensuring gender and cultural differences are valued in their company.

The meeting also included a presentation from Kelly Stone, senior director, global social media, CompTIA, who discussed the social media habits good leaders should nurture. With almost seven years’ in social media-specific roles, Stone revealed the ways businesses can optimise their online presence to grow and succeed. The audience learned the merit of sharing industry research and studies on different social media platforms, and important lessons in making social media posts shine, down to the number of posts businesses should make per week, and the best hour of the day to upload material.

Stone also encouraged attendees to work on complementing and congratulating staff and other industry players over social media, to strengthen brand presence online. Question time saw the audience open up about various social media challenges.

CompTIA Channel Community Meetings help attendees foster valuable connections, and the Sydney event was no different. Attendees participated in breakaway groups to brainstorm leadership ideas, and later enjoyed discussing core leadership themes with key event speakers and fellow attendees at a networking event after the meeting.

Previous ANZ Channel Community meetings were held in Melbourne on May 23 and in New Zealand on May 16.