What can Bermuda’s youngest leader of government in history have to teach us about purpose, success, and overcoming obstacles? As it turns out, a great deal. Join us on this week’s Perspectives from the Top as we speak with David Burt, Premier of Bermuda. Chris' visit to Bermuda to interview The Premier and speak at the Entrepreneurial Leadership Conference was organized by Benedict Associates.
Public Service and Entrepreneurial Thinking (ft. David Burt)
Perspectives on leading— together and alone— from the middle of the Atlantic
OPENING QUOTE:
“Leaders have to recognize that an approach that may work in one instance and may be very good, it may work 90% of the time, cannot work 100% of the time, and you have to be flexible enough to adjust your approach.”
- David Burt
GUEST BIO:
David Burt is the Premier of Bermuda— head of government for the British Overseas Territory. He began his career at George Washington University with a degree in finance and information systems before returning to Bermuda as an entrepreneur to launch his own digital consultancy. In 2016 he was elected as opposition leader in Bermuda before becoming premier in 2017, the youngest in Bermuda’s history.
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[2:46] - Inspiration by Demonstration
The power of getting your hands dirty
One of the best ways to inspire people to do their best is to not be afraid of doing the work yourself, showing the people around you that you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty in the day-to-day. David calls it “inspiration by demonstration.”
[8:23] - Inward Leadership
Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses
David highlights the importance of recognizing the areas where you can improve as a leader. That also means taking on responsibility when something doesn’t go well. Even if a mistake happens two or three levels down, true leaders say, “This is my responsibility,” rather than putting it on others.
[19:17] - Building for Tomorrow
Leaders as visionaries
“We need to make sure that we are adjusting to the realities— not just what we see today, but which may come down the road,” David says. He believes that presenting a clear vision for the future can bring even those from across the aisle into the fold and create greater unity throughout government.
[20:26] - Learning from the Unsuccessful
The top isn’t the only place with meaningful perspective
David has a message for developing leaders— don’t just learn from the successes, but the failures. “I think that some of the best lessons in leadership of which I have learned are from people who may not have been regarded as very successful leaders, but who have been willing to share with me the lessons of which they learned, the things of which they may have done differently had they had known before and made those mistakes. I think that is a very important thing, and that's what I would encourage people to certainly do.”
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CREDITS:
David Burt:
Leaders have to recognize that an approach that may work in one instance and may be very good, it may work 90% of the time, cannot work 100% of the time, and you have to be flexible enough to adjust your approach.
Chris Robeuck:
Welcome to Perspectives From the Top. I'm Chris Roebuck, global keynote speaker with unique leadership experience from military, business and government, bestselling author and your guide to greater success. Together, we'll discover powerful insights from the world's leading thinkers, doers, and trailblazers, the must know trends, thought provoking revelations and practical actions you can use immediately. This is your exclusive and personal shot of insight and inspiration to help you get to the top.
Chris Robeuck:
Morning. On Perspectives From the Top, it's my great privilege to have the honorable David Burt, premier of Bermuda, with us. He started his career at George Washington University with a degree in finance and information systems, came back to Bermuda, set up his own digital consultancy, so he's an entrepreneur. In the process of that, he developed a taxi hailing app, in 2016 was elected as the leader of the opposition in Bermuda, and in 2017 became premier, the youngest premier in Bermuda's history. It's a great honor to have an entrepreneur, a digital expert, and a premier with us this morning. David, good morning.
David Burt:
Good morning, Chris.
Chris Robeuck:
Morning. When you look at that journey that you have been on and you think of the leaders you've either worked with or you've seen working around you, give us a few examples of people that you found inspiring and perhaps why that was on that journey.
David Burt:
Well, one example that comes to mind is as an entrepreneur, and as always being an entrepreneur, there was oftentimes where I was my own boss. This comes from the fact that both my parents were self-employed, so it's just been something that's just been ingrained in me. I remember that when I was in university during my presidential administrative fellowship, when I was working in the university administration, there was a particular vice-president for student services and his name was Michael Gargano. I will always remember him because of his enthusiasm, which inspired others around him to be very enthusiastic as submission. He was always seeming to lead from the front in his enthusiasm, and I think that trickled down to the people underneath him and certainly to the student leaders as well.
Chris Robeuck:
Therefore, if you take that example, do you therefore think that really at its heart successful leadership is therefore about inspiring people to give their best?
David Burt:
Absolutely. I think that's very important. I think one of the best ways to inspire people to do their best is to not be afraid of doing the work yourself, showing the people who are underneath your leadership that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, that you're not afraid to work and that you can lead by example of doing that type of work. I think that is a way to inspire almost by demonstration.
Chris Robeuck:
That's really interesting because as an ex-military guy myself, the whole concept of leading by example is the fundamental foundation of what I believe creates good leadership. One of the things that is interesting though is particularly within the commercial world and the governmental world, I think it's not maybe just about inspiring, it's also about having the ability to focus the best that people give you onto what needs to be done. Do you see that as a challenge as well?
David Burt:
Well, I'm not sure if it's a challenge. I think that when you talk about different people have different skill sets. From that aspect, the commercial area is different than the political area because the commercial area in business, it's a little bit easier because you get to choose the people you can work with. You can hire and fire people very quickly. The political arena is different, whether it's at a political leadership level where you have elected members or whether it's inside the civil service where it's not the exact same as if you're in a corporate setting.
David Burt:
I think that makes it more challenging as well because you have to apply different principles of leadership. It's one of the things you have to recognize that one style may not work with everyone. You may have a particular way in which you're used to that you say that, "These are the tasks of which we need to accomplish. These are how I want to get done," and you go ahead and you can lead your team to that. Sometimes that doesn't work with everyone.
David Burt:
Sometimes you have to be a little bit more hands on. You have to be a little bit more prescriptive. You have to walk people along the journey because they may not get it, and you may not have all the skill sets of which you need in order to accomplish those goals.
Chris Robeuck:
That's an interesting point. The comparison between the commercial world and the public sector world, which I've experienced as well and it is a very different mindset, but when you look at leadership and what inspires people at its heart, is the commonality greater than the differences in perhaps that everybody wants a boss that is interested in them?
David Burt:
I think that there is a large degree of commonalities, I think that's important. I think that people by and large who are being led want to feel appreciated, want to feel as though their boss cares, wants to see that they understand and want to feel appreciated. I think that's something that is very important in so far as what leaders have to make sure they do and to recognize the contributions of their staff.
David Burt:
I also think when you talk about the differences, it goes back to what I just said. There are different approaches that have to be used, and my bias always comes from the fact that I have an IT background. One of the things I'll always remember is one of my systems analysis design classes that said, "If you took your brain out of someone else's head and put it in someone else, you'd both think that you're crazy," because everyone thinks differently. Leaders have to recognize that an approach that may work in one instance and may be very good and may work 90% of the time cannot work 100% of the time, and you have to be flexible enough to adjust your approach.
Chris Robeuck:
That's interesting. Your sort of association with project management and sort of a structured way of thinking in terms of your professional career, it's interesting though that you've picked up on the emotional sort of elements of leadership. I think one of the challenges that people who have been through an engineering career and IT career is that sometimes they find that emotional element slightly challenging. How did you manage to master it?
David Burt:
Here's what I would say, I would say that it's a work in progress without question. It's not something that I necessarily master, but I think part of leadership also is recognizing what your strengths are and your weaknesses internally yourself as a leader and continuing to work and developing on those strengths and weaknesses. What you've picked up very well, Chris, is that for people who have that technology background, it's that emotional side which at some points in time can be lacking. Recognizing that is important that leaders work to develop their weak points as well to make them more effective in leading the people of... And leading any organization.
Chris Robeuck:
That's interesting, the whole concept of sort of leaders learning as they go through. One of the things I find interesting is that there's a really killer fact that an employee's decision to give high performance is 60% rational, but 40% emotional. If you don't pick up on that emotional hook, you'll never get maximum effort. How do you, to do that, to get that understanding that you've talked about, how do you get people, given the position you're in, to sort of give you feedback because you're the guy at the top?
David Burt:
Well, you have to be willing to ask for it. That's it. I mean my standard and style of leadership, it comes from my leadership. My first exposure to leadership actually came from I went to military boarding school. From the age of 11, I was inside of a regimented thing. I was fortunate to learn certain lessons of leadership at a very young age. Something that is particularly important is that you have to be willing to offer feedback. You have to be willing to get feedback, and you have to be willing to be able to accept criticism knowing that you, I would say, are not always perfect and knowing that you can improve.
David Burt:
If you, as a leader, recognize the fact that you can improve, that you can always become better, then I think that is something that helps as well. Another part of that, and this is approach of which I have, is that in a situation where something doesn't go well, I always say that falls upon the leader. It might be something that happens two or three levels down and I say, "This is my responsibility." You address it as your responsibility, not attempting to put that on others.
David Burt:
You bring the people in and say, "We all share this. This is not a question of I'm going to blame you for not getting this done. We all share this. How can we do this better so in the future, these mistake or error or problem doesn't present itself and we can learn from this lesson?" I think that's something that's important.
Chris Robeuck:
Taking that on, in the position that you're in at the moment, if you look at, or indeed as CEO, if that individual is a good leader, the problem is though that between that leader's example of leadership, that leader's strategy, that leader's communication and the people at the bottom of the organization who are doing the work, there's three or four other levels in between. How do you handle the challenge of getting that message through in a clear way so that their bosses are just as inspiring as you are at the top?
David Burt:
That's one that I cannot say that I've mastered yet. I think that from the perspective where I stand, as long as my top level leadership understand where I want to take the organization, where collectively we want to go, and I think that's important to demonstrate at the top level. As I said, sometimes you cannot be afraid to get your hands dirty.
David Burt:
If there is something that has arisen, you, as a leader, have to say that, "I can come from my perch to get my hands dirty, to sit with either my ministers or to sit with the departments, to make my time available and say, 'This is an important matter. This is something that we do not think is progressing as much,'" and get yourself in and say, "Let's work through this collectively to figure out how we can advance this particular issue."
David Burt:
I think that those persons who may be four rungs down will see that from the top level, and then they can understand, and that can also help to inform those people who might be on the second or third level so they can see by example, because it would probably be a misconception to think that they have been through these type of leadership challenges before and they understand how to handle them. It may be their first big challenge of leadership. It may be their first big challenge and obstacle, and they may need assistance in overcoming that.
Chris Robeuck:
Okay. You talk about the challenges of getting that to happen. When you made that transition from being an entrepreneur into the public sector, because I made a transition from international banking to the public sector, and I was quite shocked at the difference between the two. What was the thing that surprised you most on that transition?
David Burt:
Well, the thing that surprised me most is that people don't necessarily respond very quickly. As I said, it's a difference. If you're in the private sector, people's jobs depend on executing the wishes of their bosses. If they don't execute the wish of their bosses, they may not have a job for very long. In the political or public service construct, it's different. It certainly is a different perspective, so you have to use different tactics. You have to make sure that people are invested in the outcome, making sure they understand what the outcome is, bring everyone together. A lot of times, it means that you have to spend a little bit more time making sure that your top level leadership is aware of where you're trying to go.
Chris Robeuck:
Yeah. Did you find however at some degree, as I did, that whilst the commercial world is more focused on getting it done fast, one of the great things about the public sector is that people are in it because they believe in what they do. It's not just about the money, it's about society and adding value and caring. Did you find that was really helpful?
David Burt:
I think so. Because a lot of times public service workers globally [inaudible 00:12:33] are not thought of in the best light, and I've found a completely different experience. I've found people who care, people who want to make sure they achieve their objectives, people who are very thorough and people who will give the honest feedback to the leaders that say, "This is a risk. You may want to consider this inside your decision making," etcetera. I think that at the basis of what you're saying in so far as they care, in so far as they want to achieve something good for the country, in particular our case Bermuda as a jurisdiction, that they are more in some instances naturally invested in a successful outcome, and I think that's also helpful.
Chris Robeuck:
In that to some degree, to be honest, probably I'm in it for the money is not quite as inspiring as I'm in it for the country and the good of future generations.
David Burt:
Absolutely. I think that's something that certainly assists certain levels of the public sector, because when you have specific deadlines or specific important things to reach, you will find that you don't necessarily have that particular resentment that you might find in the private sector. Because people are like, "This is something that we have to get done and if we don't get this thing done, it's not a question of it's going to just affect my company and I can go somewhere else. It's going to affect the country and my children."
Chris Robeuck:
Yeah. That's an interesting cultural dynamic, in that within the commercial environment, you could say the culture is more about me, not we. Whereas to some degree in the public sector, it's we less, sorry, more than me.
David Burt:
there are different ways in which you can motivate from that perspective. If your motivation is, okay, do well so we can get big stock options this year or you might find persons who will find ways to cut corners, which may not be in the long-term collective interest. If you're talking about on a country scale, in so far as this is a goal which we have to accomplish to be successful for future generations, you'll find that there can be that more collective buy-in and people are working and find, well, what about this? Have you considered this?
David Burt:
This is something else we may want to do. You find yourselves with that type of collective vision. There is always a question that asks, who sets the vision for an organization? I believe that the most effective organizations are where the vision is shared. It doesn't necessarily come from the top, but is something that everyone believes in. If everyone believes the vision, understands where you're going, whether it be an organization, whether it be a government or whether in the construct of Bermuda a country, I think that is helpful and more likely to achieve your objective.
Chris Robeuck:
Which is exactly what I was going to lead onto in terms of your role at the moment, because obviously you have Bermudan business, you have the government and the challenges to get the two to work together. I think it's interesting, certainly from my perspective, the fundamental challenge of the 21st Century in terms of the interaction between business and the commercial world, government and wider society has to be one of working in partnership. What I find really interesting is that I think smaller countries have got that a lot faster than larger countries have. Talk about how you're sort of trying to achieve that.
David Burt:
Well, that's interesting. I mean I think part of that dynamic is just natural, that smaller countries, because you're in this constrained space because you can't help but go places and see a lot of time the same people, that it almost forces that type of conversation and that interaction. Our approach to government has been that the best ideas are done on a collaborative basis.
David Burt:
I think that history is replete with examples of leaders who have decided to go forward or organizations that have decided to go forward without having that collective buy-in from the community, the collective buy-in from the business sector. What you've seen in our early stages of our government, and we've been in here for about eight months now, is by making sure that we consult, that we get that type of buy-in, that we say, "These are the things which we're looking to do. What are your thoughts on this?"
David Burt:
Then when the end results, when the plan is then produced, it's something that can have that buy-in by a significant majority of the public. Then, we're all moving towards trying to accomplish those goals. That's the way I think is the most effective, because if not, then you're going to find yourself pushing against, and you don't want that, I guess. You don't want that friction, especially if you're trying to make very quick and significant changes to long-term structures of which exist inside of a country or economy.
David Burt:
Right now we're trying to modernize our economy. We're trying to modernize our government. In order to make those cycle changes where it can make certain sectors uncomfortable, you have to have that collective buy-in of understanding where it is that we're trying to go. We're trying to have a more strong economy. We're trying to provide more opportunities for our citizens.
David Burt:
We're trying to make sure that we can compete in a globalized economy. If we recognize where we're trying to go and the things that will be achieved if we reach all these items together, I think it better informs persons and gets people more likely to say, "Okay, I see where it is you're going. I can accept the vision. I can do my part in order to get to that building block."
Chris Robeuck:
That final point is really critical, I think the fact that you are creating a compelling vision for the future that people want to invest in. Certainly my experience of the public sector and indeed the commercial sector is if things are about to crash and burn, everybody realizes there's a need for change. If things are just ticking over nicely and the shareholders are happy and the market's happy, and everybody's vaguely happy, then the perception of a need for change is, well, why bother? Everything's just ticking over. You think the criticality is to say, "Actually, whilst we aren't doing too badly, we could do so much better?"
David Burt:
Well, it's interesting. I mean political leadership and political campaign says you win political campaigns in one of two ways, inspiration or fear.
Chris Robeuck:
We're not going to make any comments.
David Burt:
That's fine. I think it feeds into that type of construct, because the construct is that recognizing this pace of where the world is going and pace of change inside the world, it's not the most sexy political slogan ever, but you can go [inaudible 00:19:02] the US, it was vote or die, it's change or die. Organizations and countries have to adapt. That message has to get across to the entire populace that it is a constant place of evolution.
David Burt:
We need to make sure that we are adjusting to the realities, not just what we see today, but which may come down the road and make the provisions for that right now. That is a message that is important that you get across. I think that's been the message of which we've gotten across successfully, which has allowed the traditional sectors, which in our instance are not necessarily natural supporters of the Labor Party, coming along the lines of saying, "Okay, we believe in this vision. We understand the part in which we have to pay. There may be some short-term pain, but we recognize the long-term vision. We do not mind being a part of that and paying our part."
Chris Robeuck:
Yeah. It's essentially, to be blunt, let's stop arguing about who gets part of the smaller cake and create a bigger cake so everyone's happy.
David Burt:
That's a lesson of which... That's almost what I say all the time [inaudible 00:20:07] except for I use pie, not cake, but that's okay.
Chris Robeuck:
Fair enough. Fair enough. Just to finish off. To any young developing leaders sort of watching this, what would be one or two things that you would say to them that are good lessons that you've learned that they might find useful in their future?
David Burt:
I think number one thing is to listen, to listen to those persons who may have come before you, to listen to those people who have been successful, but also those people who may not have been successful. I think that some of the best lessons in leadership of which I have learned are from people who may not have been regarded as very successful leaders, but who have been willing to share with me the lessons of which they learned, the things of which they may have done differently had they had known before and made those mistakes. I think that is a very important thing, and that's what I would encourage people to certainly do.
David Burt:
The other thing in which I would encourage is without question leadership, I think, is a large part of setting that example of hard work, of that dedication. I remember there was this joke that I used to tell my friends in school that I would be that person who if entered the corporate world will always stay longer, work harder, be the one that's the last to leave and the first to arrive, because I believe that it's how you can demonstrate your willingness to participate and demonstrate your willingness to go to the next step.
David Burt:
I think if there are young leaders and aspiring leaders, if you can show that you are willing to go the extra mile, then the leaders who are above you will recognize that. They will give you more, they will challenge you more. They will allow you to step up and to have those additional opportunities. I think that's the best way to recognize and to advance in any leadership career.
Chris Robeuck:
So hard work and leading by example.
David Burt:
Absolutely.
Chris Robeuck:
Brilliant, thank you very much indeed [inaudible 00:21:52] thank you.
Chris Robeuck:
Some really great insights there from David. What I find really interesting is that his transition from entrepreneur to prime minister, he's gone through one of perhaps the largest personal transitions of any of our guests. In what he said there were powerful insights, which to my mind showed that whilst there may be significant differences in terms of the operation of startups, larger businesses and public sector, many of the things which leaders have to do to get the best from people and to align efforts so the organization is successful are absolutely consistent.
Chris Robeuck:
His comments about leading by example, about listening, about a clear vision, about understanding that sometimes mistakes happen, about inspiring people to give their best, all consistent irrespective of where the leader is. In fact, these are the things that leaders need to be doing every day.
Chris Robeuck:
Also, those of you that work in the public sector and for those of you that aren't who need to know this, there is an ethos of service which isn't often present in the commercial world. Interestingly, over the last few years, particularly major investing institutions have been asking, "What is the role of business in wider society?" That despite what Milton Friedman said in the 1960s, in today's world, the purpose of the corporation is much greater than just delivering a return to shareholders. As I alluded to earlier in the interview, in this current world, it certainly needs to be broader.
Chris Robeuck:
Have a think about how you can use some of David's ideas to help you get to where you want to be. Don't forget that in a week, I will give you a more in-depth view of the key takeaways from David in my insights and ideas for action in my Reflections on the Top. If you've used any of the insights that you've got from previous Perspectives' guests and they've helped you, I'd love to hear your success stories. Obviously connect with me on LinkedIn if you like, and don't forget to sign up on the website so you don't miss any of the future guests coming up.
Chris Robeuck:
Thanks for tuning in. Check out the show notes from today's episode at perspectivesfromthetop.com where you can not only enjoy additional resources from today's show, but all previous ones. If you haven't already, subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your favorite podcast, so you don't miss any. If you really enjoyed the show, please give us a five star rating and review. Have a question or comment? Let's discuss it, message me on LinkedIn. Perspectives From the Top is produced in collaboration with Detroit Podcast Studios. Have a successful week, use today's new learnings and actions, and remember it's onwards and upwards. See you next time on Perspectives From the Top.