In conversation with: Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, Kirk Hope

Pictured above: Kirk Hope.

NZBusiness sits down with the Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s leading business advocacy group for a discussion on leadership and supporting businesses during these tough economic times.

Hope and his Wellington-based team work with companies, organisations and political and other decision makers, advocating for New Zealand’s success through sustainable economic growth.

Before joining BusinessNZ, Kirk was CEO of the New Zealand Bankers’ Association. Prior to that he was Executive Director of the Financial Services Federation, the industry body representing the non-bank sector. He previously held a range of senior positions at Westpac, including Head of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs.

This year, he’ll be one of the judges for the inaugural New Zealand Leadership Awards, which aim to recognise outstanding leaders, both established and emerging, who are influencing the future of business and beyond. Finalists for the Awards will be announced on July 19.

What excites you about being involved in the inaugural New Zealand Leadership Awards?

It’s great to have leadership qualities reflected in awards – so that those qualities can be enhanced, expanded and accessed by larger groups of people – those already in some form of leaders, and those working on how they can develop the qualities that enable them to develop into leaders.

What does the word leadership mean to you?

Leaders are people who are highly effective at creating a vision and then working with others to realise that vision, whether it’s in business, in the community or elsewhere.

What are some of the greatest lessons you’ve learned about your own leadership style?

It doesn’t matter what your title is – leadership is about your ability to tell a story of the future, to get people to share and expand on that story and then to realise it. One person alone can’t do this.

Who have you looked up to as a business leader during your career?

There are simply too many to name – there are over 150 CEOs in our CEO Forum who are leaders addressing a scope and depth of uncertainty that is pretty significant right now. Wars, a pandemic, economic challenges like inflation, a workforce that is highly diverse, a lot of unnecessary anti-business regulation, and navigating the world of AI are just some examples – so anyone in business right now I look up to, just for the sheer energy and focus it takes to keep going. They are heroes!

I have to give a shout out to my BusinessNZ Network CEO colleagues – Brett O Riley at EMA, Simon Arcus at Business Central, Leeann Watson at Business Canterbury and Mike Collins at Business South. We work together to help businesses large and small all over the country and they are tireless in their efforts to make sure their members are ahead of the game, are well supported and that BusinessNZ is advocating for the right things on their behalf. I also have a team of people withing BusinessNZ who are high performing leaders in their own right. This is an invigorating environment to work within.

As a leader in business, what are some of the biggest challenges you currently face, and how are you overcoming them?

The biggest challenge is to keep looking beyond the horizon to what is next. While it’s true that you can never become complacent, the sheer scale and pace of change right now can be overwhelming – our job is to help reduce or remove that feeling – anticipate what’s next and help prepare leaders for that. The BusinessNZ Network is linked to over 150 business and employer organisations all over the world, and also to global policy institutions so we have great access to how business leaders, and policymakers are thinking about the above-mentioned issues. It is great to be able to access that high level strategic thinking on a global scale.

For SME owner-operators doing it tough in the current climate, what’s your advice on how to best navigate this time as leaders?

You aren’t alone, the BusinessNZ Network is working for you. Make sure that you and your teams can access networks because, as noted, you absolutely aren’t alone.

What’s your advice for business leaders looking to become better leaders – how can they go about achieving this?

Keep learning, stay curious, become part of a network so you share and exchange with others.

As BusinessNZ, how are you helping support SME leaders?

The BusinessNZ Network provides networks and learning for leaders so they can enhance their skills, the Network also provides a range of leadership development tools to help enhance capability. BusinessNZ is always advocating for better public policy for business, this helps leaders, teams and businesses be successful.