Name: Morgan Donohue

Title: Chief Information Officer

Organisation: Tony White Group

Technology professional with a history in cross discipline and cross industry roles, having specialised in establishment or transformation of IT or business functions.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Morgan's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

The most challenging part of leadership is adaptation to the various situations and personalities. Diversity is the key to a 'whole' capable team, and this requires the leader to be able to adapt as needed to motivate and lead each member of the team.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

Having studied Physical Mathematics at University, I found myself at a cross roads of sort. I joined the military as a way to mark time whilst I worked out what I really wanted to do with my life. This was the start and perhaps most formative period of my leadership development.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I find my energy levels diminish throughout the day, and so I place challenging, administrative or process oriented work at the start. Leaving the creativity to energise and inspire the afternoons.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Leadership is in a continuous state of flux, it's something you must spend time on every day, even if it seems like you don't need to. It's not a reactive thing...

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Frame Games: Persuasion Excellence by L. Michael Hall. I find reflection to be of most value as I continue on my leadership journey. This is an excellent book that gives you a point of reference to reflect on your 'Meta-States', to unpack the layers and understand how to address sub-optimal outcomes.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Leadership is a journey and not a destination. You will make many mistakes along the way, the best lesson often are at these moments, and how you handle those will determine whether you stagnate or grow.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I was researching Ned Hermann's HBDI model, which is really about whole brain thinking and hole brain team construction. Until this point, I relied on gut instinct to construct high performing teams. This opened my eyes to the value in building diverse teams, as well as the challenges of leading those same teams.