Chartered Secretaries New Zealand

E kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou.  Kia ora tātou katoa.  Ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all.

I specifically acknowledge: Dr Jack Dowds, President of the Chartered Secretaries New Zealand and members of your executive committee; and Hon Justice Paul Heath, Judge of the High Court and our guest speaker this evening - tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you for inviting me to attend the 75th anniversary dinner of Chartered Secretaries New Zealand.  As your Patron, it’s great to be able join with you as you celebrate this anniversary.  Reaching a significant anniversary is a time for celebration.  For any professional grouping to reach its 75th anniversary speaks of its fundamental value, utility and sway. 

This year also marks a milestone for your parent body, The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, which marks 110 years since it received its Royal Charter.

There is an added significance for us all, your international patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year.  Her Majesty is an inspirational person and a role model for service. The Diamond Jubilee Visit of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in November will give us the opportunity to recall with affection Her Majesty’s service to New Zealand. 

In this company, I acknowledge that Chartered Secretaries play a vital role in any organisation, whether it’s a public or private company, local council, statutory body, professional organisation, charity or sports club.  I’m also conscious that many of you make meaningful contributions by way of volunteering your expertise to community groups, and I thank you for that service.

Conscious that we have a guest speaker, I will focus my remarks on the makings of good governance and what your organisation says is the core of your profession – integrity.

“Good governance” means different things to different people in different settings.  However, I firmly believe that governance is intertwined with leadership, and as with many endeavours, it is underpinned by integrity.  I would like to offer some insights from my life experience.

As is well known, my previous career was largely spent as an officer in the New Zealand Defence Force.  All military organisations are founded on fundamental principles, including military discipline and respect for the chain of command.  These principles are often encapsulated in the word “rank”—those with higher ranks give orders to those with lower ranks, who are in turn obliged to carry them out.  Some might question the relevance of that experience to a consideration of “good governance.”  I disagree. 

First, the right of an officer to give orders to a subordinate is never absolute.  All orders must be lawful, even when commanding subordinates to use deadly force against others.  This principle is the same regardless of whether you are a general, a chairman or a general manager.  In a good society, no-one can force another to commit an illegal act.

Secondly, and more importantly, the success of any military unit, whether it an army or a small patrol, is based on respect - respect for each other, respect for those being led and respect for those who are leading.   Simply because someone has the power to give another orders, does not make them a leader or engender respect.

This point was well made by the Commandant of the US Military Academy – West Point - in an address to his cadets in 1879.  John Schofield, a former professor of physics, a many-times decorated Civil War veteran and later a Commanding General of the US Army, said, in part, the following words:

“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment.  On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army.  …  He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.”

These words are considered so insightful that Academy graduates are required to memorise them .  In my experience, respect is earned, not given as of right or because of the position one holds.  Effective leaders, whether they are a chief of an army or chief executive of a privately listed company, demonstrate respect for others - always. 

That respect must in turn be based on fundamental principles, a core set of values.  They are what followers see in their leader.  Given the guidance of my parents during my upbringing, and the nature of my life in the New Zealand Army the values that resonate for me are those that the New Zealand Defence Force hold - courage, comradeship, commitment and integrity. 

That last value – integrity - is central to an individual and human relationships.  Being honest to oneself is the starting place for a relationship with someone else.  It may be a personal relationship between husband and wife, a professional relationship between a doctor, teacher or vicar with a patient, pupil or parishioner, or a business relationship between two companies or two individuals.  A solemn vow given before witnesses, a handshake to complete a sale, or a signature on a contract, underscores the importance of integrity in human dealings.  For me it was being able to look every soldier, sailor or airman or airwoman in the eye and say do this because it is right; and to look the loved-ones of those men and women in the eye if they did not return home alive.

I understand Justice Heath is going to speak more specifically to this point as it relates to businesses that have come before the courts.  While these are very much in the public eye, I think if we take a step back and look at many other failings making headlines you’ll often see a fundamental failure to recognise the integral human value of integrity, trust, honesty.

As professionals, chartered secretaries have an important role to play in ensuring integrity is at the forefront of those in governance roles.  In our fast moving times, when communications technology has condensed our world, it’s tempting to make fast-paced decisions. 

Far from advocating slowing the dynamism of enterprise process and enterprise progress, I believe that doing things right and properly, requires care.  Insisting on correct procedures being followed, and accurate returns being made to reporting bodies, may well be labelled pedantic by more gung-ho colleagues, but it is the right thing to do.  Having the courage and commitment to stand up for what is right, is the hallmark of a professional.  Taking time to ensure issues are considered properly and that the correct rules are adhered to, will ensure better decisions are made; and faster progress over the longer term. 

To close, I want to quote the words of American writer John Gardner, who was a different type of secretary; a US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the 1960s.  He was a man of integrity who spearheaded the Medicare programme for elderly people, and many civil rights initiatives, he resigned from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Cabinet because he could not support the Vietnam War.  He once commented on what made for excellence by saying: “Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” 

As you celebrate your 75th anniversary, my challenge to your organisation is to excel.  Continue to fight the right fight.  Have the courage to insist on the highest standards.  Be good citizens with integrity.  And, in doing so, you will add enduring value to the organisations you serve.  Kia ora, kia kaha, kia manawanui, huihui tātou katoa: be well, be strong, be courageous.