Episode 27: I had to learn to listen sincerely to survive my first leadership role with Simon Duke

Leadership Amplified by Dr Karen Morley

That’s one of the take-outs from my conversation with Simon Duke, Infrastructure & Capital Projects Manager, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. One of the first leadership lessons Simon had to learn was to listen very acutely, and with sincerity, to the community he was in. He had to listen really well to be able to understand small nuances that made the difference between success and failure. He had to listen to survive. In what was a challenging start to his leadership career, Simon turned challenge into opportunity, and created a firm, values-based platform for his future leadership approach. It helped him to not just prioritise purpose and community, but also to increase his own flexibility and adaptability. From a young age, Simon had a sense of wanting to serve a bigger purpose, and as his career has continued, that has developed into what we might now call the servant leader philosophy. In his leadership roles he is keen to understand how best he can serve. He knows that others too want to be part of something bigger than themselves. His fundamental belief is that for people to thrive leaders need to give them power, to share and align their power. He says to his teams: ‘I want to solve it with you.’ Aligning people to the why is critical to be able to move things forward ‘we're not here for you or me, we're here for our community’.