“A Visionary Leader”
The CEO of The Irish Centre for Business Excellence, Linda Barron, has tremendous passion in terms of the services provided by The Irish Centre for Business Excellence. She always has belief in both the team and what the company represents. Linda has great drive and positivity, which comes across when dealing with our members and all other stakeholders.
Linda’s vision collaborating with Skillnet Ireland to grow the Aviation Skillnet to its full potential has been Multi-tasking – Delegation – Trusting team. Linda would always encourage and communicate positively with the team; she has extraordinary emotional intelligence skills. “We are now running National & International Conferences, Digitalization Summit, Research in the Future of Work, leadership Forums, collaborating with universities on creating industry led training programs and building ICBE’s Network internationally.”
She demonstrates perseverance and passion in everything she does. Her strong sense of vision and purpose enables her to identify new and innovative opportunities for the business and pursue them with confidence and determination. “I enjoy seeing younger females today with more confidence and ambition earlier in their careers.
“If I had known then what I know now” is a phrase that comes to mind, therefore I believe encouraging from the cradle to boardroom. Women must inherently know that senior positions are not just for the few but are necessary for the majority,” explains Linda. She believes that networking is essential and establishing support and training for upcoming female leaders. “The Aviation Skillnet are also working to highlight to the younger population the diverse and exciting roles that exist for women in the aviation sector. This is envisaged to be an annual event with a yearly calendar of events to showcase what prospects are out there for women in what is widely regarded as a male-dominated sector. I am delighted that more and more male leaders are increasingly getting involved in these initiatives; this is essential.”
In recent years the company has seen great team transformation, and again this comes from the belief that Linda has shown to the team. Positivity and encouragement are always shown towards the team and appreciation for all business areas from finance to activity, marketing, sales, etc.
She leads by example and is not afraid to take risks. She encourages adaptability within the team to constantly respond to the ever-changing demands of the work environment. She supports and encourages new initiatives undertaken by her team and provides guidance and leadership. She demonstrates high levels of emotional intelligence and is personally committed to helping others reach their potential.
“I don’t think you find success; success is a broad term and means very different things to different people. If reaching the role of CEO is a success then I would have to say that always being conscientious and diligent would be critical, show and share empathy. Primarily, and this goes against many ideas but “it is not about you.” It is always a collective and team mindset that gets results,” says Linda. “Do not be intimidated by a room full of men, they walk in the room with the same credentials, the same worries and are individuals as are we all, unique and fallible. Focus on the now.”
Some of the company's achievements include ICBE positively embracing the challenges presented by the global pandemic. The profile and reputation of the organization have grown from strength to strength and are steadily gaining an international presence as part of its strategic goals.
“Being in business a long time is a great achievement, but unless you have ambitious strategies and ensure your team are engaged and invigorated you will not get the desired results,” elucidates Linda. “You may get there eventually but, in my experience, if you invest and share the organizational goals (bring the team on the journey not just invite them for updates on what the journey is) you get there a lot quicker. The business has grown but has also maintained its core values and mission as it has progressed. The organization employee retention rate is over 90% over a 10-year period.”
For the days to come, Linda wants to continually learn, “there is so much to know out there!! I never want to get complacent and always reach higher than is comfortable.” The Irish Centre for Business Excellence is looking to collaborate more on a global platform and aim to inspire and share insights for their members that will continually enhance the individual and the organization.
