CEO Leadership Lessons with Rob Veron

He has a winsome, unassuming personal style, a keen curiosity that propels his creativity and a commitment to the company that’s inspiring.  It’s impossible to be unmoved by his passion for purposeful business, serving our communities sustainably whilst driving economic value for the islands.

PE: What, in your view, makes for an effective leader?  

RV: Authenticity - a good leader is true to themselves. They will show vulnerability from time to time and are not pretentious. Curiosity - they enjoy learning new things, refusing to get stuck in a rut and instead exploring new ideas and opportunities. And empathy - the best leaders genuinely care for their people.   

Leadership is about being agile and aware to changing needs in the company. They can switch their approach and stance accordingly. Prior to the pandemic for example, we led the business from behind, supporting our people to take responsibility and apply their own creativity. As the pandemic took hold, we switched to a ‘leading from the front’ stance. This was necessary, given that the significant majority of our people were placed on standby. This pivot took empathy, understanding what our people and business needed from us at the time. Good leaders pivot and lead from the front when there’s danger ahead.  

PE: Have you benefitted from a great mentor? 

RV: Yes, Derek Coates (the late founder of Healthspan) was a great mentor. He was inspiring, full of fun, we had a wonderful rapport. He was extremely trusting, which was empowering. Also, selflessly generous in sharing his experiences, helping me to learn. He lived and worked at a fast pace and yet when we spent time together, he was always engaged and not distracted. He was good at giving candid feedback, filter free but in a way that helped me to understand my weaker areas and biases. I welcomed it, always feeling safe and certain that he wanted me to grow and succeed.  

He helped to shape my own leadership approach. I really enjoy being part of a group of leaders at Blue Islands. We develop ideas collectively, which is exciting. I am keen to make sure that the team feels safe and secure to explore ideas and grow together. Kindness is important to help achieve that. Derek helped me to understand that.  

PE: What are some of the critical challenges that you anticipate in the next 12 months and what qualities will leaders need to address these challenges?  

RV: Attracting and retaining people with aviation specific expertise is becoming increasingly challenging. The whole sector is rebooting and regional airlines such as ours tend to be feeders into the larger system rather than the other way around. Cost constraints will present challenges.  Regional aviation is a lower margin, higher risk business, so it’s a fine mix to manage. Changes in economic conditions, higher interest rates and cost pressures for example, are a challenge for us managing route viability and sustainability in line with consumer expectation.  

Having a truly purpose-led culture is an essential attitude for our continued recovery and sustained success. This is more an innate desire rather than a contrived strategy, yet important for drawing talented people to our company. We have become a fundamental part of the infrastructure in the islands, especially in Jersey through the pandemic as other airlines pulled out and we remained as the provider of essential services. The conditions were dire, but we took the time to refocus and rebuild the company. It’s exciting to be part of our reemergence as a business with a clear strategy, centred on making a difference in our communities. This is proving to be attractive to people who want to come and work with us and those dedicated members of the team continue to work with this in mind.   

PE: Why would anyone lead and what excites you the most?  

RV: I didn’t set out to be a CEO, it’s more that the work became the role. I think that the idea of the ‘hero CEO’ is antiquated. I take great pleasure in leading together with our team. It’s a shared journey and that’s exciting.   

Many of our team are long serving and I thoroughly enjoy seeing people thrive and being a part of their growth. This is for me the essence of leadership - placing the people first, exploring new ways to achieve long term, sustainable results rather than being dominated by immediate financial gains as some more traditional boards can be. Taking responsibility and working with the pressures to achieve results is also a source of joy, even if the short-term demands are sometimes intense. It’s a great way to stay curious and constantly learn new things.  

Repurposed from the Guernsey Press.