Strategic Leadership - Fortescue Metals Group - FMG Australia

When thinking of strategic leadership it is often the responsibility of the CEO and the top management group of people within a company. For Fortescue Metals Group Australia- FMG, Elizabeth Gaines (current CEO 2022) together with other nine directors and members of the board, are responsible and accountable for performing the vision, mission and plan to achieve strategic objectives. 

In other words, and  according to Lussier “Strategic leadership is a leader’s ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for an organisation” (Lussier 2016, pg 397). 

On this  view, FMG has been able to apply strategic leadership in developing human resources of the company by constantly training and educating the staff.

For example, the FMG’s objective to run the whole operation with green renewable energy has brought the company to invest in training the teams to find the way to harness the power of “green hydrogen” as presented by Andrew in interviews with Sky News, project that involves pioneering in the use of this new green sources of energy, therefore developing the research as well as the infrastructure required driving up innovation in the industry.

More examples of strategic leadership are seen as the project developed by FMG including aboriginal workers into the regular operation, providing training and resources to perform their work activities (The Guardian, 2022). 


Furthermore, FMG top level management also focuses their efforts on keeping the employees motivated, developing and mentoring leaders, as well as projects to ensure employees satisfaction at work. 


Seeing it from a different perspective, there were 265 reviews provided by FMG employees in the seek’s website (Seek 2022), which overall, the highest amount of positive comments are related to the team’s culture, workplace environment and salary. 


While, on the other hand, the reviews also indicate most team members within the organisation believe there is space for improvement in the employees’ work life balance and opportunities for promotion (Seek 2022).



Culture of ethical behaviour and social responsibility


Fostering ethical behaviour within an organisation comes as a result of the company’s culture and the systems in place. 


Lussier in the book Leadership, indicates there are some mechanisms that can be put in place to support ethical practices such as creating a code of conduct with the main values and principles and implementing ethics committees that ensures a specific procedure to solve problem situations (Lussier 2016). 


Applying it to FMG, the company’s main values and principles are safety, integrity, family, and empowerment among others mentioned in FMG’s web page, which form the basis of Fortescue’s policies in the code of conduct and integrity policy, together with their corporate social responsibility. 


Andrew’s leadership shows a clear commitment to corporate social responsibility by switching the whole operation of the company into a green energy powered company, generous donations to charities that help fund projects for aboriginal communities, and donations to help end sex traffic and child slavery (Burrell, 2014). 


Andrew is currently strongly committed on reducing and removing the amount of plastic in the oceans and his voice has been heard in platforms such as Ted talks, as well as with leaders from over 40 countries during his trips since 2020. 


Project in which Andrew is persuading powerful companies and governments around the world to implement more green energy sources in their industries (The Guardian, 2022). 


Conclusion


Andrew Forrest is a remarkable leader who has managed to create and lead one of the largest companies in the mining industry at a global scale. 


There are several main lessons which can be learnt from Andrew’s leadership style. 


Firstly, a constant characteristic through his life has been the undertaking of ambitious objectives and the endless search for efficiency which often drives up innovation. 


Secondly, Andrew has found the way to influence and develop highly qualified people so they become leaders in their projects. Thirdly, politics and power matters, Andrew has been able to influence not only people within his organisation but also relevant external stake holders  in the industry and governmental level.  


Andrews’ skill for long term vision and strategic thinking is remarkable as he seems able to accurately forecast future market conditions ensuring the FMG’s long term operations as well as business relationships with buyers and suppliers. 


Finally, Andrew’s current vision of social responsibility shows strong commitment on giving back to the community and setting the basis for sustainable practices while utilising profitable green energy sources which shows his leadership not only in the mining industry but now in the global responses to climate change.




Written by Sergio Quintero, 2023, student of Master of Business Administration, 

Kaplan Business School, Melbourne, Australia. 





REFERENCES


Burrell, Andrew, Twiggy: the high - stakes life of Andrew Forrest - biography, Black Inc, 2014.


Bush, Tony, Part 1 - Principles of educational leadership and management, Principles of educational leadership and management, SAGE, England, 3rd ed, 2019, pg 3-18.


Forrest, Andrew, A radical plan to end plastic waste, TED talk, retrieved 2022, <https://youtu.be/I5g9-4fx60A>


Fortescue Metals Group website. Our culture. Retrieved 2022, <https://www.fmgl.com.au/about-fortescue>


Forrest, Andrew, Never, ever give up, Fortescue Metals Group, retrieved 2022, <https://youtu.be/t9A3ribtheA>


Lussier, Robert, Part l - Individuals as leaders, Leadership, theory, application and skill development, Cengage learning, USA, 2016, pg 7-22.


Murrell, Thomas. 10 Leadership lessons from Australia’s wealthiest man - Andrew Forrest, 8 Media, retrieved 2022, <http://8mmedia.com/10-leadership-lessons-from-australias-wealthiest-man-andrew-forrest/>


Seek, Fortescue Metals Group reviews, Retrieved 2022, <https://www.seek.com.au/companies/fortescue-metals-group-432558/reviews>


Raducan, Ramona, Leadership and management, Science Direct, Procedia - Social and behavioural sciences, volume 145, 2014, pg 808 - 812. 


Sheperd, Tory, ‘Judge me on my actions’: can Andrew Forrest become Australia’s clean,  green hero?, The Guardian, retrieved 2022, <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/27/judge-me-on-my-actions-can-andrew-forrest-become-australias-clean-green-hero> 






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