Management Excellence Awards Winner Shares Experience

As nominations for the 2007 Management Excellence Awards draw to a close, 2006 Professional Manager of the Year (Public Sector) Tony Cheng, Manager Works, Alice Springs Town Council.

What motivates you to go to work each morning?

I am very fortunate to be working in a very cohesive team environment, like Marines on a battlefield, you would fight for your country but you would sacrifice yourself for your brothers-in-arms. I immensely enjoy working with my colleagues to pursue a common goal, the more complex the tasks, the more rewarding are the senses of collective achievement.

Is there a manager or leader that you particularly admire? What personal characteristics do they have that inspire you?

I have two. Napoleone di Buonaparte as my metaphorical mentor and Rex Mooney (CEO of Alice Springs Town Council) as my real time mentor. Emperor Buonaparte's deeds are well documented and I especially admire his resilience in defeat, the Hundred Days comeback post Elba is worth reading twice. He understood the difference between winning a war and a battle, the difference between winning hearts and compliance.

Mr. Mooney has the gift of foresight. He is one of those rare people I would call a complete thinker. Most experienced managers can view a situation from both the negative and positive aspects but Rex can pre-empt the secondary side effects of the primary side effects of a decision and mitigate any ill-effects by careful selection of timing, locality, personalities and the structural environment.

What has being a finalist/winner in your region meant for you as a Manager?

Winning the NT Professional Manager of the Year Award (Public Sector) has been a highlight of my career; it gave me renewed confidence, fresh eyes and also allowed me to share the award with my fellow workers who kindly nominated me in the first place.

How has participation in the Management Excellence Awards contributed to your business and your professional and personal development?

I have grown professionally and personally, I have more industry affiliations and my network has grown ten-fold, I have been offered positions by recruitment firms, I have learned to see things with more depth and a wider spectrum.

What would be your advice to managers who are undecided about nominating for the Management Excellence Awards?

The difference between successful people and people who are not so successful is not the lack of opportunities but rather the inability to see something as an opportunity. Blink and it will attach itself on to someone else. One common misconception is that people tend to ask “why me?”, when an opportunity blossoms, the correct question to ask is “why not me?”

Nominations for the 2007 Management Excellence Awards close in Queensland on Saturday 30 June 2007 and in the Norther Territory on Friday 13 July 2007.

Nominate a manager who stands out in the crowd online at www.managementawards.com.au.