IT has been some 12 months since soldier-turned-businessman Ben Roberts-Smith retired from the army but accounts of his experience at war remain crystal clear.
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The Victoria Cross recipient addressed more than 200 people at the Bendigo Business Council's Leadership Lunch on Tuesday, sharing stories of his time in Afghanistan.
Through several accounts of his experiences, Mr Roberts-Smith talked about the qualities and attributes that make great leaders.
"Leadership is about making decisions because they are right not because they are easy," he said.
"My personal ethos is made up of my core values - integrity, empathy, humility, courage and the endless pursuit of excellence. These are attributes I strive for each day and are all attributes I believe all leaders should strive for and demonstrate when leading their teams.
"Although you may have good intentions those will always go unrecognised and what you will be judged on is your actions and you must lead by example."
Leadership is about making decisions because they are right not because they are easy.
- Ben Roberts-Smith
Mr Roberts-Smith said in business and life, like in war, people will, at times, feel as if they have lost control of a situation.
He said it's at that moment that the focus must be purely on achieving the ultimate goal.
"You must remain emotionally detached from the situation, so you can be objective and make decisive decisions that are necessary for success. And when I talk about emotion it's not just negative emotion," he said.
"Negative and positive emotion need to be removed from the decision-making process because they will only cloud your judgement.
"Decisions should only ever be based on the facts and your personal experiences."
Mr Roberts-Smith said he was passionate about talking to business leaders, especially those in regional areas.
"All Australians in any type of business, in any type of industry can benefit from a different insight, I am not saying I have all the answers but I certainly have a very unique insight. That coupled with an understanding of the business world can really help all people focus on the right way to lead," he said.
"You have to get to know the people you are working with. If you don't have that ability to interact and communicate on that level, you are never truly going to understand what that individual wants to achieve and what their goals are, what their vision is and if you don't know that how can you aligned it with the organisational goal."