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Diane Edgerton – chief executive of Tasmania-based components supplier Direct Edge – has unveiled some key aspects of her leadership style, also highlighting her specific remit within the company’s management team.
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Speaking to Defence Connect, Edgerton said that in essence her life skills informed her leadership style.
"I actually put all of my leadership and my management skills [together] and I call everything common sense," she said. "To me, running a business and making decisions is common sense. My forte is probably being able to make a decision at the click of a hand; I trust my instincts."
Edgerton explained how a lot of her instincts were on a gut feel level, allowing her to make instantaneous decisions.
"Other people's problems within the business, they tend to be high on their Richter scale and then when they come to me, and I'm quite calm, they go: 'Oh my god, I can't believe [it]. Why are you so calm?'" she added.
"I don't have a huge education background or anything like that. I went through some hard parts of my life between 25 and 27, 28.
"There were some things where I probably would not even be here today. I'm just lucky that I am, but I turned my life around and remarried at 32. Had three more children and that's when this … business started."
Edgerton said her role within the company had, over time, evolved into one where she’s in charge of ensuring the future of the business.
"I decided that I really needed to look more on the outside rather than being in it," she said. "Okay, I fixed these solutions here [and] we can now use these for what we're doing in the future.
"I set it up so that there's people running the day-to-day [operation]. I'm really there for the very last decision making and I'm out there looking to the future for them, making sure that the business stays sustainable."
To hear more from Diane Edgerton, tune into our exclusive podcast here.
