Leadertraits
Have you ever wondered what traits a leader is looking for by his colleagues, and contractors? You are curious what people value – people whose features are conducive to cooperation, team development and effectiveness of activities.
Here is a short list of real opinions from people in many organizations and parts of the world. Maybe you just have these traits, or you may not have been aware of how important these elements of character and actions are to others.
” I worked with John at BUPA. He is thoughtful but action oriented, focused on performance excellence and customer experience. John’s approach to growth was systematic, building sustainable momentum through the sales funnel.”
” I have been privileged to know John Stubbington since he was 21. I have been delighted but not at all suprised to see his career develop to his current position. He has the 3 uncoachable qualities of honesty, integrity and an amazing work ethic.”
“ John is one of the most inspirational people I have ever worked for. His commercial awareness is only surpassed by his energy and drive. John has that rare ability to inspire his colleagues at all levels and to take them forward as a team to reach and surpass both objectives and targets. He also takes the time to know his team members, to coach them and support them. As I took my first foray into management many years ago John was kind enough to sit me down and support and advise me on how to become a more product member of the team. He wasn’t my line manager, it wasn’t his role he just recognised that I was having teething problems and wanted to offer some guidance. Every business needs people of John’s calibre and I would recommend him without hesitation.”
“John always shows interest in an employee regardless of his position in the company. What’s important he strives to keep all employees up to date in terms of company strategy and policy. For sure he is not one of those COOs who only sit in his office, he explores the company!”
“In my time working for John, I was always in awe of John’s ability to command a room and get people on board with new ideas—even people who were initially on completely different pages. John acted as a great role model for myself, and I took many of John’s methods and qualities in to my own career. John is still somebody I look up to today.”
“I had the pleasure of working for John in Medicover for couple of years and found him to be extremely persistent towards his goals. His executive presence, witty talks, succinct questions and polite nature with subordinates is one of his great skills other than his qualities of strategic thinking, leadership and operations management. He is motivated, committed and forward-thinking person. He always ensures he listens and observe every detail and appreciate & credits employees for their successes and achievement, at the same time he knows how to bring the best out of members of his team by coaching and mentoring.
John, your vision, inspiration and leadership makes you an extraordinary boss. It is a privilege to work for you and with you!”
” On a daily basis I am cooperating with CEO’S of various businesses. John stands out as the one who gets things done, always reaching even the most ambitious targets. His natural leadership, his decisiveness, and his ability to read & choose the right people for his teams and then keep them motivated, make him one of the most efficient managers I’ve ever met. He has a rare combination of skills allowing him to see the big picture, adapt the strategy to reach optimal results and not losing his sight from daily operations. His courage, extraordinary passion and dedication to work, natural viligance & great business instincts make him a very skilled and agile leader, able to sucessfuly lead business even in the most demanding market conditions.”
” I first started working for John at a crucial point of my career and first permanent directorship. What is fantastic about working with someone like John is he is generous with his experience, pushes you super hard and supports twice as much. This means you learn fast and get good mentoring at the same time. We delivered some great things together and I always valued the pace of decision making. Great leader, one who taught me a huge amount and developed my external commercial thinking.”
“John is a talented executive and business leader; he has the rare leadership skills to both formulate and execute business strategy. My defining experience of working with John is observing his ceaseless energy and drive. Also, his ability to engage with people and to take them with him on the change journey.”
” Apart from witnessing Johns ability to drive performance in the corporate world, I wanted to pick up on a few points that makes him one of the best leaders I have worked for…
– He wants people to do well, and if you are prepared to step up he will give you the opportunity to prove yourself
– He will work you hard, but with a focus on doing the right thing for the customer or organisation which keeps you energised
– He’s Human. He’s wants you to enjoy what you do and that includes taking time to have a bit of fun
– It’s ok to fail, but he ensures you learn from it
– He makes a decision and does it quickly, enabling you to deliver at pace
– He’s approachable and available, always making time for you no matter what
– And most importantly he’s a friend and a mentor. I haven’t worked with John for over 10 years, but he’s still on hand to support and guide me when I need it most.”
” I learned a lot from John while working for Marketing Dept. in Medicover Romania, he understood the local market, always seeing the big picture and sharing his experience with us. He was very challenging and always pushing me to be better and never stop learning. Very easy to communicate with, open minded, fair and honest, with a great interest and up to date with new technology.”
“John’s a skilled strategic operator who works hard to simplify complex service delivery to maximise customer value over the long term.”
“Leads always by example. Was the first in each day, first to tackle the difficult jobs and the first to offer help. Quickly established himself as someone you can trust and rely on and someone who always produced results.
Early in my career John took the time to challenge me to do better in everything I tackled and gave me support when I needed it and a nudge when he thought I could improve. John leads by example and makes those around him strive to achieve the best results possible. ‘Does the right thing consistently’ is a term I would readily apply to John.”
“John is an incredible business leader … he engages his team to deliver excellent commercial results … operating in an environment that is high on support and high on challenge John has a wealth of experience in the health insurance industry.”
“I have always found John to work in a very professional manner and to be an inspirational manager to those working with him.
He consistently delivers results and is respected by those who work with him. I would have no hesitation in recommending John.”
” I have never worked for anyone quite like John, I found him to be an insperational person with a total committment to anything he sets out to achieve. Whilst working for John, I had the pleaseure of working with John on a few projects and I found his direction, clarity and drive for results a breath of fresh air during a time of change. This man changed the face of Bupa International creating a solid foundation for it’s success. I owe a lot to John and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending him to anyone.”
” I worked with John when he was Head of Operations for the Membership division in Bupa. During that time I found John to be a strong and effective leader. He was very passionate about the customer experience as well as keen to drive efficiencies where possible, focussing on customer led initiatives that not only improved the service we delivered but raised the bar of management ownership and capability. I learned a lot from John and continue to adopt some of this methodologies.”
” I had the pleasure of working for John for a number of years whilst at Bupa. His key qualities are the ability to provide clear strategic direction, run an efficient and effective operating model, and convert his passion for the business into an outstanding customer experience. He possesses an unbelievable ability to grasp detail and pinpoint the heart of an issue quickly and effortlessly. Always keen to challenge the status quo and push boundaries John is constantly looking to grow the business and ask, ‘how can we do this better?’. John is a huge asset to any organisation and I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with him.”
“John is a highly experienced Health Professional with a strong track record of leading large teams delivering quality outcomes for their customers and patients. John has a real can do attitude and is inspirational to work alongside.”
“Hard working , driven and well organised . Whatever the challenge John got it done . Great guy to work with.”
“ I was engaged by John and his team to help shape the vision for a Shared Service Centre for Brighton and Copenhagen. I found John an exceptionally bright leader who knows what he wants and how to get it. His quick thinking and no nonsense approach was excellent in helping us to achieve a successful outcome.”
” John is one of the industries elite practitioners! A solid industry veteran within this specialist sector with high level credentials gained through extensive service at one of the world’s big four health insurance underwriting firms. John has taken a very significant change in direction in a very challenging geographic region which I am sure will benefit hugely from his acumen, experience and managerial capability. “
” A pleasure to be around and to consult with. A commanding figure with a strong personality allied to being a very honest, forthright and open character. Something that is not exactly prevalent and that is at a highly sought after premium within our industry. I have known John for almost 20 years but only quite recently caught up with him in the UAE on BUPA related business matters. He has an endearing quality as a senior executive and I would not hesitate to recommend him.”
“I worked with John at Norwich Union Healthcare. He was always a very conscientious and hard working individual.He was very results focused and always wanted to make sure customers’ expectations were met. He had a very good reputation with his customers.”
” John is a goal focussed individual with a very sharp commercial sense and can communicate effectively at all levels. He has a strong drive to succeed and when involved with projects can cut to the important detail saving a lot of time. His down side is his ability to tell appalling jokes !”
“ Beside to the very noticable sharp vision of John Stubbington , he also has unique skills in managing projecs challenges and operational obsticles, we worked together with John in a mega healthcare management project during which John succeeded in many ocasions to demonstrate his ability to lead team of experts from different backgrounds and utilize thiere skills to achieve the ultimate goal. With his determenation, excellent vast experience and his result oriented approch, John was always successful in driving the bussines partnership to the next level.”
“John is a highly dedicated and inspiring leader. I worked indirectly for John for a number of years in a variety of roles and John always inspired me to achieve more. John has a huge amount of experience and is respected by everyone who works with him. John never loses sight of the objective and strategic vision whist ensuring that the business and individuals are delivering.”
” I worked for John in a couple of roles for more than 2 years. He is a highly driven individual with a great capacity to motivate and inspire his direct reports. I learnt a huge amount from John – not only from his substantial operational expertise, but also his ability to achieve and deliver results. On a personal note he stretched me to explore my own capabilities and challenged me to consider roles that without his perceptive insights I would not have looked to.”
“John was my Director at BUPA International when I was a Healthcare Services Manager. His industry experience and knowledge, managerial skills, organizational skills and attention to detail were outstanding and he inspired the people that worked for him. He would always offer advice and encourage me to develop. John is very customer focused and detail conscious, and he was the hardest working person that I have ever worked for, and was loyal to his company and his staff. He made people want to work for him and deliver for him, and I learned a great deal from him. I thoroughly enjoyed working for John during this period.”
” John was an incredible leader and proved his ability to turn around poor performing functions within our business. His attention to detail and drive were exceptional.”
” John is a great example of a strategic leader who is able to see the whole picture of the organisation, and understand how his decisions affect the future of the company. While focused very much on achieving both challenging targets for the business, he also often considered the impact of decisions on people within the business. I started working for John in my first international assignment, and the support that John offered me was overwhelming. It was a great comfort to know that I had John helping through both the personal journey, and also the practical small details, which seem so huge at the time. I would highly recommend John as a leader for an organisation, and hope that at some time, I will work with him again.”
” I worked for John in the mid to late 90’s and they were incredible times. I’ve had a few great bosses over my career, but John in particular stands out. I am not going to give you all the smart talk to describe John because that’s not required. Yet John is smart, keeps you on your toes and gives you challenges, instead of letting people cruise through the day.”
” John is quite simply one of the best managers anyone could wish to have. He is a determined visionary with an unrivalled passion for business and importantly, staff. He is fair, almost to a fault. His method of management is engaging and affective and delivers results every time. I have work for and with many managers over the years; without question John would top the list in all areas. Any company wishing to hire a high calibre senior manger- look no further. John would be a guaranteed success for any organisation.”
“John was a great manager to work with, direct, results focused and passionate about the people and the delivery of his challenging objective During my time at BUPA International I learnt a few valuable lessons from working with John, which has assisted my subsequent career progression.”
“John and I worked together extensively on a strategy review at Bupa International. John maintained a strong sense of ownership throughout and consistently showed he was willing to work hard to get the right answers for the business. He understood Bupa International and its markets better than anyone and his attention to detail proved very useful throughout.”
” As CEO of IHI John showed great leadership, organizational and managerial skills. John helped us manage the merger of IHI and BUPA while maintaining sales growth. John delivers. I highly recommend him!”
” John is an experienced and able senior manager with a very strong customer focus”
” John with Bupa and my company as Bupa adviser have worked with each other for several years.John was very methodical and alway put Bupa as his first priority,His commitment to Bupa was extraordinary and he worked with total commitment.I would recommend John to any new entiy who is looking for a first class experienced executive. He will be a tremendous asset.”
” John was an inspiration to me and many others during my time at BUPA. With strategic duties he still made time to develop his sales team. Some of John’s ideas, values and work ethic remain at the heart of what I do today. John was the catalyst in reversing BUPA fortunes at the time.”
” I was a fresh faced sales person when I first met John Stubbington. He made an instant and positive impression upon me and an immediate and significant change to our division.”
” John is an excellent manager with the often rare experience from both senior sales and operations roles, which he deployed to great effect in wider General management roles internationally. One of the best process managers I have worked with, really able to drive into the detail when required to reshape operational process to drive higher quality for the customer and greater efficiency for the bottom line. However he never loses sight of the broader strategic picture. I had the unenviable task of following John into a role where he had transformed the function over 5 years. It was clear he had built a very strong team and a business that delivered great performance.”
” John’s commitment to the team he leads is evident from the level of support he provides, and also from the constructive challenges he presents.
His focus on delivery ensures objectives are achieved and he is deeply analytical without losing sight of the strategic vision.
John’s open and personable style allows those around him to learn from his vast experience and knowledge in the International Private Medical Insurance industry.”
“John is a very effective business leader – he is analytical, detailed and thorough whilst at the same time being very personable. He can be challenging and is not afraid to speak his mind but only with a desire to improve things. He is incredibly hard working and is prepared to roll up his sleeves and get involved when need be.”
“John is a high calibre leader who sets very high standards in everything he does. He also has a decent sense of humour (supporting Coventry City) and recognises the importance of looking after the most important asset in any organisation, its people.”
” The people who work with John love working with him. I can tell you about his work ethic, attention to detail and that he is a challenging but fair people manager, that he sets tough objectives and then exceeds them. But the main thing is that the people that work with John, love working with him!”
” I worked closely with John for about 7 years. John is an effective leader, passionate about what he does. He has experience in many areas and is very versatile. During our time together at Bupa International John was incredibly effective in raising the game of the customer services function, reengineering it to meet the needs of customers and distributors, and winning back the confidence of the market. However his skillset goes well beyond this.”
” John and I were colleagues on the Bupa International Executive team. John let our IHI business, managed the integration with Bupa and then led a complex operations group across multiple sites. John is an incredibly effective operations leader, general manager, leader and colleague. He has commercial acumen and combines deep understanding of the detail with a broad strategic perspective.”
” John is one of the rare breed of senior business professionals that can get things done quickly and efficiently without leaving a trail of destruction behind them. He is a natural and inspirational leader who is not afraid of rolling-up his own sleeves in the process of delivery.”
” John is a highly focused Chief Operating Officer with a passion and track record for growth and getting the best efficiency out of the business. He is tireless in his pursuit of exellence and a very motivational leader to work with. John creates an environment free of politics for his team to work more effectively in. John stretches from strategic leadership through to low level detail providing both strong challenge and excellent knowledgable support. John is a demanding leader to work with because he demands the very best.”
” I worked with John over a number of years at Bupa when he was operating in both a sales and operational capacity. Not only was John great colleague to work with, but his success in both roles was exceptional.
The work he did revitalising the corporate service proposition for Bupa at the beginning of the last decade was remarkable. It is testament to John’s work in this period that this department has not operated to those levels since his departure to Bupa International.”
” I worked for John for almost 5 years and it is probably one of the periods in my career where I have learned the most. John is very demanding with himself (and work to much) and people around him. He has great experience in many areas of running a business and is open to different ways of doing things. I always enjoyed our open and honest dialogue. John is VERY loyal to the company he works for.”
” John is a multifaceted leader. He is inspiring, hardworking, extremely effective, thinks outside the box and is able to dive into detail whilst keeping view of the big picture. Despite his hectic schedule, he always makes time to listen to his employees and when required, will not hesitate to get involved in the nitty gritty of things. It’s been a privilege working for John and he has my highest respect.”
” John is focused, and have a great knowledge and understanding of the business and the employees qualities.”
” John is a genuinely multi dimensional leader, able to work across disciplines and international boundaries… he has a strong personal style and inspires great loyalty from his teams. He has a clear sense of purpose and direction but is capable of listening to the views of others and is prepared to be challenged. He has the ability to make people want to keep up with him. I have no hesitation in recommending John for any role that requires leadership and people management challenges. Although he might initially appear very self contained he is able to build good cross functional relationships, he’s calm, pragmatic and has a a dry sense of humour.”
” Working for John within his department gave me good experience knowing the qualities I should strive for to progress my career goals, doing this has helped me progress myself into my previous and current positions, John is direct to the point and a perfect mentor being personable and human to approach for help and advice.”
” John is a charismatic leader, who expects high standards and delivers by example. I found working for John energising and uplifting and I still maintain many of the disciplines learned from him in my daily working life today. John set lofty targets for those around him, but through his leadership he passed on a confidence that created winners and high achievers. I would have no hesitation in recommending John to others and would relish a recharge by working alongside him once more.”
” John is an insightful manager who provides strategic direction based on getting clarity on the “detail”. He commands respect from his peers and direct reports and builds this through mutual respect. He demonstrates strong leadership skills which are underpinned by his broad experience base. He has enjoyed senior roles within sales and operations and more recently as MD of Bupa’s business in Copenhagen.He is a committed business professional who does not accept failure. A seasoned international professional.”
“I worked directly for John whilst at BUPA International. He was an exceptional manager, he managed and motivated his team to get the most out of them. His expereince allowed him to make sound business decision. He supported and encouraged me and made sure that I was developed in my role.”
” I have known John since he started at Bupa International. I was in-house Counsel in Copenhagen at ihi for two years, I enjoyed working for him, he provided excellent direct support in the projects I was working with. He is a senior leader who works hard for results and has a good relationship with his employees. I have no hesitation reccomending him.”
” I worked closely with John for a number of years and was continually impressed with his customer focus, drive and tenacity.
John is an inspirational leader and is a real role model, building high performance teams to deliver excellent results. John works hard and is dedicated to his role but at the same time is approachable and a great person to work with.”
” John worked with me mostly in sales and general management roles in 3 different organisations over a period spanning between mid 80’s to late 90’s. Although sometime ago – and we have both developed our careers independently since those days – we have kept in touch and I have followed John’s progress with interest.
John has developed and become a very effective leader but hasn’t changed his core values or strong work ethic – which form the basis for his success. He is results oriented and will ‘get things done’, but ina way that will take people with him. Whether that is delivering sales growth or ensuring greater efficiency you can be sure that John will deliver. The key skills, in addition to motivating people, are strong attention to detail, innovation and the courage to try things – John will execute a plan and take responsibility.
In addition to an ability to deliver results John has integrity – an often overused or misunderstood word but in his case it is a very real and visible core value. In my career in business there are very few people I can think of that I would recommend as highly as John.”
” John and I were colleagues on the Bupa International Executive team. John let our IHI business, managed the integration with Bupa and then led a complex operations group across multiple sites. John is an incredibly effective operations leader, general manager, leader and colleague. He has commercial acumen and combines deep understanding of the detail with a broad strategic perspective.”
” John is diligent, focussed and very thorough. I have worked with him in a number of roles and relied on his ability to deliver and improve Customer Service in difficult circumstance. He is utterly reliable and relentless.”
” John is a very good operator. He knows the IPMI industry very well and always gets results.”
” John worked extremely well with our teams delivering outstanding customer service to our corporate clients – a great al round customer centric leader.”
” John is a great strategic thinker. He is adaptable, competitive and a high achiever. He has a unique ability to identify potential in individuals and projects. He’s committed, an optimist and has tgreat insight to know when to drive his team and when to use humour in order to get the best from his team. He’s a great guy to work with.”
” If Carlsberg made inspirational leaders then John would be it. John built his career based on platform of on decency, honesty, integrity and sheer hard work. I have watched his steady rise through the ranks within the Bupa organisation with immense pride. John’s caring but forceful demeanour has ensured that although he has achieved huge amounts in terms of company restructuring and increased revenue, he has done this by winning the hearts, minds and respect of all around him. John shone as a business leader even in his early years and if I could turn the clock back it would be joy to work with him all over again. This is a man that any company would be privileged have within their organisation!”