A major conference on good leadership is to be held next month.

Aimed at business leaders, owners and human resources chiefs, the Authentic Leadership forum will feature top speakers, including Patrick Tannock, the president of XL Insurance Bermuda.

Co-organiser Eric Jenkinson, the principal of Management Solutions, said: “I will be speaking on how the Investors in People framework promotes authentic leadership.

“It’s all about how we are authentic in the way people run their business and treat their people and encourages a high degree of self-awareness in the effect of their leadership.”

Mr Jenkinson said that many companies had business values and mission statements — but in some cases, staff and managers did not understand them.

He added: “Other organisations, you find if there is a very autocratic leadership style, which is 19th century rather than 21st century, people might not stay unless they have to for financial reasons.”

Mr Jenkinson said: “Leaders empower their people, train them, give them the skills to do the job. It’s about leaders who trust their people well enough to let them get on with it, which gives leaders more time to concentrate on working on the business, rather than in the business.

“If leaders spend to much time in the business telling people what to do, they don’t have the balance right.”

The event — the first of its kind in Bermuda — will be held at the Hamilton Princess on Tuesday, June 14 and will also feature Jenny Smatt, of Ontru Ltd, a specialist consultants in business strategy, human resources and business performance and training.

Mr Jenkinson said: “We want to make it a really dynamic, thought-provoking conference. We want people to think about how their leadership fits with authentic leadership and if their managers understand it. We’re looking for the people who attend to get quite a lot out of it.”

Ms Smatt explained that authentic leadership meant building legitimacy through “honest relationships with the people they are leading and which values their input and is built on an ethical foundation”.

She added that — with an increasing mix of generations in the workplace — staff wanted to know who their leader was before following them.

Ms Smatt said: “People in the workplace are less robotic now. There is a call for more dialogue in the workplace.

“Who a leader is does matter and if an organisation is going to be competitive, it needs to know who their leader is and the leader needs to know who they are.”

But she added: “It’s not about perfection — it’s okay to make mistakes, but it’s important to be connected with yourself and the people around you.

“At the conference, we will be hearing from local leaders of organisations and entrepreneurs. It just makes it come alive because it’s some real life stories.”

The conference, which runs from 9am to 12.30pm, will also feature a panel discussion with Mr Tannock joined by Erica Smith, executive director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, and Michael Branco, CEO of hi-tech company Fireminds Technology Solutions.

Tickets cost $250 if booked by Friday, May 27 then $300 up to the closing date of Thursday, June 9.

To register, go to www.ptix.bm or contact Diane McCallum at 236-6876 or by e-mail at diane@ontru.bm.