Julie Gearie is a founding business partner and executive director for local recruitment firm GWG Partners.

Starting a new business comes with enough challenges, risk and opportunities to test the most experienced of business leaders. Julie has successfully mastered the rollercoaster, not only surviving but also thriving and in the process successfully developing a growing company and team.

Julie believes the best leaders show courage, confidence and humility.

For a snapshot of our audio interview with Julie Gearie, please view the above video.

• Throughout your career in recruitment what are the most effective leadership traits you have witnessed?

Working in the recruitment industry has given me the opportunity to work with and witness a lot of different Leadership styles. And when I think of highly successful leaders, some common traits would be courage, confidence and humility.

I have seen courageous leaders take risks, they will disrupt traditional business models and they tend to be highly effective at inspiring those around them.

The leadership traits of confidence and humility I believe go hand in hand. When the balance of confidence and humility is right, you find leaders who are strong, and believe in themselves and their business, they have great emotional intelligence understand their strengths and weaknesses.

They are also effective at surrounding themselves with the right people to achieve success.

• What is your leadership style?

I would say it is mainly democratic and collaborative.

At GWG, our people are a huge part of our success. We are committed to empowering and investing in staff and providing a strong and clear vision.

Our work environment at GWG is quite agile and we continually look for ways to improve. We are quick to change and take advantage of new opportunities. There is a lot of positive energy amongst the team.

• What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

The challenge for leaders is creating an environment that is quick to respond to a rapidly changing market. Whether it is the economy, politics, industry or the fast paced digital space, today’s leaders need to be on the front foot.

Globalisation and technology has introduced challenges and influences that didn’t even exist five years ago and therefore leaders can’t just set and forget their strategies.

In recruitment an example of recent changes would be the types of roles that we are working on for our clients. We are just as likely to be working on roles such as a Digital Engagement Manager or General Manager Sustainability as we would be a Financial Controller.

• How do you define the difference between a Manager and a Leader?

I see a Manager’s role as steadying the ship. They establish the structure and process and are goal oriented.

A Leader will move the ship forward and inspire others around them. They are skillful at influencing and they will tend to challenge the norm. They embrace change and achieve success through others by guiding and coaching people.

• What local businessperson do you find inspiring?

I have been inspired by so many talented business leaders in the Hunter, including my own business partners at GWG.

Someone who has been a great inspiration for me, and so many others, would be Samantha Martin-Williams. She has had an amazing career and I think her success is underpinned by her humility, intelligence and staying true to her values.

Karen Howard is a successful business leader who has shown incredible courage and passion for this region by stepping into the world of politics.

I am also inspired by many Hunter Business leaders who give back, such as Neil Slater and Leonie Young with the fantastic work they do for OzHarvest.