Wal King, the Leighton Group’s CEO, firmly believes that setting down clear guidelines underpinned by a common set of core values is fundamental to the Group’s success. Leighton was established in 1949. Today, the Leighton Group operates across Australasia, South East Asia, and the Middle East, and is still very much a family company complete with the values and shared goals that characterise family endeavours. The only difference is that Leighton is now a family of companies.

So, what is the glue that binds this family of sometimes-competing companies together? It’s having a set of common values that transcend the different personalities and cultures of the Group’s diverse companies. King admits that it calls for a delicate balance and can only work if everyone believes in, and adheres to, a common set of rules.

Ultimately, it is the listed parent company – Leighton Holdings – that provides the leadership, the corporate values and the business expectations which King likes to describe as the ‘rules of racing’. The core values are to:
 

• be commercially competitive
• provide a safe and healthy workplace
• act with integrity and fairness
• create a fun, challenging and performance-driven culture
• protect the environment
• recognise the needs of the community
• encourage innovation and technological leadership

“These points demonstrate what the business intends to achieve strategically, what it values, how it intends to behave as a company and how it proposes to brand itself in the market,” said King.

“While the rules of racing cover safety in the workplace, protection of the environment, community responsibility and the encouragement of innovation and leadership, they are also about ensuring that Leighton collectively and individually remains profitable,” said King.