In a sector entrusted with over A$4.2 trillion in retirement savings as at December 2024, projected to grow to A$8.1 trillion by 2035, the role of superannuation leaders goes far beyond financial stewardship. While fiduciary responsibility and regulatory compliance remain foundational, the purpose of super is broader: to preserve the savings of millions of Australians and deliver sustainable income for a dignified retirement. Achieving this depends on the leadership advantage: the ability of leaders to build trust, shape culture, and sustain long-term capability.
This unique mandate demands leadership that blends commercial acumen with a deep sense of social responsibility. Leaders in this sector must not only navigate complexity, consolidation, and regulatory shifts; they must also lead in a way that strengthens trust, reflects community values, and serves the long-term interests of members.
And while strong governance and compliance are givens, the real differentiator is how leaders shape culture, inspire their teams, and model accountability. This is the shift from being a good steward of assets to being a great leader, one who builds trust, aligns people, and delivers lasting value for members.
From good stewardship to leadership advantage
The compliance landscape in superannuation is constantly evolving. Regulatory compliance is a constant, and leadership is increasingly in the spotlight, from financial performance to how leaders operate ethically, communicate transparently, and retain public trust and members’ savings.
In this environment, leadership in super is not simply being a good steward of assets. Today, leadership in super means building trust, creating a member-centric culture, and navigating from the front with agility in anticipating and responding to market shocks, innovation, and regulatory shifts.
Of course, fiduciary responsibilities remain foundational, but leaders make decisions, lead people, and model accountability in ways that determine whether governance frameworks hold up under pressure.
Patrick Lencioni’s well-known model, the five dysfunctions of a team, describes universal patterns that can undermine performance in any organisation:
- Absence of trust
- Fear of conflict
- Lack of commitment
- Avoidance of accountability
- Inattention to results
In the superannuation context, these challenges can be amplified by scale, regulatory complexity, reliance on outdated and disjointed legacy platforms, and the pressure to manage costs by outsourcing functions.
Many leaders in the sector are already demonstrating the capabilities and behaviours that counter these dysfunctions. Their ability to build trust, enable constructive challenge, and align their teams around shared goals is evident in stronger organisational cultures, consistent fund performance, and high levels of member trust. This is the standard to sustain and strengthen across the sector.
Boards play a critical role in setting this agenda. Without their commitment to ongoing leadership development, even the strongest frameworks can fail to deliver.
Strengthening leadership behaviours through core capabilities
At SMG, we work with leaders in highly regulated, high-trust sectors, including superannuation. In our experience, the behaviours that help leaders excel, such as purpose-led thinking, cultural clarity, and accountability under scrutiny, are not innate. They are built over time, enabled by a distinct set of leadership capabilities that remain most in demand for development.
Over the past five years, through our work with more than 1,500 senior leaders, we’ve seen consistent demand for six leadership capabilities. These are at the heart of our Leadership Capability Framework and are explored in our white paper. When leaders develop these capabilities, they not only strengthen the behaviours that drive culture and trust but also improve decision-making and governance, creating the conditions for teams to perform at a high level and deliver strong member outcomes.
| Capability | What it enables |
| Executive presence | Builds trust under scrutiny, strengthens reputational leadership, reinforces member-first authority |
| Influence | Aligns stakeholders (such as boards, regulators, executives) around decisions and direction |
| Builds relationships | Supports cross-functional collaboration, psychological safety, and cultural alignment, especially in times of complexity or disruption (such as transactions or mergers) |
| Builds high-performing teams | Drives ownership, cohesion, and resilience in teams facing complexity |
| Self-awareness | Enables leaders to manage their impact, model behavioural standards, and build trust through consistency |
| Communication | Elevates clarity and credibility, essential in moments of change, member engagement, or public response |
Culture, capability and competitive advantage
In superannuation, leadership capability is not a “nice to have.” It is a core driver of performance and trust. Leaders who invest in building capability within their teams strengthen organisational culture, maintain institutional knowledge, and create a depth of expertise that supports both operational resilience and member confidence.
When funds retain talent, develop leaders at every level, and invest in succession planning, they reduce turnover and onboarding risk, preserve their intellectual property, and ensure continuity in culture and decision-making. These outcomes do more than create internal stability. They become a competitive advantage. They protect brand integrity, reinforce stakeholder trust, and enable leaders to focus on long-term strategic value rather than short-term problem-solving.
In a sector under constant public scrutiny, the ability to develop and sustain leadership capability is a differentiator. It signals to members, boards, and regulators that the fund’s leadership can navigate complexity with confidence, clarity, and a consistent commitment to delivering member-first outcomes.
Leadership as an ongoing commitment
Despite the complexity and visibility of their roles, senior leaders in the sector must navigate many demands and face constant pressure to demonstrate sound judgment, strong communication, and the ability to align diverse stakeholders. To succeed, they need to keep investing in and developing their capabilities. It is an ongoing commitment.
Leaders also operate under constant scrutiny. They are measured not only on returns but also on how they manage risk, communicate in times of change, build culture and capability, apply a member-first perspective, and engage effectively with their boards and teams.
This is why leadership development deserves to be treated as a core organisational priority. When supported and embedded, it mitigates risk, improves retention, builds trust, and strengthens the organisation’s ability to deliver long-term value to members, even in the face of sector complexity and ongoing public attention.
