Reflections on leadership — Practicing what you preach
Over the last months, the leadership team and I have been working hard at Zego, looking very closely at the business, and how we can take it to where we know it can go. Are we still aligned on the vision? Do we have the right team? Are the right people doing the right things? This is a process that we often go through, and leads to more direction, clarity and focus for the business as a whole. We really think about the alignment of skills and capabilities to the needs of the business as a whole, and we use these sessions to make decisive and clear decisions about the business as we move forward.
As a founder it’s a cathartic process, you’re surrounded by bright and driven people, all passionate and incentivised to get the best out of a business that you have created. It’s an amazing privilege to have a group like this driving forward a vision you have worked so hard to create. It’s a session that is full of energy, ideas and honesty and reminds you each time why you come to work each day. And at the end of this, we make decisions- the core of leadership- making and standing by your decisions, which are more often than not important and tough to make.
Decisions can be really hard to make, and the hardest are always going to be around things that you should be doing versus things that you want to be doing.
When confronted with a conflict like this, I have always tried to look at the decision from a number of ways- from my perspective, from that of the best for the business, and from that of a shareholder in the business. Often these present very different perspectives on the information at hand, but help you to get the result you feel is right.
So when I look at the business from these three perspectives, look at each person there, and the direction the company needs to take, that can’t stop at the leadership team. Am I, as a shareholder in the business happy with the quality and output of the leadership team as much as anyone else in the organisation? It’s been a hard question to ask myself- am I in the right position in this company to deliver the best for the business and for the owners of the business?
I have been CEO of Zego for the last two years, taking a nascent idea to a company with now nearly 60 people and operational in three countries. I have loved it, from the first day scrabbling around in a hotel lobby putting the pieces together, through employing the first team members- it’s been an incredible journey of creation, and has played to my strengths — creating and delivering on a vision of a new business. I love thinking through new ideas, how they can come to life, how we can use traditional pieces and new tech pieces in a puzzle and deliver an outcome. I love seeing a group of great people chase a collective goal, and working with close friends every day. But what I have found in the last months is that the responsibilities of a CEO to a company of 60 are very different to those early days of 6, and its time for me to practice what I preach. How can I, like everyone in the business, be contributing to maximum effect to the business?
The result is that ego’s need to go out the window, and I need to pass on the role of CEO to my co-founder Sten, and move into a role that better suits me, and my skills. Moving forward I will assume the position of Chief Commercial Officer, driving Zego’s partnerships forward. This is an area of the business that has grown rapidly in the last months, and needs direction and focus. My maximum impact in the business is when I can do the things I enjoy the most and I believe that I am best at. My skills are not broad enough to do this, and be the best manager of a large team at the same time. The best thing to do is to have someone who has the right skill set to take the lead here, and for me to support them with my best efforts. The fact that we have that person in the business, and I trust and believe in him is so reassuring and I’m really excited to see how he drives the business forward from here. Having anyone take your place in your business is a big moment, but I am so confident that it’s the absolute right thing to do now, for me, for the business and the shareholders.
The process of coming to this decision has been really enlightening- doing what we think is right for the business is often a phrase used when you have to make a tough call, but now I’m really seeing what it actually means. I’m really excited about this next chapter, supporting my leadership colleagues, and being part of the team I am so proud of, to give all the support I can as we continue to build the plane as we fly it.
