Progressive leadership means putting staff first - comment

It means everybody wins, says Josef Geoola, founder and chief executive of Scottish commercial intellectual property and intelligence consultancy Ingentium.

My employees are as much of a client as my revenue-generating clients are, says Geoola (far left). Picture: contributed.

Recently, there has been a turn of the tide in the way that companies, particularly large ones, operate. Instead of focusing on short-term shareholder interests, organisational leaders are beginning to prioritise sustainable value-creation by setting long-term performance goals.

This means, among other things, taking care of employees and putting them first. This idea has become so fashionable that national surveys now exist to highlight the companies outperforming in employee satisfaction (think Glassdoor’s “Employees’ Choice Awards” and “Best Companies to Work For” lists).

In my eyes, this change in focus is hugely welcome, even in the context of an SME. Indeed, when I founded Ingentium in Edinburgh four years ago, one of my priorities was to ensure that the workplace culture I created would translate into happy employees who would help propel the company forward.

This is a personal commitment inspired by past experiences. By this professional juncture, I had been fortunate enough to see what good leadership looked like and, conversely, what bad leadership looked like.

In the former, I was working for leaders who connected with their employees and created spaces encouraging individuality, an approach that allowed me to move up the career ladder and grow on my own terms, whilst holding onto my values.

In the latter, authoritarian leaders focused primarily on short-term targets, almost at the expense of everything and everyone else (including clients), leaving little space for creative freedom.

I carried these lessons forward, and since establishing Ingentium, I have been committed to creating a space that allows staff to grow, develop and thrive. The first way I try to ensure this is through the company’s work style. I adopt a creative freedom approach, which allows employees to take ownership of their work and run with their own ideas.

Empowered

Individuals are empowered and given a chance to explore and discover their strengths, outwith the confines of the box created by a job description. They also learn what they enjoy and can reflect on their true abilities and knowledge. I do not believe in raising sheep in the office! The benefit here is that, workers get to flourish and think without limits, and as a small business, I can retain top talent and compete with big businesses.

In turn, this then means our outputs are innovative, unique and fully considered, making for happy clients who benefit from an interaction that is personable and genuinely invested. I cannot emphasise enough how important this is.

We have official policies in place, too. The first is our four-day working week. We don’t work on Mondays unless there are pressing needs. Progressive leadership focuses on “as long as the work gets done,” plus, I don’t like Mondays. Working hours are set roughly between 9.30/10am and 5pm, unless deadlines demand otherwise.

The second is flexitime. The premise here is that work doesn’t get in the way of a person’s life or wellbeing, so if someone has a personal training session or a family matter to attend to, they can do so freely, without stress.

Thirdly, and most unconventionally, we have unlimited holidays. This is as simple as it sounds – employees can take off as much time as they like, so long as they complete their work. Getting our HR solicitor to grasp this concept was the most challenging part of this policy! I want my employees to be happy, rested and ready to bring their best to work.

And, if this doesn’t do the trick, there’s a staff fridge containing everyone’s alcoholic drinks of choice for those extra hard days! As we grow and expand, I will be looking to implement other forms of benefit. My employees are as much of a client as my revenue-generating clients are – I truly mean this. I feel a deep sense of responsibility toward them and would feel wholehearted dread if I thought someone was coming to work feeling uncomfortable.

This is why such policies are in place, and equally why we have end-of-month team lunches: it is a moment that allows us to come together on a more human level, where we can celebrate and appreciate one another, despite targets etc.

I would like to think that Ingentium is a forward-thinking, forward-looking company, and whether my approach is agreeable or disagreeable to more seasoned business leaders, I am happy to be a trendsetter. The bottom line is, businesses progress on the back of happy employees and happy clients (not one or the other), and as the one at the helm of my business, I owe my staff the opportunity to thrive, grow and prosper personally and professionally at Ingentium.

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