RE: New MM Post Linkedin31 Mar 2023 13:58
Cheers manc I’ve copied and pasted it below for those with no access:-
Last week, THG shared a post about our Leadership & Management Academy, and it sparked a conversation with the team about leadership, what it looks like at THG, and what it means to me.
Each year we recruit hundreds of young people straight out of education and need leaders to help get the best from them.
We give people real responsibility at THG. The learnings are intense, burnout is a risk, but the opportunity is massive. Our Academy is essential for us to develop future leaders and guide people through the challenges.
I’m often asked what it takes to be a leader at THG. There’s no simple answer. But there are some essential qualities that everyone must have. A requirement is humility. Too many people change as their careers progress. Egos grow and self-appreciation spirals out of control. Confidence is a great quality, but arrogance is ugly, especially to team members. The world has an ample supply of these people. Humility in leaders is a rare quality.
If a manager or director is the most talented person in their team, then we’ve made a mistake. Why would anyone want to be the best person at everything in a team? It’s uncomfortable managing people who are more talented than you. It’s easier to avoid the challenge. Most do. They’ll underperform soon enough, and changes follow.
The best leaders at THG are those who surround themselves with people better than them in every job. I love these leaders. The ones who know the team will be just fine if they don’t turn up tomorrow, or next week.
I invest a lot of energy in maintaining humility across the senior team at THG. An essential way we do this is by maintaining a “start-up mentality”. Irrespective of how big THG is, we still run it like we’re in our first year. It’s THG against the world.
I was worried listing THG in London would dim our start-up mentality. I couldn’t have been further wrong. The way we’ve been treated since joining the LSE has done nothing but add fuel to our insatiable fighting spirit. It’s certainly not an experience I’d recommend to anyone, but it’s been a decent test of our start-up mentality.
Last week, Jodie bought me this picture by David Yarrow. It sums up THG and our approach to leadership.
We do things differently at THG. We always will.
#Leadership #Humility #weareTHG
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