Karren Brady is a business woman, author, columnist and TV personality. She is currently vice-chairman of football club West Ham, senior non-executive director of the Syco and Arcadia boards and the small business ambassador for the Conservative party. She is also an ambassador for the Barclays LifeSkills programme.
I started in a very junior role at Saatchi & Saatchi on its graduate scheme, even though I was 18. While I only had A-levels and a bunch of GCSEs, I had my core values and they were the key to being successful. I had integrity and an enthusiasm to work; I was hungry to get on. These are the same values I have today.
The only thing I wanted when I left school was independence. I had been at boarding school for many years. When you're boarding, nothing is your own and your whole day is scheduled. You're told when to sleep, what to eat and when. You have zero independence. So to get this, I knew I needed money and that meant I needed a job. I was very lucky that Saatchis gave me a job.
After that it was down to hard work. It's really important that young people realise very rarely do you become an overnight success. I worked hard in my first job and I've continued to work hard for 30 years to be the Karren Brady you see today. It's been exhausting and hasn't always been easy, but it's certainly been worthwhile.
I've learned there's a big difference between managing people and leadership. Good managers ensure good outcomes, but great leaders can deliver a vision by getting people to work together. Good leaders communicate through both hearts and minds. The minds part is about communicating where we're going, how we'll get there, and people's individual roles in it. It's also about explaining what the reward will be for success. The hearts part is about creating a passion and a real connection between the person and the business. You've got to make people feel they're part of the team, and that their work is recognised and valued.
The best way to make people feel valued is talking to them and listening. Let people know what's expected of them. The worst kind of businesses are ones where there are no expectations set out for employees. If someone is told what hurdles they have to overcome and the consequences of doing so, they'll have a really clear vision.
Good management is also about making people feel part of the inner circle, and being part of the team yourself as the manager. As a manager you need to be accountable to people around you. You need to show people you need them by saying: "I know you're capable, and I know you can do a great job." Get the most out of your employees by challenging and helping them be the best they can be.
Encourage people to thinking differently and keep them on their toes. Don't allow them to get too comfortable. They need to feel part of a dynamic team that has to keep moving forward. You also need to create a good environment. There are many times when leaders can intimidate colleagues when they walk into a room, but really successful people deflect attention away from themselves. They encourage others and make them feel safe in their environment and able to speak up.
Great leaders are expert decision-makers and always thinking about how to change a business. They ask themselves how can we improve, make progress possible and find ways around the difficulties?
The key is to lead by example. It's really important that people see, even at the top of the chain, what it takes to be a good manager or CEO – a huge amount of dedication, strategy, communication, positive thinking. I think for most business people, at small businesses in particular, leading by example is a really important way of setting the culture. The culture of an organisation is often the most important, because it can be the hardest thing to change.
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