What business taught me about leadership

“A leader without followers is just someone taking a walk.” Richard Conway shares some of the lessons that have helped him to become a better leader.

I started Pure SEO in a country where I knew nobody, with $200 in my pocket.

And leadership doesn’t come naturally to me. 

For years, I found it incredibly embarrassing to ask anyone to do anything. I remember sitting down to an important meeting in the early days of our business, and not having time to make a cup of tea beforehand. I asked one of our team members if they could make me one, and they jumped on it right away. Even though this could have been a daily routine, I felt awkward – who am I to ask people to make my tea? 

Building my business from nothing, to a team of more than 60 staff in three countries has taught me a few things about leadership. 

Here’s what I would have told myself nine years ago:

1. Always learn – especially from the bad times

Early in my career there were days where I didn’t want to get out of bed. 

Why? My boss was horrible. He’d regularly speak harshly to me, treating me with no respect as a person. When I worked hard and achieved to a high level, he would give me no praise. 

Even worse – sometimes he would take the credit for things I had done, pushing me to the side and belittling what I had achieved. 

This was demoralising at the time, but in retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. So much of what I’ve learnt about leadership has been about what not to do from the bad bosses in my past. 

There’s a lot to be said about being made to feel awful, and resolving in that moment to never make anyone feel that way because of your leadership.

When you find yourself in a situation with a poor leader, cherish it. It’s tough at the time, but an incredibly fertile learning ground. The lessons learnt from a bad leader can last a lifetime.

2. Make mistakes, but not for long

So much of leadership is about decisiveness. Your team look to you for clarity, not for ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’. 

One of the biggest barriers hindering decisiveness is the fear of failure. To lead well, one needs to become comfortable failing. It’s OK to make mistakes! In fact, if you’re not making mistakes, perhaps you’re not moving fast enough, or being as decisive as you should be. 

I strongly believe that, in most situations, what’s needed
is a decision – even if it ends up being the wrong decision,
at least it removes the bottleneck and keeps momentum moving forward.

In saying this, blindly bumbling forward down the wrong road is never a good business strategy. The key is being able to recognise quickly when you’re on the wrong path, and adapt. 

We’ve made plenty of mistakes here at Pure SEO, but I like to think that each time we make a false move, we catch ourselves early on and have the awareness to change.

Failure is fine, as long as you’re always ready to adapt.

3. People above all else

If you don’t care about people, don’t even bother.

My experiences in the past with poor leaders have instilled in me a firm belief that leaders should lead by example in their interactions with others. Perhaps that’s the reason asking others to make cups of tea is so strange – I always strive to treat others the way I want to be treated. 

Besides the obvious business benefits of having a loyal and engaged workforce, at the end of the day every single team member you’re leading is a human. They go home to a family and friends, and the way you treat them during the work day will impact the person they are when they return each night.  

Actions to back your words

It’s not just enough to espouse values about the importance of treating people well as a leader. To truly create followers, you need to put actions behind your words. 

A few years ago, we had a lovely lady working in our office – one of those people who is nice to everyone, and no one has a bad word to say about them. We were in the middle of onboarding a new client, when she informed us she had previously worked for that client and been treated poorly. 

We immediately withdrew from the process and cut all ties with the prospective client. 

By backing up your words with actions, and genuinely leading in a way that values people, you’ll build incredible loyalty. Combine this with the lessons you’ve learnt from bad leaders, and a willingness to make mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to great leadership.