In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah welcomes leadership development expert Gillian Davis. They dive into her impressive journey, from her early beginnings in her family's executive recruitment business in Canada to co-authoring the book "First Time Leader" at just 28. Gillian shares her insights on practical leadership strategies, particularly in the tech industry, having worked with companies like WeTransfer, MessageBird, and Spotify.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Gillian Davis

00:00:31 - Key Topics Overview

00:01:17 - Importance of Company Culture

00:01:27 - Host Reintroduction and Podcast Purpose

00:02:19 - Transition from Fampany to Company

00:03:09 - Challenges in Scaling Owner-Led Businesses

00:04:02 - Succession Planning and Leadership Evolution

00:05:08 - Founder Time as Currency

00:06:01 - Right People for Different Stages

00:07:01 - Normalising Business Evolution

00:08:14 - Emotional Attachment to Business

00:09:03 - Employee Lifecycle in Startups

00:10:18 - Importance of Processes in Scaling

00:11:21 - Founders' Self-Awareness and Coach ability

00:12:36 - Three Types of Founders

00:13:29 - Timing for Preparing for Scale

00:14:19 - Early Stage Focus: Product Market Fit

00:15:02 - Roadmap and Mind Mapping for Future

00:16:04 - Emotional Attachment to Office Space

00:17:07 - Red Flags in Company Culture

00:18:08 - Importance of Making Hard Decisions

00:19:22 - Communication During Restructuring

00:20:22 - Building Culture from Ground Up

00:21:46 - Crisis Management and Internal Communication

00:22:46 - Family Business Dynamics

00:23:39 - Reality of Building a Business

00:24:23 - Balancing Employee Happiness and Business Results

00:26:05 - Defining Leadership in Tech-Driven Environments

00:27:01 - Balancing Directive and Facilitative Leadership

00:28:43 - Authentic Leadership During Pandemic

00:29:59 - Accountability in Leadership

00:31:14 - Leadership in Scaling Startups

00:32:06 - Processing Failure as a Leader

00:33:52 - Hands-On Leadership in Startups

00:34:19 - Linking Leadership to Strategy

00:35:24 - Taking Accountability and Earning Respect

00:36:10 - Bringing People Along the Journey

00:37:06 - Building Playbooks That Work for You

00:38:52 - Cultural Differences in Leadership Styles

00:40:11 - Media Influence on Founder Narratives

00:41:20 - Celebrating Founders and Entrepreneurship

00:43:13 - Creating an Inspiring Narrative for the UK

Find Gillian Davis online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davisgillian/

Twitter: https://x.com/GillianDavis07

OverTime Leader: https://overtimeleader.com

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

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