Writing It Down
2026-10-08
In my last few weeks at Sky Bet, my director ran one last workshop with our team before we all went off on different adventures around the company. Her one piece of parting advice was that everyone in the room should have their own leadership style, and they should be clear and transparent about it to the people they work with. This stuck with me, and the next day I made an 'intro to Jamie' deck that I've shown to every new direct report since, in their first few days of meeting me.
But why?
- It's helped me reflect on who I am and how I go about my work. I definitely had a style before, but I hadn't tried to articulate it. I revisit it regularly, and have revised and refined it as I've learnt.
- It helps build mutual understanding and trust from day one. If I act in a way that might have been unexpected, this conversation should mean it's not a surprise.
- It invites feedback. I always let people know that this is my own perceived style on paper. It's how I want to work. Nobody's perfect, so I might stray from it occasionally when paper meets reality, and I'd love to have a feedback conversation if they notice me doing that. Mostly people have told me it's a good reflection of me, but once or twice a direct report has told me I've strayed off the page, and it was great to reflect and discuss why.
Until now it's only ever been shared one-to-one, or in a small, safe team setting. But as you read on you'll see that something I value is transparency, so with that in mind I decided to make my leadership style public. Here's my current version. It's split into two sections: my leadership style (this bit's about me), and some non-negotiables for working with me (this bit's about what I expect of you).
My leadership style
- I trust and empower my teams. I value transparency, and look to give context.
- I'm big on delivering customer value, and I hate wasted time. I want my teams to always ask why. I think product and tech should be best friends.
- I value fast decision making, always moving forward and building momentum.
- I'm motivated by learning: about tech, architecture, people, how teams solve problems together... so you might notice I like to be involved. I won't micromanage you though, and I'm comfortable not being as smart as the people in my team.
- I give kudos when you succeed. I have your back when you fail, so long as you learn.
- I'm not very process heavy. I put more weight into aligning values and behaviours than processes across teams.
- I do my best to sponsor people, give growth opportunities, challenge and support.
- I try to lead with empathy. I value hard work, but I value health and happiness more.
Some non-negotiables for working with me
Don't be a jerk. Respect the people you work with and be kind. It's ok to joke with people in your team, but only if they know you genuinely care about them. It doesn't matter how talented you are: if you don't show the right behaviours, then you're not good enough.
Believe in better. Don't accept the status quo. Continuously try to do better, help other people become better, make our products better, and I'll be happy. Give me lots of feedback on how I can be better too!
Be transparent and honest. I'm transparent, and I'll likely share more with you than I should at times. I'd like you to respect that, and be honest and transparent back to me. Be proactive in letting me know what's going on in your world. That way I can try to help you.
Driving to football: The four rules
I also have four rules with my kids that we talk about in the car on the way to football practice, and now in other settings too:
- Be kind. (Often "be kind to your teammates" in a football setting.)
- Respect, listen and learn. (Often just "listen to your coach" or "respect the adults", but really it's about knowing that learning from others is important.)
- Try hard. I'm ok with them not being the best, so long as they're doing their best.
- Most important: have fun! I always save this one for last and put the most emphasis on it.
The kids have recently suggested a fifth, be brave, because it comes up so often. As with all these things, we're going to keep iterating on them over time as we learn what's important.
I'm still working out whether these should replace my non-negotiables. There are definitely parallels: I want my kids to grow and become the best versions of themselves, and I want the same of my team. But life isn't work, so it's also ok for them to be different. If I was going to add one for my team, it would definitely be "have fun" - but in my experience this has always come naturally, and I haven't needed to remind them yet!
You may notice from this blog's cover image that we have a new family member! We picked up Bramble this week and she's settling in well; I may need to think of a new set of rules for her though, including stop chewing the kids' football boots!
So what do you think?
If you're reading this and you've worked with me before, does it resonate? Definitely let me know if anything surprised you.
If you're a leader (and I always tell my team that anyone can be a leader without the title!), what's your own style? Have you written it down, or shared it with someone? Have you got family rules and work rules? How closely do they align?
Let me know if you want to discuss over a coffee some time ☕