This is a memorable quote from Stephen Johnson, our guest contributor this month, it’s clear throughout his interview that sustaining a people-focused culture is a critical factor for the ongoing success of Quooker, plus it’s an important part of his personal leadership journey.

We were also impressed by Stephen’s capacity to constantly self-reflect and his humility to keep learning and challenging himself. At REAL. Leadership I’ve seen that great leaders are “hear-o-holics”, they don’t just listen to people…they actually hear what’s being said and have the self awareness to know when they need to do something about it.

Things are moving very quickly right now for leaders, the risks of saying or doing the wrong thing, being unaware of their unconscious biases or blind spots, and of course external pressures constantly challenging the traditional ways of doing business. It reminded us of another great editorial that Ben Sullivan, CEO of the Reverse Mentoring Practice wrote for us “What makes a workplace diversity programme successful?”. Ben also talks about the importance of humility as a leader, creating a culture of trust and being active rather than just an ally.

What was the last thing you truly learned from someone in your team? More importantly what did you do about it? Did you just listen and nod or did you make something happen?

Scroll down to read more from Stephen and, for those of you who are looking to share your Leadership expertise or journey but don’t know where to start, Corinna Cunningham explains why it might be time to write your first book!