Stepping Up, Staying You: Scott Wilson on Navigating the Leap to Leadership

Leadership and Personal Growth Insights

Scott shared his career journey and explained his approach to strengths-based leadership, emphasising authenticity and the importance of leaders finding their own inspiration rather than focusing on weaknesses. He also highlighted the role of mentors in supporting new leaders and shared a personal experience with a brain tumour diagnosis, which reinforced his perspective on finding inner inspiration.

Leadership Resilience and Authenticity

Scott and Jo discussed resilience in leadership, emphasising the importance of adaptability and authenticity rather than being unbreakable. Scott shared his experience from working in the civil service, highlighting the need to maintain the human element in processes and procedures. They explored how new leaders can sustain performance over time by recognising patterns, connecting with their team and customers, and avoiding an over-reliance on a single strength.

Leadership and Creative Execution

Scott and Jo discussed the differences between leadership and management, emphasising that great leaders blend creative vision with practical execution. Scott shared an exercise from his leadership development program that involves designing new customer experiences, highlighting the importance of structuring creativity to make ideas actionable. They also touched on how to help individuals who perceive themselves as non-creative, with Scott suggesting experiential learning to unlock creativity in a safe environment. Jo mentioned a story about Disney having three rooms for different types of thinking, which Scott confirmed, noting that the third room focused on bringing ideas back to reality.

Balancing Creativity in Management Transition

Jo and Scott discussed the challenges new managers face, particularly the difficulty of balancing creativity with management responsibilities. Scott emphasised that new managers often neglect their creative side in favour of focusing on processes and policies. They explored the transition from team member to manager, with Jo highlighting the unique challenges of acting as a temporary team leader. Scott shared his top book recommendations for aspiring leaders, including "Taming Tigers" by Jim Lawless, "Begin with You" by Petra Velzeboer, and "Surrounded by Idiots" by Thomas Erikson.