Creating a Culture of Courage: John Jenkins Of Haydock Finance On How Authenticity Benefits People and Profits in the Workplace
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Promote a workplace where risk and mistakes are okay: Encourage an environment where individuals feel comfortable taking risks, sharing their ideas, and expressing their thoughts without fear of judgment or repercussion. Emphasise that mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth, not grounds for blame or punishment.
In today’s social media-filled, fast-paced world, authenticity in the workplace and in our personal lives has become more difficult to come by. Business leaders must focus on the bottom line of profits and corporate success, but does that have to be at the expense of the authenticity of their employees? I believe it is quite the opposite. I know from my own experience that a culture of authenticity allows hiring a team that will bring their all to the workplace. That fosters innovation, creativity, and a level of success that few companies dream of. Yet, fostering an environment where individuals feel secure enough to express their true selves remains a challenge. The importance of authenticity cannot be overstated — it is the foundation of trust, innovation, and strong relationships. However, creating such a culture requires intention, understanding, and actionable strategies. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing John Jenkins.
John Jenkins is an experienced CEO, Business Leader, and Commercial Leader with over 30 years’ experience in finance, having previously been CEO of GE Capital. He has been CEO of Haydock Finance for over 5 years. https://haydockfinance.co.uk/
Haydock Finance, UK, has been a leading business finance specialist for over 40 years, supporting the growth of UK SMEs. They work closely with a nationwide portfolio of introducers to provide funding for a comprehensive range of business hard assets, across a diverse range of industries including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, logistics and transport.
The business is a unique barometer of the overall health of the economy and really understands the challenges SMEs face.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
My basic premise through my career has been to be eligible when asked — build experience and capability but don’t be too focussed on your exact career path or the next role. I had been at Lloyds a long time, undertaken a broad range of roles with increasing seniority, but had reached a point where I felt I had learned what I could and was in danger of becoming a little fixed in my approach to ‘the way things work around here’. I believed that my next move had to be away to experience a different culture and approach. Fortunately, GE Capital were looking for a sales director for their Commercial Finance business, which fitted my skill set, was a complete contrast in style and culture and, importantly as I discovered, saw this role as a 12–18 month succession into the role of CEO, which was my ambition. I was successful and joined with a clear short term induction plan, a development plan for 12 months and a long term goal in mind with time to prepare….except the CEO left after 12 weeks not 12 months. So instead of a slow and steady build into a new, much bigger role in a vastly different organisation I was immediately asked to do the role I had really joined to do. And loved the challenge.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Openness — It’s important to build trust, and key to this is an open transparent communication style engaging everyone and encouraging discussion. I have always believed in ‘Management by walking about’ and more formally ensured there are regular forums for discussion at all levels — town hall meetings, strategy sessions, round tables etc.
Authenticity — Be who you are and be comfortable with it. GE was a great place, but it seemed to have certain expectations of how a CEO behaved and acted. Most of this fitted, but I was very conscious that what didn’t fit wasn’t me and chose to be myself instead…some of this came to how you dealt with people, especially more junior staff where the overriding culture was more distant than my natural style, some of this was delegation by command…whereas I was always more focussed on delegating by consent.
Integrity — Say what you mean and mean what you say. If its bad news, be clear, take responsibility and be sympathetic; If it’s good news then celebrate and share the credit around. This was never more challenging than through the financial crisis when we had to downsize the operation and make people redundant, but also remembered to celebrate the wins too to keep morale as high as it could be.
What strategies have you found most effective in fostering an environment where employees or team members feel safe to express their true selves, including their ideas, concerns, and aspirations?
Creating an environment where employees feel safe to express their true selves, ideas, concerns, and aspirations is crucial for fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and overall well-being. I firmly believe that you should lead by example: Leaders should demonstrate authenticity, vulnerability, and openness themselves. When leaders are transparent about their own experiences, it sets a precedent for others to feel comfortable doing the same.
Trust is the foundation of any healthy work environment. I always try to encourage open communication and honesty among team members and try to actively listen without judgment. by consistently demonstrating trustworthiness and integrity in your actions and decisions.
Ensuring your team feels safe to take risks and make mistakes is also important. Encourage experimentation and innovation by emphasising learning over blaming.
How do you navigate the challenges that come with encouraging authenticity in a diverse workplace, where different backgrounds and perspectives may sometimes lead to conflict?
Navigating the challenges requires a proactive and inclusive approach. Firstly, fostering open communication channels is essential. Encourage team members to share their perspectives and experiences openly, while also promoting active listening and empathy. When conflicts arise due to differing backgrounds and perspectives, address them promptly and constructively. Create opportunities for dialogue and mediation, emphasising understanding and mutual respect.
Diversity and inclusion training can help raise awareness of unconscious biases, promote empathy, and improve cross-cultural communication skills. By equipping employees with the tools to navigate diversity respectfully, you can mitigate potential conflicts and promote a more inclusive work environment.
Establish clear guidelines and expectations regarding respectful behaviour and communication. Encourage individuals to express themselves authentically while also emphasising the importance of maintaining professionalism and sensitivity towards others. Finally, lead by example by demonstrating inclusivity, openness, and respect for diversity. Show genuine interest in understanding and valuing the perspectives of others, and actively seek opportunities to learn from different backgrounds and experiences.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways to Create a Culture Where People Feel Safe to be Authentic?”
- Lead by Example: Leaders play a critical role in shaping organisational culture. Demonstrate authenticity, vulnerability, and openness in your own interactions and communications. It sets a positive example for others to follow and creates a sense of trust and safety within the organisation.
- Promote a workplace where risk and mistakes are okay: Encourage an environment where individuals feel comfortable taking risks, sharing their ideas, and expressing their thoughts without fear of judgment or repercussion. Emphasise that mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth, not grounds for blame or punishment.
- Encourage Open Communication: Create opportunities for transparent and honest communication at all levels of the organization. Encourage regular dialogue, feedback sessions, and team meetings where individuals can voice their thoughts, concerns, and ideas without reservation.
- Embrace Diversity and Inclusion: Celebrate the unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of all individuals within the organisation. Encourage a culture of respect, where differences are recognised as strengths.
- Provide Support and Resources: Offer support and resources to help people and invest in people development, mentorship programs, and wellness initiatives to foster a sense of belonging and well-being. Demonstrate a genuine commitment to the overall growth and success of each individual within the organisation.
In your opinion, how does authenticity within an organisation influence its relationship with customers, clients, or the broader community?
Authenticity fosters trust and credibility, as customers are more likely to engage with organisations they perceive as genuine and transparent. It also drives meaningful connections, as customers appreciate when organisations are open and honesty, and act with integrity. Furthermore, authentic organisations are better equipped to adapt to changing customer needs and preferences, as they can genuinely listen and respond to feedback. We pride ourselves at Haydock in really understanding SMEs and building a strong introducer network. Ultimately, authenticity builds long-term relationships built on mutual respect, understanding, and shared values, benefiting the team, customers, clients and the community.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Education is so important. We have (I believe) a great system with excellent teachers, but it somehow it fails to engage with everybody, such that some groups and individuals fail to find the support and environment to fulfil their potential. So something that supports families and children to be engaged and included could do a lot of good.
How can our readers further follow you online?
You can follow us LinkedIn.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Creating a Culture of Courage: John Jenkins Of Haydock Finance On How Authenticity Benefits People… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.