Our “Grown, not Born” series focuses on remarkable leaders and their personal experiences with management. In this instalment, we speak with ZeShaan Shamsi. ZeShaan is in the people capability building space, working to create strategic workforces and is the founder of his own consultancy business.

Sarah: Can you tell me about your career path?

ZeShaan: I’ve got over 16 years of experience working in the people and talent space within Tech. I started at a recruitment agency, then moved to public service, the BBC, and then the public sector,  Government Digital Service (GDS). Working in those two industries meant that I had to work both frugally and creatively. After that, I joined a Series B startup called Onfido and scaled them from 50 to 350 people across 7 global locations. Since leaving there I’ve been consulting. I help businesses that are either changing, scaling, or transforming - I provide the tactics, tools, or training, as well as all aspects of organising and attracting people. I work to develop people, teams, managers, and leadership groups. Put simply, when you grow a company, you grow your people and I help do that effectively and efficiently.

Put simply, when you grow a company, you grow your people and I help do that effectively and efficiently.

‍Sarah: Can you tell me about your first-month managing people?

ZeShaan: It was at the BBC. It was my first in-house role and I had a wonderful manager, Katie Murray, who recruited me and cleared as much bureaucracy out of the way so I could get on with doing the job. She was my first impression of a good manager and understood how to get the best out of me - she gave me context, cut out a lot of distracting noise and, most importantly, trusted me. Eventually, she went on parental leave and soon after there was also a restructure which created an opportunity for my first pivot from being an individual contributor to a people manager. At that time a Director called Anna Murphy, and I remember this vividly, asked me ‘What type of manager do you want to be?’

At the time, I was performing really well and our department as well as the teams we were recruiting for knew it so I wasn’t sure what she meant. I wanted to continue in that vein. She gave me a book, The “One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard. Reading it on my commute to work, it outlined that the manager that is perceived to be indispensable because without them everything would fall apart, as I thought I was the case for me, is actually the most disposable of employees. It blew me away, I didn’t comprehend and thought there must be a printing error. But it goes on to outline that they’re a bottleneck and can hinder scalability and improvement. The best managers create teams and environments where when they’re not present, things still operate well because they set up their teams to perform.

By 2012, when I became a manager, I focused on creating an environment where the people in my team could shine and grow. I aimed to make myself redundant so someone else could step up. This meant that I would be replaced, sure, but then I could also step into a new role too. This approach has shaped my managerial philosophy ever since.

The best managers create teams and environments where when they’re not present, things still operate well because they set up their teams to perform.

Sarah: Can you tell me about an event that has specifically influenced your leadership style?

ZeShaan: One that stands out for me was when I left the BBC for GDS. I convinced my two top recruiters in my previous team to leave their permanent roles and come with me on the promise of the mission, and culture but also that, after six months, I’d been assured we’d be able to convert their fixed term contracts into permanent roles. But when the time came, the CEO reneged on his promise, saying he could easily find cheaper recruiters elsewhere.

After digesting the fragrant breach of trust, I had to break the bad news to them, and they were understandably pissed off, feeling betrayed. This experience taught me a crucial lesson: you can have the best intentions, but you can’t rely on others to keep their word. Though the relationship between the three of us eventually mended, it showed me the importance of securing commitments and that sometimes senior leaders aren’t that dialed in to their people.

Sarah: How do you assess performance using your experience?

ZeShaan: Performance assessment starts with understanding company and team goals, and then aligning them with individual motivations. For example, if a team member's target is met, then we showcase opportunities for growth so they can progress. At the same time, if their target’s are unmet, we identify skill gaps and provide relevant training. Knowing what motivates and demotivates people is key. People that work are adults and should be treated as such, give them context and communicate effectively and they can often work things out for themselves. Issues arise when there isn’t clarity or context about what the company, department, team  and individual is working towards and why and that starts with the leadership team.

People that work are adults and should be treated as such, give them context and communicate effectively and they can often work things out for themselves.

Sarah: Can you tell me about an event that has specifically influenced your leadership style?

ZeShaan: When the CEO at GDS broke the promise to me and my recruiters, I learned to be mindful of trust. Later on I came across the Trust Equation and it’s really helped me breakdown the components of trustworthiness. That same CEO got back in touch with me to try and hire me when he went to his next company but that one incident had damaged their trustworthiness so I wouldn’t entertain working with them again. My leadership style is all about building and maintaining trust.

Sarah: How do you ensure team development and retention?

ZeShaan: Start by communicating, building trust and showing humanity. I don’t like the terms Human Resources or Human Capital - these are people. I start by focusing on understanding team members' goals and motivations by asking and listening. Then collaborating across the company and providing visibility of opportunities within the company and supporting their development, we can aim to retain talent. We do this for all individuals and then we can start to aggregate. By doing this we can then look at Succession planning and joining up our People planning where are we growing our own people and where do we need to fill in gaps by recruiting.

Start by communicating, building trust and showing humanity.

Sarah: Thank you so much for your time!