Why do I care?
They say you join a job and leave a manager—and I've left several. At that age of 13, I worked for a woman who ran the tea room I worked in. She used to take a huge share of the tips (which were only about £1.85 each), and made me cry more than once because I put a teeny bit too much coffee in a mug.
No one sets out to be a bad manager, and in startups, everyone thinks they're creating the best culture—and honestly, most are doing their best. What I enjoy doing is taking people who are keen and ready to learn from cosy to high-performing.
Whether that's through a workshop, speaking event, or coaching founders one-to-one, the benefit comes from knowing I've made all the mistakes before, and I can answer any people management question you have.
"Desperately reading management books did not prepare me for the real-life humans that looked at me expectantly every day."