In an interview with business news specialist Raconteur, Steve Deverill, Managing Partner of Eton Bridge Partners, reflects on how being true to yourself and enabling others to do the same is the best way to create a high performance culture.

Empowering people to do what they do best

At Eton Bridge Partners, our culture is based on collaboration and support. Our ethos is based on altruistic principles, placing the collective above the individual. It’s all about co-creation and finding ways to move the business forward and meeting our objectives together. We are super collaborative and have high levels of trust in people which empowers them to deliver in their own way.

It’s not enough in today’s world to just look through the lens of what creates shareholder value, it’s about balancing organisational culture and business performance. Our business growth is dependent on our people performing at a high level, so my focus is on creating a culture where people can realise their potential. The autonomy and trust that we have built into our culture means people genuinely enjoy working here, and it’s a big draw for new joiners too.

An empathetic, high EQ culture based on fairness

‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ This quote – often attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt and referenced by leadership expert John Maxwell – sums up how important it is to genuinely make the effort to get to know, and deeply care about the people in your organisation. In today’s world, a good leader needs to have a high level of emotional intelligence; you need to care about people and see them for who they are. People need to be able to trust you, and this only comes when they know that you are being true to yourself.

When I first joined Eton Bridge Partners, the business was led by the founders. They developed loyalty and followership because they treated people with empathy and I try to emulate that in my own leadership style. Understanding the people you work with and creating an environment where they are comfortable being themselves at work will ultimately create a culture that lets people be their best selves.

The leader needs to set high standards and be the exemplar of our values. I believe a leader also needs to display energy, drive and positivity to inspire their team. If you start the day with a very positive mindset and a high level of energy, that permeates throughout the business.

We don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk

Organisational culture cannot merely be words and good intentions – authenticity comes about through actions that impact meaningfully on people’s lives. Our values emulate how we behave and what we do. We don’t just talk about creating a culture of trust, we take concrete action to do so. One such initiative is our 9DF (nine-day fortnight) – we were one of the first recruitment businesses to implement this approach which gives employees one day off a fortnight.

We wanted to give people the space to be able to operate at their highest level on a sustained basis. We recognise that in our industry, you can work long hours, so we wanted to create the space and the time to enable people to step away from the business to help their mental health and work/ life balance. The feedback we have had has been enormously positive – we are demonstrating that the business does care about people as individuals, it’s not about just continually billing more and more.

We live our values in every human interaction we make

Our philosophy is to be ‘refreshingly human’, and this means treating everyone we interact with, be they clients, colleagues or peers, in the right way. Our values (link?) of spirit, trust and excellence run through everything that we do.

One of the pillars of our brand promise is a high level of meaningful communication; if people have committed time to come and see us, then we commit to doing what we can to help them. We give clients and candidates our full support and constructive feedback that will help them on their journey.

Building a deep level of trust within our company and with everyone that we meet is the foundation of our culture of respect and transparency. When we say we put people at the heart of business, we are not paying lip service to some ideal, we are living that every day.

Authentic leadership, based on genuine care, builds loyalty and inspires people. Leaders should empower their teams through trust and shared purpose while nurturing emotional intelligence, empathy, and fairness. By embedding these principles into daily operations, I truly believe that we, as leaders, can create environments where people are truly valued as the core of the business.

To find out more about what makes Eton Bridge Partners such a special place to do business, please get in touch.