Adrienne Gibson.
Business owner, Consultant, Facilitator, Coach and speaker, transforming the people-side of business
What do you do now?
As an entrepreneur, I partner with clients around the globe enabling them to develop more effective and inclusive cultures, teams and leaders.
Where did your career start?
Following 20 years within corporate environments, I made the leap in 2015 to lead my own business. My career started in HR focused initially on recruitment and hiring, then quickly expanded to the full spectrum of people practices, eventually leading teams located all over the world.
That experience afforded me a wealth of opportunities working with hundreds of leaders at all levels with varied backgrounds, seniority and experience.
Has there been a stage in your life where you first appreciated what great leadership looked like?
While I’ve been fortunate to work alongside a number of great leaders, I will never forget the first time I experienced a strong leader.
Around 2002, I was working in a start-up operation leading the entire HR function for the first time in my career. Anyone who’s been part of a start-up knows it can be daunting. I took pride in working “very hard” - long hours, being involved in absolutely everything and taking on far too much, but determined to prove myself. Attempting to impress my boss I was bragging about all that I was doing and the long hours I worked. He shocked me saying, “Do you think working long hours impresses me?”.
Not only was he unimpressed by the number of hours I worked, he helped me understand how taking on too much was actually a detriment because it showed a lack of trust in my team. He taught me concepts of working smarter vs harder, empowering others, trusting my team, and the very important difference between “leading” and “doing”.
Do you have any examples of what you have done to develop yourself as a leader?
Through my old boss's example, I learned the value of coaching and affiliative leadership styles rather than my own tendencies in those days towards more pacesetting and authoritative approaches. I’ve since studied and experienced various leadership styles in depth and can appreciate how having the ability to flex styles to situations can determine success or failure as a leader.
How do you think Leadership has benefitted you?
Through these kinds of experiences, challenging projects and assignments, and leading people in all corners of the globe, I’ve been able to develop my own leadership style that affords me the courage to trust my instincts, speak my truth, and, hopefully, inspire and motivate others to bring out the best in themselves as well.