For the past year I have had the pleasure of working with Dee-Anne Slade and Taryn Hall as their Leadership Coach at recruitment company Response Network. Taryn and Dee-Anne head up the company they formed in 2011.

I have the utmost admiration for Taryn and Dee-Anne as, not only do they run their own fast growing business, but they have young children and have worked hard to create a balance between work and family that works for them both the past 4 years. The results have been a business that more than doubled in size the last business year (109% growth!).

In this latest blog in the “Inspiring Leaders” series, Taryn provides an insight into what has made them successful and how they lead their company.

What are your driving values as a leader?

I like to think that our driving values are honesty, integrity and commitment.

How do you think your style differs from other leaders you observe?

I think that I am still very much a hands on leader, I do not expect others to do things that I wouldn’t do myself. I also think that by remaining in an operational role you still understand what it’s like at ground level for those that work for you. It’s also a great way of showing people best practice and also coaching them and showing them the right way of doing things so that they can actually learn from watching you rather than just listening to “how I used to do it”. Our industry has changed such a lot in recent times and I want to make sure I know what is happening in the market and not just living in the past!

I also think it’s really important to make our staff feel more than just an employee and actually feel like they are making a difference. Myself and Dee have looked at different ways we can do this that aren’t just money focused and I do think it has made a difference in how our employees feel about being part of the Response team and the difference they are making.

Who are leaders who have proven inspirational to you?

I worked with a HR Manager many years ago, who actually took me on in my first ever role. She is a client of mine now and we have kept in touch over the last 20 years whilst on our different career paths. She has been instrumental in many aspects of my career and I have a lot to thank her for!

Define your company culture and what is important in this for you?

It’s hard not to sound clichéd when talking about our values and what we are trying to achieve. But I think the underlying reason we are so successful and indeed what sets us apart from our competitors is that we treat our clients business’s as we would our own. We understand how hard it is to run your own business and so we try and make the recruitment aspect of this as easy as possible. We offer amazing flexibility to both clients and candidates, we take time to really understand the businesses and candidates we work with and we always over deliver not over promise!

What are your ambitions for the future?

At the moment we are a team of 4 and we are looking to expand on this over the coming months. We have been established for just over 4 years now and have grown year on year. We are constantly evolving and looking at new systems and processes that will keep us one step ahead of our competition. As we grow we don’t want to lose our core values that define who we are.

What advice would you give to aspiring business leaders?

First of all have faith in your ability and what you are trying to achieve. Be prepared for knock backs along the way and don’t think it’s going to be easy. Work hard, keep your values close and surround yourself with like minded people.

I hope you have found this latest blog in the series inspiring and interesting and thank you to Taryn and Dee—Anne for sharing their thoughts and ideas on leadership with us all.