Lessons in leadership from Britain's Best Boss- A Chat with Chris Brindley Artwork

Taking Care of Business

Taking Care of Business is an honest and raw, real-life podcast (and also a book) on how to grow a successful business whilst taking care of what matters most...yourself. The podcast features some of the most successful business leaders in the UK, mixed in with some inspirational guests from the worlds of sport and media. Paul, a working-class guy, has himself started and grown a number of privately owned and publicly listed companies. The Taking Care of Business book is available to buy in Waterstones, Amazon, WHSmith and more.

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Taking Care of Business

Lessons in leadership from Britain's Best Boss- A Chat with Chris Brindley

July 13, 2022 • Paul Cheetham-Karcz • Season 10 • Episode 7

How do you build a team that is on board and striving to achieve the best possible results?

This week Paul Cheetham-Karcz speaks to Britain's Best Boss, Chris Brindley. They discuss his leadership style and how he does things differently. He also looks back at some of his proudest achievements throughout his career, such as winning the "Britain's Best Boss" award and his time as MD at Metro Bank, the first new high street bank to launch in the United Kingdom in over 150 years.

Chris goes on to talk about how he transitioned from working in finance for the likes of NatWest to working in the energy sector for British Gas to becoming chair of the Rugby League World Cup.

In this episode:

00:50 - Britain's Best Boss award

05:15 - How do you deal with difficult team members?

08:20 - Chris' desire to be the best and setting standards for others

11:05 - Understanding what motivates your team members, and becoming a coach

12:03 - John Whitmore's model of G-R-O-W

14:07 - R-I-C-E-S model

18:10 - Importance of people skills

23:40 - Preparing team members for higher positions

25:00 - The influence you have on other people in your life

28:35 - Chris' aspirations after school

30:55 - Starting a leadership role at NatWest

31:50 - Greatest achievement at NatWest

33:20 - Transferring his leadership skills and reinventing himself at British Gas

40:45 - Prevention not cure - Having conversations with team members quickly

42:37 - Hiring for Metro Bank

45:00 - How Chris was approached to work at Metro Bank

48:45 - Keeping Metro Bank open on Sundays and bank holidays - putting customers first

51:14 - Why leave Metro Bank?

51:40 - Involvement with sport

53:30 - Becoming chair of the Rugby League World Cup

55:00 - What's next for Chris after the Rugby League World Cup in December?