Barrie Hadfield - CEO

I am a passionate individual and a mixed blessing. I live in Norfolk with my husband Henri and our much loved dog and cat. All of my working life has been in tech and I am a geek through and through and I am passionate about building technology companies and their products.

Roles

• Leader of the Core Team

• CEO / Co-Founder / Board member

Personal values

• Autonomy - I thrive when I feel I am master of my own destiny. I feel deeply frustrated when I feel constrained or controlled or am unable to alter a situation I feel stuck in. I have only ever worked in companies I have founded and I believe this is so ingrained into my nature that it is unlikely to ever change.

• Transparency - some people say honesty, but in truth I believe that is a subjective word. I favour transparency as a value. If I am asked a question I will answer with the most transparency possible; I will try not to be defensive (although sometimes that is hard) and I will try to understand where the question is coming from and what is motivating it. I love people who are brave enough to be transparent and I am suspicious of those who are not.

• Quality of work - I have to be proud of anything I do. I cannot accept a job half done and sadly for me this means I have to spend a lot more time working than most people I know. There is nothing that delights me more than when I am truly proud of what I (or we) have achieved though.

Achilles heels

• Impatience - as soon as I feel something has to happen, it has to happen now. I drive people mad with this and over the years I have improved, but I am sorry in advance for any offence caused by my relentless focus on getting something done when it is important to me.

• Direct - people often think I am not emphatic. I have a terrible bedside manor, always favouring tough love over tea and sympathy. The truth is that I care about people deeply, but I am often not good at demonstrating it.

• Fails to acknowledge progress - sometimes, when people achieve something amazing, which is just a part of a step, all I focus on is the next part of that step, without taking the time to acknowledge the tremendous progress made. I really regret it when I do this.

• Other than that I am perfect! ;-)

How to get the best out of me

• Be direct - I believe that brevity is a virtue and I love clear open communication where the person I am speaking to lays out what they are hoping to achieve in the conversation and and does not beat around the bush. I relish feedback and never get offended by anything anyone says (I am really tough skinned). If I disagree with you, I will tell you so and I love a good debate. I am never seeking to be "right", I am always seeking the "right outcome". (Remind me of that if necessary).

• Actions speak louder than words - Action is eloquence - Shakespeare. Honestly, I love seeing people just get on with it and produce whatever their output is. I always think about output, and constant chatting or sitting on a fence is not output. I drives me mad. I deeply admire those who produce, create, and take action. Everything I am doing is trying to create an environment where people like that thrive.

• Never "manage upward" - I find this the opposite to being transparent and I spot it quickly and it will not earn my trust and respect. Be transparent with me and I will support you forever.

• Say what you are going to do and do what you say - I have the greatest respect for people who focus on and are clear about their goals and then get on delivering on their promises. This speaks directly to our value of Dependability.

• Push back and give honest feedback - I love people who stand in the face of adversity. All of my lasting relationships are based on mutual trust and to establish that trust we sometimes have to disagree! As I have said above, I am not interested in being right, I am interested in the right outcome and my ideas are often wrong!

• Just tell me to back off - If you think I am saying and doing the wrong thing, or I am doing something that is driving you mad, just tell me straight to my face and you will be amazed at the result. Be prepared for me to be straight with you in return, but 9/10 times these conversations defuse the problem and we solve the issue and learn something new about each other.