#18 Leading with Your Conscience, Crying at Work, Who is Most Valuable in a Team, Being First Time CEO: Simon Whitehouse CEO, Eco-Age, First CEO JW Anderson

In Episode #18 I spoke with Simon Whitehouse, the CEO of Eco-Age, who was also the first CEO of JW Anderson (I may have had something to do with that). We talked about being and acting yourself, parents as role models, empathy, taking a moral path, fairness, men crying at home and at work, leading with your conscience, the most valuable function in a team, being a first time CEO, the dynamic of being a CEO to a Creative Founder and the different paths to being a CEO. This is one of the most unfiltered and candid conversations so far… But you’ll be the judge of that. WE DISCUSS 01:54 - Growing up - never been comfortable with being a leader 12:20 - Empathy - How would I like my mother to be treated? 14:30 - When Simon is not so nice and concept of fairness 17:39  - Seeing dad cry - being and acting yourself 22:34 - Two different routes to becoming a CEO 24:19 - Role at JW Anderson - expressing your emotions 31:17 - Building and leading a high performing team 35:28 - Relationship between CEO and Creative Founder 40:29 - The role of general manager is to set the tone of the culture 42:21 - Dealing with challenging situations 44:22 - What does being a leader mean - challenge and psychological safety 50:55 - How having a baby shaped Simon’s view of business and life 56:43 - What would have saved Simon a lot of hassle 01:01:41 - Advice to younger self 01:08:42 - Simon being obnoxious 01:11:22 - The Impossible Question EPISODE #18: You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw SIMON WHITEHOUSE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-whitehouse-a065472/ Instagram: @simonsrockyroad - https://www.instagram.com/simonsrockyroad/?hl=en ECO-AGE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecoage/ Instagram: @ecoage - https://www.instagram.com/ecoage/?hl=en EBIT™ Instagram: @enjoybeingintransition - https://www.instagram.com/enjoybeingintransition/?hl=en MARIA HVOROSTOVSKY: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/?hl=en Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!