I Lead When I Follow

I 

LEAD 

WHEN 

I 

FOLLOW 

Management lessons from 

history’s greatest leaders 

produced by

Introduction and Contents 

A leadership position in a modern-day organisation comes with a 

multitude of challenges. Sometimes you have to solve these problems on 

your own, though more often than not someone before you has faced a 

similar situation. Building on the knowledge of the past plays an incredibly 

important role in improving your efficiency. 

Taking inspiration from history’s greatest minds, from Roman Emperors to 

African Presidents, we have compiled the wisdom of these worldrenowned 

leaders and applied it to every component of managerial life. 

This is your ultimate guide to get both your company ahead of the crowd, 

and your mind-set ready for world domination! Here’s what you can 

expect in the pages ahead: 

1 

Great Expectations 

6 

Tools 

2 

Developing Leaders 

7 

Quotes 

3 

Boss Behaviour 

8 

A little about us 

4 

Togetherness & Teamwork 

5 

Work Environment 

3 

| learn more share this

1. Great Expectations 

Align the Psychological Contract with the 

Employment Contract 

John Spedan Lewis 

Spedan, the son of John Lewis - founder 

of the prolific department stores - joined 

the family business at the age of 19. 

After his father’s death and a serious 

horse-riding accident left him unable to 

work for 2 years, he began implementing 

full employee-ownership by distributing 

profits. This soon developed into the John 

Lewis Partnership. Based on a mutual 

understanding between employees 

and their employer, this strategy 

fundamentally adopted a principle called 

the psychological contract. 

Providing a clear framework for an 

employment relationship, particularly 

its future, is of the utmost importance. 

Without this forward-thinking outlook, 

drastic discrepancies can form between 

the expectations of the two parties. John 

Lewis boasts employee happiness as 

part of its mission statement, and a clear 

psychological contract fundamentally 

underlies the relationship they have with 

their employees - not the employment 

contract. 

So what is the psychological contract? 

It refers to the unwritten set of 

expectations of the employee:employer 

relationship. 

Note: The psychological contracts are 

unique to each employee:employer 

relationship, and much like the 

professional role an employee occupies, 

the criteria and requirements will alter 

over time and vary drastically from person 

to person. 

People working for the same firm and 

same boss can have distinctly different 

psychological contracts; and this means 

they require some management. 

What’s the difference? 

Think of it as the difference between 

expectations (psychological) and 

4 


workers who are present 

in the office can actually be 

more damaging 

promises (formal/professional job role 

contract). Miscommunication between 

employee and employer is the key cause 

of incomplete psychological contracts, 

and therefore an unhappy, unbalanced 

workforce. It is often extremely difficult 

to fully anticipate the future demands 

of an employment arrangement; so it’s 

unrealistic to think you’ll get this right first 

time…at least not without some practice! 

What happens if it’s not done right? 

A psychological contract that’s not valued 

and taken care of can lead to a highly 

dangerous outcome: “presenteeism”. This 

is a relatively new concept that describes 

workers who are present in the office in 

body, but far from present in mind... at 

least to any productive extent. In fact, 

prolific presenteeism can actually be more 

damaging to a business than employees 

who take too many sick days. 

4 in 1O 

people regularly 

consider quitting 

their job. 

5 


The solution? 

We’ve all heard it before, communication is key! Make 

sure that, right from the offset, both employer and 

employee are open and honest about their expectations 

for the future. Integrate individual learning and 

development into your job descriptions. This creates 

transparency around the role and incentivises a culture 

of new leaders rising from the inside. These people will, 

in turn, make sure the company apportions time and 

money towards personal growth so that everyone shares 

reasonable expectations of commitment and success. 

Ultimately, this will considerably diminish the chance of 

presenteeism as trust is formed. Your psychological and 

employment contracts will be aligned, and decisions will 

be made with everyone on the same page! 

tip: 

A great boss sits down with a 

new employee right from the beginning 

and identifies priorities. Discuss the 

performance review, and how you define 

“excellent performance.” You should hold 

discussions regularly with regards to 

expectations from that point on. 

6 


2. Developing Leaders 

“Follow Nature for Guidance”: Become a Parent 

Marcus Aurelius 

Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from 

161-180 AD was the last of the “Five 

Good Emperors”. His book “Meditations” 

is revered as a literary monument to 

philosophy. Marcus ruled Rome as he did his 

own home; as a parent. 

We know you can’t ‘rule’ your office as a 

parent, but the best managers view their 

position as more than just a boss: something 

to the tune of coach, mentor…a leader. But 

who is the ultimate leader to the newest 

individuals born into your organisation? 

Their manager. And what is the one thing a 

newborn needs more than anything? 

→ A parent! 

So for you leading parent figures of the 

office, we’ve got some key focus areas: 

7 


Striking the balance 

You may sometimes assume that your 

employees know exactly what to do and 

how to do it. Other times, you call all 

the shots, giving in to the certainty of 

doing everything yourself…whilst your 

employees learn nothing. Imagine you’re 

riding a chariot like this one: 

A great leader can recognise the 

importance of not pushing their horses 

too hard, and driving them forward to 

victory. Finding the equilibrium is key to 

the team’s overall success! 

Our advice? Take a step back from your 

chariot. Think about how you can be 

enough of a presence as a source of 

help, but not so much as to overshadow 

your team. 

Find each person’s unique talents 

Like any good parent, a manager 

observes their employees to find out 

what they do best. Talk to them about 

what aspects of their job they enjoy 

most. Tap into and leverage the instincts 

and skills of your employees. This 

creates a win-win as you’re able to reap 

the rewards of employee satisfaction 

and employees grow increasingly 

inspired and confident. 

Give feedback 

Some bosses wait until the formal 

performance review to relay negative 

feedback to their employees. When this 

happens, employees are left thinking: 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! I 

could have tried to change or do things 

differently.” 

Giving employees feedback along the 

way establishes an open relationship. 

There’s a sense of conversation, 

leadership, and cooperation. 

Empower people to make decisions 

Part of nurturing self-growth is 

empowering your employees to 

Tip? Enable employees to improve 

their departments and team. 

Your company will thrive when 

you develop leaders who rise 

from the inside. 

show leadership over their own lives. 

Give your employees the tools and 

8 


techniques to expand their thinking and solve 

issues with big ideas. Create an environment 

where creativity and problem solving are 

rewarded as part of daily conversations. 

Recognise people’s contributions 

Appreciation is something most blogs 

will talk about and, despite its almost aggravating ever-presence, 

it fully deserves it and is our advice. 

Did you know that companies with formal recognition 

strategies reported a mean employee turnover rate that is 23.4% 

lower than retention at companies without any recognition 

program? 

Amazing bosses(/parents!) know how to instil a deep sense of 

personal satisfaction and accomplishment in individual team 

members. Or, it can be a more formal recognition, like publicly 

acknowledging a team member at a meeting or company event. 

In the long-term, this crucially help employees to develop a strong 

sense of self-confidence and self-praise. 

23.4% 

higher 

retenton rate 

at companies 

with recogniton 

programs 

When people feel appreciated for their efforts, they become happier and more 

engaged. It goes without saying that this will improve the quality and quantity of 

output from your employees. 

P.S. A Perkbox never hurt an employee feeling that bit underappreciated! 

tip: 

Recognize your people for 

their contributions–both large and 

small. It can be as small as a few 

words like, “Nice job, Marie.” 

9 


3. Boss behaviour 

“When people are determined they can 

overcome anything” 

Nelson Mandela 

Self-belief will lead you to managerial success. But, how can you 

convince others of your own leadership skills without having 

years of experience under your belt? Determination. Great 

leaders are not necessarily born; they are made. Nelson Mandela 

embodies this thinking, whether it was in becoming South Africa’s 

first black President elected in a fully representative democratic 

election or in having served over 27 years as a political prisoner. If 

you lose your drive, attaining your goals becomes near impossible. 

You must recognise the importance of this for both yourself and 

your employees in order to achieve the best results. So, how do 

you become a great leader? 

tip: 

Most great leaders share certain 

characteristics. Remember: these can all 

be learned. Rarely does one remain great 

without working at their craft so attend 

management seminars, read (e)books and 

do a lot of self-assessment to keep leading 

yourself and others to success. In the 

meantime, we have a number of tips 

for you inspired by Mandela himself! 

10 


Work fearlessly 

To be an effective manager you 

should lead by example. By daring 

to try new things, you encourage 

your employees to do the same. This 

keeps you at the forefront of your 

industry, making learning a part of 

everyone’s daily lives. Combine this with 

accountability for one’s actions and you 

will inspire leadership all around you. 

Live for your job 

What’s even more important than 

engaged employees? Engaged managers 

and business leaders, empowered, driven 

and motivated. In my experience, that’s 

not a given. The best bosses we can 

think of all live for their jobs, so 

to speak. 

Be open and truthful 

A great leader is direct, but sensitive. 

Communication is essential. If you see 

performance slipping, don’t wait too 

long to talk about it. Never dodge the 

truth or hoard company information that 

could help your employees. You must 

not be threatened by your employees’ 

knowledge; rather, you must encourage it. 

No surprises 

An often overlooked but incredibly 

important aspect of management is the 

simple idea of consistency. Sure, we’re 

all different, but if your personality 

and approach to business varies on a 

daily, or even weekly basis, this will 

cause confusion for your team. It takes 

courage and strength to maintain your 

composure but by being the rock your 

employees rely on you will ensure your 

trustworthiness and dependability. 

Know your employees 

Take a personal interest in your employees’ lives. An employer who understands their 

employees is more likely to be sympathetic and, for example, consent to flex-time when 

required. Employees who feel that their boss is caring and interested in who they are will 

be more committed to their work. 

| learn more 11 

share this

Have a feel for the business 

The best managers have a solid 

understanding of all the key aspects of 

the business they’re in. Understand the 

products, technology, market share, sales 

channels and how to read an income 

statement. Employees, especially if they 

are new, aspire to have 

a holistic understanding 

of their company. 

Mentor your team 

Apportion time and money towards 

personal growth so that all of your 

employees become stronger in their 

abilities: it’s that parental attitude 

again! Set up regular weekly 30-minute 

check-ins with your people to help them 

celebrate wins and overcome any issues 

they might have. And on a regular basis, 

help staff understand how their actions 

contribute to the overall company 

mission and vision. We’ll talk more about 

this in the next chapter. 

3 key leader traits: 

humility 

empathy 

humour 

12 


4. Bring teams together 

“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he 

works for the welfare of his fellow-men.” 

Mahatma Gandhi 

You can’t write a book about leadership without mentioning 

Mahatma Gandhi. This man starved himself to keep India from its 

religious division into what is now called Pakistan. But don’t worry, 

you don’t need to go that far to keep your team together! 

Gandhi believed in two things above all else: conflict resolution 

through non-violence (i.e. dialogue) known as “satyagraha” and 

self-governance known as “swaraj”. A great leader will encourage 

dialogue through constant interaction and high performance within 

the team. Whether we succeed or we fail, we do it together. This 

creates tight bonds 

of loyalty amongst 

employees and 

with the company. 

Successes are met 

with equal high 

praise and rewards, 

while failures are 

Whether we succeed or we 

fail, we do it together 

met with encouraging acceptance and learning discussions yielding 

next-step improvements. (Of course managing risk to ensure people 

and teams fail safely in the first place is a must!) 

13 


Connect to the company values and mission 

Your company’s core values and mission are what provide 

a greater sense of meaning to your team’s day-to-day 

decisions. Extraordinary leaders weave the goals and 

culture of the company into every aspect of departmental 

operations. In response, employees become increasingly 

passionate and enthusiastic about them. Study after study 

shows that core values drive employee engagement and 

corporate culture. In turn, that engagement and culture 

drive performance. 

tip: 

Integrate creativity into 

daily conversation and procedures 

so that every employee feels 

comfortable expressing their 

creative flair when interacting with 

others in the company. 

Set collaborative goals and review progress 

Harvard Business School surveyed hundreds of workers in 

a variety of settings and found that the number one thing 

employees said they needed to feel happy at work was 

to see that they are making progress. As a leader, you can 

help people see their progress by setting meaningful goals 

for your department as well as for the individual – one 

should be an extension of the other. You can then involve 

your people in determining how they will accomplish their 

objectives. This mutual exercise in establishing objectives 

gives employees a sense of their own self-leadership aka 

swaraj, only adding to their motivation to succeed. 

14 


To meet or not to meet? 

The best leaders make sure that everyone on the team 

understands the difference between a valuable meeting 

and a waste of time and resources. They educate the team 

on facilitation techniques and give each person constant 

practice at structuring and leading effective meetings with 

feedback afterwards, of course! 

The 3 ingredients to a successful meeting are: 

1. Setting a specific & detailed agenda 

2. Inviting only the people that really need to be there 

3. Providing a structured “close” i.e. leave 10 mins at the 

end of the 

Efficiency vs. Efficacy 

a) what was the main point you’ve taken 

from the meeting? 

b) what topic should be discussed at our 

next meeting? 

c) which word would you use to describe 

how you feel about this meeting? This 

question will set expectations for closure 

of the meeting. 

The best managers know that efficiency can be the enemy 

of efficacy in the long run, and so they work to create an 

atmosphere of expansive thinking. We live and work in 

a fast-paced, ever-changing, highly competitive world. 

You’ve got to prioritise, but once you figure out what 

needs to be done, it’s generally more important to be 

effective than to squeeze every last bit of productivity 

out of yourself and your people. Empower your team with 

time, resources and techniques to solve big issues with 

big ideas. 

Being an extraordinary manager means inspiring your 

employees to reach for greatness. Commit to putting 

the above behaviours and systems in place, and your 

employees will do their work with pride, increasing their 

loyalty to your business and your customers. 

15 


5. Creating THE working environment 

“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product” 

Eleanor Roosevelt 

Known as the “First Lady of the World” for her dedication to human and 

worker’s rights, Eleanor Roosevelt was known for getting her opinions out 

there no matter what the world told her she ‘should’ be doing. As a strong 

campaigner against racism and an advocate for workers’ rights, she wasn’t even 

afraid of denouncing her own husband’s policies in public! This woman on a 

mission believed in diversity, simplicity and the power of the heart. In order to 

create an environment where employees thrive with real passion for their jobs 

leaders must weave these concepts into every part of the work environment. 

Food 

Providing and promoting healthy 

food not only has benefits for 

your employees but also for you. A 

nutritious diet improves stamina and 

concentration, gets the creative juices 

flowing and leads to more proactive, 

productive employees with increased 

problem-solving capabilities. It should 

also mean less people phoning in sick 

and an all round happier workforce! 

Bonus: 

CHOCOLATE can be a great mood 

enhancer due to its ability to stimulate 

the production of serotonin, your body’s 

chemical mood enhancer! Aim for high 

quality organic dark chocolate though, 

with over 70% cocoa content. 

16 


Fun Surprises 

As William Cowper said: “Variety is the 

very spice of life, that gives it all its 

flavour.” An engaging atmosphere where 

things are ever-dynamic will continue 

to foster interest and intrigue from 

an employee perspective. This keeps 

engagement levels 

sky high. If you 

ever run out of 

ideas to make 

your employees 

as happy and 

productive as can 

be, we’re always 

here for you at 

Perkbox! 

Bonus: 

Feng Shui of your desk! 

Follow Eastern tradition to 

optimise your desk layout! 

Team social events 

“Variety is the very 

spice of life, that gives 

it all its flavour.” 

We know team drinking is fun: that’s for 

certain. But does your team interact in 

any other way? Find simple, productive 

ways for people to work together on 

things which are either not related to 

work or can be indirectly linked. For 

example, having 

a day each month 

where a certain 

number of people 

help out in a 

charity can be 

a great way to 

bond. Something 

less formalised, 

say a ping pong 

tournament or 

afternoon trip to 

the museum could also work. If you’re 

still thinking about team efficiency, you 

can always use your team activity as an 

opportunity for some social media posts! 

1 

2 3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

17 


Feng Shui Bagua map 

1. 

abundance and 

prosperity 

4. 

family and 

community 

7. 

wisdom and selfawareness 

2. 

fame and 

reputation 

5. 

mind, body and 

spirit 

8. 

career and life 

purpose 

3. 

love and 

relationships 

6. 

creativity and 

children 

9. 

helpful people 

and travel 

Some cool ideas for office spaces: 

These days everyone is always talking 

about Google and Facebook’s offices. 

What gets them employee satisfaction 

ratings like no other business? Their 

promotion of creativity and relaxation 

in the office, that’s what. Allowing 

employees the flexibility to not be 

constantly working from 9am to 5pm 

is important as this actually impedes 

their productivity. Implementing 

physical spaces into the office, which 

allow for a release from the ins and 

outs of day-to-day business is the best 

way to do it. Check out some of our 

favourite ideas in action. 

Epic: NY Subway room 

Google: Slide 

Box: Swings 

Facebook: Games room 

18 


6. Tools for the modern day leader 

Salary Sacrifice Schemes: 

Make a valuable addition to your 

employee’s lifestyle with salary sacrifice. 

Whether it’s a new bike or the latest 

tech - pay for it upfront and recoup the 

cost from your employee’s salary pre-tax. 

They’ll save on something special, and 

you’ll pay less NI! 

Tastecard: 

Get 2-for-1 or 50% off at thousands 

of restaurants across the UK with 

tastecard. From leading chains to 

exciting independents, the only hard 

part is choosing where to take your 

employees to lunch! 

Grokker: 

A video-based platform to keep health 

& well-being at the top of your priority 

list. Engage in yoga, meditation, fitness 

and cooking without taking too much 

time out of your schedule! 

Fabyouless: 

If you can spare leaving the office, 

get discounted rates at salons, spas, 

gyms and more at both top brands 

and trusted independents. Remember, 

leading is tough - not least without 

ample R&R! 

19 


Luckily both you and all your employees can get these 

services at discounted prices with a Perkbox account! 

Remarkable leadership is easily within your grasp and you 

can begin to make changes today. As a result of creating a 

fantastic workplace with engaged and loyal employees, your 

company will accelerate! If you’re ever in doubt, at Perkbox 

we’re here to help you out. 

Contact us now and be sure to 

check out our inspirational 

quotes section below! 

hello@perkbox.co.uk 

linkedin 

0208 396 6812 

@perkbox 

/perkbox.co.uk 

@perkbox 

20 


Quotes 

21 


A little about us 

Author 

George Taktak: Marketing Manager 

Having grown up in London, the diversity of people 

functioning seamlessly within one single ‘Labour Market’ 

has always fascinated George. With people spending the 

majority of their time at work, he realised that passion and 

enjoyment for one’s job are key to ameliorating lifestyles, 

and consequently specialised in both behavioural and labour 

economics whilst attending the London School of Economics 

& Political Science. With a background in Finance and 

Consulting, experience has taught him how important the 

relationship is between employer and employee. George’s 

aim is to help everyone achieve their goals in the most 

pleasurable and efficient way possible; using technology as his 

cornerstone. 

Designed by 

Jenna Edgar: Designer 

A Northern Irish born country girl, Jenna moved to London to 

study a masters in communication design. Having always been 

fascinated by urban environments, she studied the sociology 

of how people, organisations and places we all inhabit come 

together. During her masters she researched a methodology 

that favours ethical, social and environmentally responsible 

approaches to all forms of design. With a background in notfor-profit 

and SME organisations, her main drive is in making a 

difference to people’s everyday lives. 

Full list of references available here. 

22

I Lead When I Follow

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?