Back in 2017, four entrepreneurial guys gathered in a small shoebox office determined to build something different: redefine recruitment across Australia. And boy, have we.

While Covid-19 certainly took its shot at our industry, Talenza has emerged even bigger on the other side. We’ve doubled our team and increased our capability in marketing and executive search functions, in addition to the other specializations we already cover.

So, what have we been doing that’s so different?

Businesses these days are operating in a hyper-competitive environment where the only constant is change. For any business to succeed and thrive here, your leadership style must adapt to enable growth.

Here are 3 things that we do differently at Talenza that I like to call, leadership for growth.

1. Trust

While our team has doubled, we’re still small enough to know everyone by first name and birthday cake. However, the boys and I learned quickly that we could no longer personally manage everyone directly. As Talenza’s capabilities and search functions increased, we started developing the line of managers who’d sit underneath us.

These days, I still oversee my team’s specific outcomes, but I now have managers I trust to make decisions on my behalf and keep things moving on the ground, freeing me up for the big stuff. Only recently, I realised with great pride that I could take the week off and everything would carry on!

The other thing we do differently here is that we incentivise our leaders to get out of the office. It’s an outdated mentality that time ‘seen at desk’ and ease of accessibility makes for high performance. I don’t buy into that.

We’ve created an open and transparent workplace that empowers our leaders and teams to get out and do what needs to be done.

2. Transparency

The recruitment industry is notoriously inconsistent with pricing and charge rates. One thing we were determined to do differently is to establish a business grounded in openness and transparency.

We knew we were onto a good thing early when 2 clients called us in the same week and commended us on our transparent tender bids. They were so impressed; they changed their tender process to ensure more transparency from bidders in future.

How’s that for feedback?

The thing is, there’s nowhere to hide these days where more information is available to us at the click of a Google search. Inconsistency and secrecy create distrust for clients (and employees) who can easily take business to your competitors.

That’s why we’ll keep raising the bar by putting all cards on the table.

3. Influence

It’s only those leaders with the ability to influence who can ask for what they want and take control of a situation. But influence isn’t given, it’s earned.

Your ability to influence starts with advanced self-awareness and organisational awareness (political savvy). Effective leaders can then tap into the knowledge, interests, and skills of their team to communicate the vision and goals effectively in a way that inspires them to a) trust it and b) commit to helping you achieve it.

Growth is a journey that needs the whole team onboard. So, hire amazingly good people, empower them, and trust they’ll get the job done.

I'm currently hiring for several executive search roles. If you’re looking for a new role, contact me here to have a confidential conversation.