Northern Leadership Awards 2019: Trust is ‘fundamental’ to leading and empowering a team

Rachel Engwell, tax partner at Grant Thornton in Leeds, won the Empowering Potential category at last year’s Leadership Awards, sponsored by Ellis Whittam. Here, she talks to TheBusinessDesk.com about leadership and the key to successfully leading a team.

She said: “At the awards ceremony, Kayley asked me what the key to Empowering Potential was. I replied along the lines of there being no magic formula and said something around having people in your team who are better than you. If I were asked the question again I would expand on that as something I feel is absolutely fundamental to empowering potential is trust.

!I trust my team; I trust them to deliver, to take pride in what they are doing and trust them to speak up should they encounter an issue. The Grant Thornton Yorkshire Tax Team works collaboratively where everyone’s views are listened to.  Yes sometimes I am the one with whom it falls to take an ultimate decision but, due to trust, my team get that and trust me that decisions have been made for good reason.”

Engwell says that facilitating new opportunities, accelerating development and watching someone thrive in their role is “hugely rewarding”.

She said: “Since the awards last November I have made a further five promotions, with several more in the pipeline. We also were successful in the selection process for one of our managers to be seconded to our New York tax desk; the first from our region.

“Whilst the award itself is deemed a personal accolade, it really is a team award and I would encourage others to nominate individuals in their own organisations who are visibly empowering potential.”

TheBusinessDesk.com’s Northern Leadership awards this year, which are supported by CMS, will celebrate the people and organisations across the North who are role models for their teams and raise the bar for their competitors.

The deadline for entries is next Friday, July 19th. Click here to download entry form and to see full list of the awards criteria.

The shortlist will showcase the best qualities of modern leadership – of inspiration, collaboration and empowerment – and the winners will be revealed at an awards dinner which will be a celebration of the transformational impact great leaders are having in our region here and now.

The Northern Leadership Awards takes place at Queens Hotel, Leeds on Thursday, November 28.

• There are 15 award categories:
  • Young leader (under 35)
  • Public and third sector leader
  • Emerging entrepreneur leader
  • Empowering potential leader
  • Diversity and inclusion leader
  • Professional services leader
  • Transformational leader
  Company leader (up to 100 employees)
  • Company leader (100+ employees)
  • Best leadership programme
  • Top 50 City Region leaders: Greater Manchester; Leeds; Liverpool; Sheffield
  • Overall leader – chosen from the award winners

The Top 50 city region leader awards from the fastest-growing businesses in each sub-region, were revealed by TheBusinessDesk.com last month. Now, those firms are being asked to submit individuals from their businesses.

To see the top 50 lists, visit:
Leeds
Manchester
Sheffield
Liverpool

The deadline for entries is Friday 19 July, 2019

The Northern Leadership Awards will showcase those individuals whose leadership is having a significant impact and delivering fantastic outcomes.

It promises to be a great event, bringing together some of the leading individuals and organisations from across the North and we would love to be part of the event, to network, to share and to be inspired.

To book your tickets, click here

There are a number of high profile sponsorship opportunities available. To discuss these please contact the sales team:
Email – sales@thebusinessdesk.com
Tel – 0113 394 4324