Dawn Stallwood

Conscious Unbossing

Dawn has worked in hierarchical and collaborative leadership structures for close to 30 years, where long-term tenure and elevation through the ranks was a measure of loyalty and success, and served as a risk management tool for business. The future of work is trending differently – management and leadership is not the expectation. Financial security, agility, personal fulfilment, and balance are key considerations. Businesses that are not ready to adapt to appeal to their youngest employees risk a hollowing out of management and leadership in the future, and will fail to engage with short-term employees for it to be a win-win in the moment. Driven by expertise, personal growth, creativity, autonomy, balance, collaboration, and purpose, they need something more - something different - more congruent to their values. Equally, the youngest employees can choose to ‘opt out’ or ‘opt in’ and be part of shaping the solution; to reimagine what leadership can look like. Dawn challenges leaders and younger generations to think beyond short-term metrics of success, personal ambition, and preferences, and consider the enduring cultures, values, and systems they create - igniting a passion for leadership from younger working generations, and trust and sponsorship from those passing the baton on.

The Founder’s Challenge - Passing the Baton On

Founder's Syndrome, the phenomenon where a founder's disproportionate power and influence in a company hinders its growth and leads to operational problems.  Left unnoticed and unchecked, it repels talent and loyalty, creates bottlenecks, hinders decision-making, and prevents the development of robust governance and succession plans. Exits are made all the harder if this is play. Founders and Entrepreneurs are praised for involvement and control, until they become the very thing that caps the organisation’s growth. Dawn has advised countless founders and business owners on the brink of expansion or exit, or grappling with why their business is ‘so hard to run and grow’. She sees the emotional gravity of ownership and responsibility pull against the logic of change, empowerment and succession. This is the toughest and the most vital of work for both the leader owner and their team. Dawn argues that enduring companies emerge when founders and owners evolve from architects to stewards and get their ‘fix’ through sponsorship and collaboration, and seeing others flourish. Drawing on her M&A and negotiation work, she shows how collaboration, trust and transparency are the true measure of legacy and implementation of strategy.  The question isn’t whether you can scale your company, but whether you can scale yourself.