4 Ways Business Leaders Can Inspire the Team When Scaling Up Here's how to show your employees that you're ready to engage and motivate them to achieve success.

The shift from being a scrappy founder to forming an established, global company has meant learning to manage, work with, and inspire people who have different motivations and viewpoints. People who don't always see things the way I do became crucial partners in my company's evolution.

As a first-time founder-CEO, I've had to learn how to actively hire, engage and motivate a wide range of employees as the company evolves. As you scale up your business, here are four key traits to help bring your team along with you.

1. Curiosity: Keep minds enquiring

Ask and listen. Build a culture of continuous learning – and the type of workplace that helps get the best out of people, especially as their roles shifts within the company. Founders and CEOs should engage with as many people in the organisation as possible and be curious about their employees. 88% of employees deem workplace culture crucial for success, and casual one-on-one conversations as well as more formal group meetings provide a platform for engagement.

I'm personally available via Slack and encourage anyone to reach out (and I take the time to respond!). I also post on and peruse our all-staff channel, responding to people and reacting to fun comments, anniversaries, and wins. By observing what's motivating and demotivating the team, business leaders can help identify strategic areas for improvement and innovation across the business.

Paying attention to the details during these interactions can bring out valuable insights and build a sense of belonging and appreciation among employees too. Even birthdays, pets' names and hobbies outside of work might seem like trivial details, but they are crucial for building a strong connection with your team.

Encouraging team members to ask questions and explore new ideas enables them to find solutions to problems. This approach will enhance individual performance and drive your organisation's growth.

2. Enthusiasm: Spread the word

My personal motto is to marry the believers and divorce the naysayers. I put trust, belief and excitement into the team I hire. When a CEO or other business leader shows enthusiasm, it resonates with the team and creates a positive, energetic work environment. The key is to action this in clear and obvious ways, like walking the floor of the office, responding to company social and slack posts, highlighting individual stories or successes in company-wide meetings, and celebrating wins and milestones – no matter how big or small. I've learned the hard way that a business leader's presence has an outsized impact, both positive and negative.

It's also important to understand what motivates – and excites – employees. In the early days of building my company, I worked closely with a small team of people who shared my devout passion for stopping cyber threats. But as the company started to grow, it was time to bring in people with different experiences and skill sets to help round out the team. These folks were experts in their own area – and got excited about spreadsheets, budgeting tools and marketing tactics. While every person was different, they all brought value in their own unique ways. I had to learn what motivated and excited them so together we could realise the greater mission of the company.

3. Transparency: Be open and honest

One of my strongest beliefs is that great leadership requires transparency. I believe that being open builds trust. When I'm honest about my failures as well as my successes, and communicate the company's goals and performance candidly, it helps establish a solid foundation. This openness encourages our team to engage more deeply with the company's mission. By knowing the mission, and where we are, each team member can determine how they can contribute to it moving forward.

I've been very open about the fact that we made a mistake a few years ago when we focused on a direct sales strategy and stepped away from the channel and key partners who were committed to growing together. I painfully realised our error and owned up to it, shifting leaders, focus, and resources to correct the course and re-engage with our partner community.

External transparency is equally important. For example, the SolarWinds breach put our company's resilience to the test. We knew that the way we managed our communication, both internally and externally, would be critical. Instead of staying silent or downplaying the issue, we chose to be upfront about what happened and what we were doing to address it. Business leaders shouldn't shy away from sharing their personal experiences, especially their mistakes and the lessons learned from them. Overcoming failure is part of the journey to success.

4. Humility: Lead by example

Finally, be the least knowledgeable person in the room. It might sound surprising, but surrounding yourself with individuals who are smarter, more skilled and hold different qualifications is essential. Recognising that you don't have all the answers and being willing to learn from others is a sign of strength, not weakness. Prioritise bringing in talent that surpasses your own.

I'm also a fan of actively seeking different perspectives and recently brought in a trusted customer, sales and support leader to our product organisation so he could infuse the customer perspective into all that we build. This ensures a continuous influx of new ideas and perspectives that will drive innovation.

It is a transition to keep up with your team as it grows, but each person brings their own unique value. Nurture connections, communicate openly and show appreciation for their contributions. Recognise hard work and dedication via public and private communication channels, celebrate successes (we use Bonusly to give peer-to-peer kudos, shout-outs during all hands and lots of emojis on Slack).

A company's greatest asset is its people, and by investing in them, you build a stronger future for the business while also opening new doors to growth and opportunity for all.