An Interview with Stephen McGee, CEO, Scottish Friendly | Introduced by Odgers

'Introduced by Odgers' features exceptional individuals appointed to prestigious leadership positions globally, demonstrating our strong client partnerships across various industries and sectors. 

Peter Henry, Managing Partner of Odgers Scotland, caught up with Stephen to explore how his leadership influences the insurance mutual, as well the top three approaches needed to be a successful leader. 

How does your leadership influence your company and wider stakeholders? 

Becoming CEO came with a surprise - even after being senior in several organisations.

I hadn’t fully appreciated just how much weight every word and every action carries as a CEO. I’ve held roles very close to CEO, but experiencing it firsthand was a real lesson. Even when you are clear something is just your opinion, people are influenced by it and often adjust their stance. 

It’s about using your leadership style to really leverage the strengths around you. And that matters - not just in how I work with the Board or our Delegates, but in how I engage with all colleagues.

That sets the tone for the whole business.

What are your top three tips for success in leadership? 

1. Build the best team with the best people, a team that you trust. The individuals should complement one another’s skillsets to work well collectively as a team.   
2. Create the right environment for success. Start with a clear vision - one that defines what success looks like for the business, the team, and each individual. That clarity helps everyone understand their role and stay motivated by a shared purpose. Then, build the right culture. No one has all the answers, and no one is perfect. So it’s about recognising and leveraging the strengths across the team to get the best outcomes. 
   Empower people to deliver, and you’ll create an environment where success is not just possible, but sustainable too. 
3. Once you've set up the environment for success, move out of the way! Empower, coach, help and support your teams. Enabling them to be successful and help them to be the best version of themselves is critical. My son asked me what a CEO does and the best way I could explain it was, if I worked really hard, I could maybe do the job of two people, but if I can get 10% out of my team and through that get 10% more out of everybody in the business, instead of adding one person to the organisation, it’s equivalent to adding 30. 

Introduced by Odgers | Success Story

Odgers partnered with Scottish Friendly to identify a transformational CEO, with Stephen McGee commencing his role in April 2022.

To discover more about Stephen’s future goals for the business, his transition from a NED to CEO, and his journey with Odgers as both a candidate and a client, read his unique success story below. 

Introduced by Odgers | Stephen McGee Success Story

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