I’ve been following Gary Neville as an entrepreneur since I watched his interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary Of A CEO.

What I loved about Gary in this interview is his understanding of the importance of people and a strong people centric culture in business.

Gary Neville: From Football Legend To Building A Business Empire

I was thrilled to see Gary as a guest dragon on Dragons Den and even more thrilled to see his understanding of the importance of people transferred from the podcast to the den!

I was blown away by the traits of a people centric leader that Gary flawlessly portrayed.

I’m a big fan of Dragons Den and I think all the dragons are all super smart and inspirational. They all portray fabulous traits of leadership but something about Gary stood out to me.

For those who didn’t see this episode, the pitch was from Liam Browne for his product Full Power Cacao. Liam gave an excellent pitch which created much interest from all the dragons.

Below is the leadership traits I witnessed from Gary in just this one pitch in the den.

• Personable and likeable – Gary has a likability factor. He was obviously a big football star and pundit but he seems to have a lovely down to earth nature about him.

• Positive energy and vibes – Gary looked very comfortable in the den and seemed to make others at ease also. He brought a great sense of fun, positivity and laughter.

• Encouraging – Gary listened tentatively to all the pitches and when it came to Liam Browne of Full Power Cacoa he was incredibly encouraging.

Pretty much all of the dragons emulate the above leadership traits but Gary brought something else!

Gary’s offer to Liam was all of the money sharing his investment with 10% for Peter, 10% for Steven and 5% for himself.

Below is what made Gary Neville stand out for me as a true people centric leader.

• Humility – Gary was humble enough to not want all of the pie, to want what is best for everyone and not focus solely on making the most money. In all of the episodes I have watched of Dragons Den I have never seen a dragon ask for a lesser % than those dragons he was co-investing with.

• Ability to bring others together – Because Gary wasn’t focused solely on making money he was able to think outside the box in terms of his offer. He brought in 3 dragons and took a lower % than the other 2 dragons – genius!

• Understands the strengths of others – Gary highlighted the skills that Peter and Steven brought to the table and recognised how important they were which is why his offer was 10% for them and only 5% for himself

• Understands his own strengths – Gary understood exactly what he brought tp the table for Liam Browne. He was offering his personal support, his local support, doing what he can for this business and his city. Gary’s offer had nothing to do with profits and making money, it was about supporting people and his city!

Lean leaders put people first.

By doing this they make different decisions to those who put profits first.

Leaders who put people first see opportunities through a different lens.

Gary Neville highlighted he was a leader who puts people first and so made an offer that no one else had thought of! Taking a lesser % than those dragons he was co-investing with may be a first for The Dragons Den, I don’t know!

I love to see leaders putting people first and getting the best out of everyone which in turns gets the best out of their business!

Well done Gary, a true unassuming leader!

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Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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