What Got Us Here, Won’t Get Us There

The systems that got us here were never designed for the future of work.

At Six, we’ve always believed strategy only works when it works for people. We make strategies more human to drive better business outcomes, inside organisations and out.

And leadership is where that starts.

Because what got us here won’t get us there.

What traditional leadership rewarded

In the past, leadership models often valued:

• Being present over making an impact
• Volume over thoughtfulness
• Long hours over sustainable performance
• Favouritism behind closed doors
• “Fitting the culture” over adding to it

For some, those systems worked.

For many others – people balancing multiple priorities, those returning to work, people from different backgrounds, and anyone who didn’t follow a linear path – they didn’t. And often the barriers weren’t written down anywhere. They were built into habits, assumptions, and unspoken expectations.

The generosity leadership now demands

We recently took the time to look inward. To listen. To share honestly.

And to recognise that progress comes from changing how we lead – not just celebrating how far we’ve come.

Leadership today requires intentional generosity:

• Giving power, not just chances
• Giving trust, not just permission
• Giving space, not just a seat at the table

It sounds simple, but it isn’t.

Because giving often means letting go of control, of ego, of “the way things have always been.”

We asked our team what these ideas meant to them. Their stories say more than any model or framework ever could.

Give power earlier

One colleague shared this:

“When I had my first child, I reached a real crossroads. I wanted to work part‑time, something no one else in the business had done at the time, because I believed deeply that I could have both a career and a family without compromising either. What I needed was trust, space, and a willingness from leadership to let me carve out a different path.”

And they got it. No judgement. No quiet side‑lining. No assumptions about their ambition.

That moment didn’t just support them during a transition – it shaped the leader they became.

Another colleague described how, in their very first agency role, their Creative Director trusted them early to take responsibility for identifying and delivering new opportunities. That early ownership shaped their expectations of what leadership should feel like: empowering, not hierarchical.

Power doesn’t have to follow tenure. Sometimes it should follow potential.

Because waiting for “readiness” often means people wait longer than they should.

Give trust - properly

Another story stood out:

“They employed me permanently after six weeks contracting. I was 51. I wasn’t who they thought they were looking for. But they trusted me.”

Thirteen years later, they’re still here.

Trust is not micromanagement disguised as oversight.

It’s not conditional. It’s not “prove it first.”

Trust says: I believe in you – now.

One colleague summed it up perfectly: great ideas rarely arrive neatly between 9 and 5. They might show up “in bed, in a bar or in the bath… and occasionally in the office.” When leaders trust creativity to take its own shape, better thinking happens.

Sometimes the most generous act of leadership is simply this:
You hired them for a reason. Trust them.

Give space - not just a seat

There’s a difference between inviting someone into the room and genuinely making space for their voice.

Many people, across many industries, have learned to:

• Soften their voice
• Edit their tone
• Read the room
• Make their ideas more “digestible”

It’s exhausting. So how do we change this?

One response said it plainly: “Listen to understand, not to reply, defend, or dismiss.”

Another reflected that in some workplaces, space isn’t given; it has to be claimed or fought for. That alone tells us something about the environments we create.

But we’ve seen what happens when space is intentionally created:

• Flexible working before it was standard practice.
• Quiet time to think.
• Fewer interruptions.
• Fewer assumptions.
• Less judgment.

When leaders listen, something shifts. People stop performing. They start contributing.

And organisations get better thinking, not just more of it. Because when people feel trusted and safe to speak, everything improves: creativity, decisions, retention, culture.

As one colleague put it:

“I didn’t have to perform a polished persona. I was trusted to lead in my own way, with empathy, curiosity, and the ability to connect with clients as real people.”

This is what human leadership looks like.