Purpose led leaders: Meet Amanda Dickens, CEO Visionnaires

"I am a leader, but not a conventional one. I see myself as somebody quite bold. When I’m all in, I’m all in."

Amanda Dickens is a leader who approaches her work with a strong philosophy of motivating and including people.

It isn't just the people she directly works with or coaches, it is everyone with whom she comes into contact.

The unique thing about Amanda is that she actively and consciously seeks out new people. Importantly, people who see things differently to her. She is constantly seeking out talent and building networks.

Amanda develops people, putting their talents to a purpose and getting them working in a diverse network that has the capacity to make genuine change. She leaves you with the strong impression that energy and dynamism characterise how she goes about things.

"I never do things in a conventional way that the business books would tell you how to do it.

I will always question it.

I take inspiration from everywhere and people see me as someone who thinks differently. I bring new ideas and new ways of thinking."

Amanda is passionate about making unusual connections between people, places, and other ideas. She sees this as the unique value that she adds.

"I am a motivator of people and inclusive of everyone. These are my superpowers! I know I’m not the best at everything but I can certainly bring people together who are."

For over 25 years Amanda has built a career that spans roles, starting out in marketing and public relations, as well as sectors (Surrey Learning and Skills Council to Deloitte) - before moving on to lead the Disruptive Innovation team at PwC in 2014. It was here that her interest in technology and education led her to become a startup mentor on the Barclays Techstars accelerator.

All this experience culminated in her forming Obythree Limited to provide technical product development and commercial strategy consulting to companies building new products and services. Amanda is now a regular mentor and coach for founders and senior leadership teams of startups and scaleups. In 2020, she co-founded Visionnaires with Pablo Lloyd OBE and has recently taken on the role of their CEO, to support under-represented Founders who want to build successful businesses.

So how does a great leader 'walk the talk' when it comes to inclusion?

"I have a big network of very different people."

Amanda's experience means she has worked in lots of organisations and sectors, and with people at all levels. So, when she needs help she proactively looks for someone who has the talent to succeed in the role.

"I can spot talent in people and I think widely about where that talent comes from. It isn't just the usual suspects I look for - graduates or the most experienced - you can miss out on exceptional talent if you don't look for it in other places."

This approach comes naturally to Amanda but she believes all leaders could reap the benefits of working like this if they step out of their comfort zone.

"People like to stay within their circle. I try to attend events with people who are different to me, and who I wouldn't normally come into contact with every day. They are the people who spark my thinking and help me connect different things.

 I recently met a woman at a dinner who’s in the film industry, not a sector I’ve worked in before - by the end of evening we had an idea for new fintech - filmfintech!"

This may make some people feel uncomfortable, so what is your advice?

"I’ve been doing it for over 25 years. Perhaps start with the idea of 'heat experiences' (a Silicon Valley term for throwing someone into the deep end so they learn and grow but you are there to catch them if they fall).

I do this to myself. I wouldn't ask people to do it if I wouldn't do it myself. So it's become a natural thing.

"I am pretty self aware as a leader. You have to be. I know what I’m good at and more importantly, what I’m not.  You have to be able to lead yourself first, before you lead others.

I know that not everyone would find working with me or my approach easy. I have learnt to adapt my behaviour to work well with others."  For example, recognising that not everyone likes to work at a pace on lots of different things at the same time.  One thing I do need to be careful of is burn out - I encourage my team to think about health and wellbeing whilst running myself into the ground!”

As a result, Amanda's leadership strength is to underpin talent-spotting and network-building using a coach approach.

" 'What's the dream?' I ask everyone this same question because the answer enables you to understand and support people; to help them make progress towards their goal, and motivate them to do their very best in their day-to-day role, while they make their way towards it."

The difficult part is that it takes time and effort to keep asking the right questions to get beyond the answer they think they should give, to get to their honest answer.

Amanda's attitude to talent may seem unsettling for some leaders who believe in securing the retention of people in their business. Instead, she believes in completely embracing talented people working with you to share their gifts while they can, even if it isn't for very long.

When the time is right those human connections - of difference - will spark new ideas, creativity and links to new people, to help get the job done.

Have you ever experienced any challenges as a leader working in this way?

"Earlier in my career, being a mixed-race woman, I didn't pay enough attention to the biases (unconscious or otherwise) that I was subject to. I just got on with it.

Now, with experience, I know that any biases that someone might have - is their problem, and not mine."

Amanda's reflection is that she could have done more to recognise this was happening to her and address it in her earlier career. But the fact is, she says:

"You have to live through experiences to fully reach understanding. That is why when I am mentoring I share my lived experience. That way people are more cognisant of where their experiences may be coming from - and they can start to take action, and build strength and resilience."

The challenge of being a working parent, and leader, is also a lived experience for Amanda.

Amanda took a four year career break to spend time with her children while they were small. This was not a straightforward decision and at the time she did feel some frustration at wanting to get back to work. It was a decision, though, about which she has no regrets. Our working lives are long and there is scope to have different phases of life, work and experience.

Amanda is now years into continuing a highly successful career. But none of this can be achieved without support. "I talk to many women who want to know how I have managed to do all this with three kids and the truth is I have an extremely supportive husband, and we share responsibilities 50/50"

Is there anything else that you wish you had known?

Some people believe they need to spend their 10,000 hours attaining mastery over a subject area. But some people are generalists. Amanda talks to people who worry there is no virtue in being a generalist and they should become an expert in something.

"I am a generalist.

Sometimes even an "expert generalist" - one who can dive deep and become an expert in a topic if and when it's necessary.

When I’m working solo I will go all in and throw myself down a rabbit hole. When I’m all in, I’m all in."

To Amanda it has never been about being a deep expert in only one thing.

Orit Gadiesh, chairman of Bain & Company, coined the term 'expert generalist', to describe “someone who has the ability and curiosity to master and collect expertise in many different disciplines, industries, skills, capabilities, countries and topics, etc.”

Amanda likes the idea that being an expert generalist is an advantage as a leadership style. Why? You cultivate a diverse base of knowledge that enables you to both drill deep and connect dots and see patterns across pieces of work. You learn from different people, sectors, companies and industries. If everyone is the same you will lack the spark, that comes with difference rubbing up against each other, that drives progress.

It sounds like this term describes how Amanda sees her work: as a network in which diverse people work collaboratively, sharing talents, to get to the best solution possible.

It's an ever-changing world...take Generative AI, so there will always be value in applying your skills to a range of topics. The world will need generalists, or expert-generalists to support the experts.

I say embrace it. I embrace it. Accept there is nothing wrong with it.

Don't fight them, your natural tendencies - they are your superpowers."

It has taken Amanda a very long time to be this comfortable with herself and she recognises that a lot of people are afraid to do it.

"Being comfortable in your own skin is being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and facing them, accepting them and working with the things you do well."

"I have come to realise that not being myself and being something I think others want or expect from me, is exhausting.

I have reflected on where I get my energy from, and it comes from building networks and working with people.

My advice to any leader is to become aware of where you get your energy, and there you will find your authentic self."

Visionnaires is a social enterprise that supports any UK adult aged 19+ who has a business idea and wants to get started, set up a side hustle or work for themselves. 

They can join their FREE five-day bootcamps and they'll give them the confidence and practical tools to get started.

We support leaders to uncover, articulate and activate their purpose; grow their businesses; achieve high performance through highly effective teams; and have a greater and better impact on the world. But there is no one type of great leader. 

We have been meeting with inspirational real-life leaders from our network to understand their leadership style.

We have captured their ideas in a series of newsletters, entitled Purpose led leaders.

We will shine a light on different people and their individual approach to leadership.

We hope you find the series interesting, inspiring and valuable to you wherever you may be on your leadership journey.

Subscribe to this newsletter for more features on real life inspirational and purpose led leaders.

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