A Masterclass in Humble, High-Stakes Leadership

Gary Keogh had a once in a lifetime opportunity as Global Brand Director for Balvenie, a renowned whisky, to lead the launch of 60-year-old Balvenie.

“That was whisky that was put in a cask in 1962, and it was taken out of the cask in 2022,” he mused. “I wasn’t even born when the whisky was put into the cask, right? But I was fortunate enough to be the Global Brand Director for that brand at the time it came out of the cask, and we had the chance to launch 71 bottles.”

A rare opportunity indeed!

So how does an experienced brand expert like Gary, hired by the parent company to lead, approach this challenge?

First, Gary led with humility.

“I just have to say that I don’t have all the answers,” Gary said matter of factly. “There’s not a leader on the planet that does. No matter how successful a CEO or a business founder, they just do not have all the answers. That might have been the way a generation ago, a more command and control leadership style, but the world is so complex and it’s so fast to change now that it’s impossible for any one individual to scan everything that’s happening and be able to come up with the answer.”

Next, Gary relied on his team.

He admitted he had his own perspective on what they should do for this launch, but, he said, “It was never as good as talking to the team in the US, the team in Taiwan, and the team in Shanghai, which is where we predominantly wanted to sell this particular product, about how we were going to do it.”

Together, they blended ideas from headquarters with ideas from the team. This included a unique bottle design with six layers of glass etched with memories from the renowned Honorary Ambassador and former Malt Master, David C. Stewart, who joined Balvenie the year the whisky went into the cask. Uniquely, the bottle carries the signatures of both Stewart and current Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie. The whisky was launched with marquee events in London and across other countries in the US and Asian markets.

The result? “We wouldn’t have commanded the price premium or got the PR coverage in the different channels that we launched it in without the collective input of a diverse team that operated…in different parts of other world.”

And, Gary lead with consistent curiosity supported by a culture of safety.

Turning to his team wasn’t an aberration for Gary. It was the way he led every day.

Gary said his approach was, “…born out of necessity and also knowing yourself that there'll be someone in your team that's probably got a better idea than you. Actually, not even probably, more likely to have a better idea than you!”

Understanding the importance of psychological safety, a core part of Gary’s expertise and leadership coaching practice today, he said, “For me, it was important to create an environment where people shared [ideas] with me.”

The trusting, encouraging culture fostered a tradition of innovation and meaningful contributions at the family-owned company, William Grant & Sons, and this supported his leadership instincts and practices too.

Owning responsibility.

Gary noted that as the leader responsible for looking after a fabulous and distinguished brand like Balvenie, that sold in 190 markets, it was on him to make final decisions. But to do this wisely, he had to engage people to gain their insights and to grasp what was happening in all those markets.

He said,

“You can't sit in an ivory tower and go, well, it just has to be this way. Because I think that's a really quick way to turn people off and not hear about how great things could be if you use that local knowledge.”

I loved talking to Gary, hearing his examples and is conviction about loving leadership, listening, diversity and respect and the tremendous financial, creative and human benefits that come from Loving Leadership.

Are you a leader who struggles with this? Maybe you feel uncomfortable, like you are shirking responsibility by relying on others? Or perhaps the pressure is on you to be a strong leader who’s in control of everything. 

Those pressures are real. But Gary offers this:

“That might be hard for some people in leadership positions to hear [that they should listen to and engage others] because they may think, well, hang on, I have to be decisive, I have to be definitive, I have to show confidence, I have to act quickly. And perhaps you do. But I think you do that even better when you have more diverse perspectives that you can bring together and get to the best place.”

I couldn’t agree more! Those are the benefits of leading with love!

You can hear Gary’s full interview on the Love Lead Change podcast. 

And if you want to talk about how you and your team can embed love in your leadership practices and culture, drop me a message (renee@makeworkmorehuman.com). I'll reach out to set up a time to talk about options.