When the stakes are high and the market moves fast, the temptation is to lead with authority.

But in Episode 6 of Lead Out Loud, Butlin's CEO Jon Hendry-Pickup and Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategy, reveal why long-term success depends on sharing power and staying curious. 

Consumer-facing industries are notoriously competitive. Jon knows this first-hand. With a career spanning Aldi, Tesco, Travelodge, Prezzo, and now Butlin’s, he’s spent decades navigating high-volume, high-pressure environments. Yet, for someone at the helm of major UK businesses, his leadership philosophy might surprise you. 

“You just can't do it on your own,” says Jon. “The idea of the all-seeing, all-knowing leader is a myth. It’s a team game.” 

Professor Stadler, who has spent years researching what makes companies survive beyond 100 years, agrees - and prefers his vantage point outside the C-suite. 

“I’ve never wanted to be a leader,” he says with a smile. “I’d rather advise than command. But what I’ve found is, enduring organisations are led by people who embrace what they don’t know.” 

Leadership that listens 

One of the first traits both Jon and Professor Stadler identify as essential for long-term leadership is humility. 

“You need to avoid taking yourself too seriously,” says Professor Stadler. “That doesn’t mean being passive - it means understanding your blind spots and knowing where your team can see more clearly than you.” 

Jon echoes the same thought with a nod to modern business complexity. 

“The amount of data, the rate of change, the pace of consumer behaviour - it’s vast,” says Jon. “So if you think you can absorb all of that alone and make perfect decisions, you’re delusional.” 

That’s why, he says, empowering your team - from top executives to the most junior front-line staff - isn’t a soft skill. It’s a strategic imperative. 

The pyramid is flatter than you think 

“You’re asking the least qualified, lowest-paid people in the business to represent your brand every day,” says Jon. “So they have to be trusted. And that trust needs to come from the very top.” 

He describes his team of 10 leaders as a mix of institutional memory and fresh perspectives - some who’ve been there for three decades, others for just over a year. 

“It works because they’re all willing to challenge one another,” he says. “If everyone agrees all the time, we’re probably not making the best decisions.” 

Bringing in the unexpected voice 

Christian shares a surprising method he’s used to spark fresh thinking: he joined a leadership team for a luxury sneaker brand - and brought ChatGPT into the boardroom. 

“I fed the agenda into it and handed the output to the team during the meeting. Five pages of prompts. I thought they'd hate it,” he laughs. “But they loved it. It disrupted the rhythm in a good way.” 

It wasn’t that the technology gave new answers, but that it challenged the team’s routines. The founders, two brothers, knew each other so well that they finished each other’s sentences. The AI provided just enough interruption to force them to slow down and rethink. 

Don’t just make decisions - build buy-in 

Whether it’s AI, customer feedback, or a push from middle management, both Jon and Professor Stadler stress that challenge should be designed into the leadership process. 

“I worked with a company in Dubai,” says Christian. “The real challenge wasn’t deciding what to do - it was making sure people actually wanted to do it.” 

He ran internal surveys and cross-level workshops to bring middle managers into the fold - not just as implementers, but as co-creators of strategy. 

“It’s easy to make decisions in a boardroom,” he says. “But getting people to believe in those decisions? That takes structure.” 

The leader’s real job 

For Jon, it all comes down to one thing: focus. 

“I love Warren Buffett’s line - ‘The CEO’s job is to say no to almost everything’. That’s exactly it. You have to be relentlessly clear on what matters, and make space for your team to thrive around that clarity.” 

Which brings the conversation full circle: great leadership isn’t about having the loudest voice or the fastest answers. It’s about staying curious, listening well, and trusting the people around you to challenge the plan - not just execute it.

Further reading:

Understanding the impact of autocratic leadership

Five steps to find your own leadership style

Five steps to harness adaptive leadership in turbulent times

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