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As the heartbeat of any organisation, leaders are the architects of success, shaping a culture that not only values but actively nurtures the professional development and growth of its employees. In her role as Executive Director, People and Culture for mSix&Partners, one of the world’s fastest-growing media agencies, Sarbjit Sahota understands this better than most.
In today’s conversation, Max Webber, Co-Host of The Interview, sat down with Sarbjit to discuss issues ranging from building a sense of belonging in the era of hybrid work to the importance of fostering a culture of lifelong learning and growth.
I’m the Executive Director for People and Culture at mSix&Partners. My responsibilities are to take care of our people and make sure they are at the centre of everything we do. We have teams based across the UK and around the world and we’re trying to bring that all together into a single, integrated employee experience. Outside of work, I also support running a girls’ school in India, serve as co-chair for governors for a school in Hertfordshire, and teach Punjabi at a local gurdwara.
I’ve had an interest in business for as long as I can remember. My father owns his own business and, from a young age, I wanted to be involved in absolutely everything! That gave me key insights into the importance of hard work and the fundamentals of how a business functions. After I completed my postgraduate degree, I began working as an HR generalist at a company in London called Boardex. Whilst there, I studied for my Master’s and my CIPD, progressing to become a Global HR Manager working across London, New York, and Chennai. That experience really shaped me, and it helped me build cultural awareness and an appreciation of diverse perspectives. From there, I went on to work with Virgin Management, News UK, and Microsoft, where I stayed for almost ten years. Throughout my career, I’ve intentionally made an effort to understand different specialisms such as operations, mergers and acquisitions, and employee relations. Over the pandemic, I took a career break to raise my young family before joining mSix&Partners in February 2023. People are at the core of everything we do here, and our ambition is to become the most important place in our people’s careers.
I think inclusion is underpinned by belonging. A strong focus on belonging can really strengthen inclusion initiatives and improve outcomes. We’re a people business, and we strive to ensure that everyone feels respected, valued, and heard. We understand the value of having a wide range of voices around the table and how they can enrich our work. Our goal is to create a work environment which encourages our people to freely exchange insights and perspectives. We do that in a number of ways, from weekly stand ups to regular lunch-and-learns. In addition, we also carry out regular pulse checks using our instant, anonymous feedback tool. That helps us know how people are feeling and understand what changes we need to make. For example, we recently expanded our well-being benefits to apply to employees’ family members, which was something our people had been asking for. A better sense of belonging results in greater motivation, higher performance, and a more inclusive workplace.
It’s also important to acknowledge that working patterns have changed since the pandemic; our hybrid work policy empowers our employees and gives them the flexibility to create a work schedule which aligns with their personal lives. In terms of support, we also have an employee resource group called The Collective which meets regularly to discuss issues facing our people and provide recommendations for improvements. We’re proud to be a disability-confident committed employer and a participant in Ambitious About Autism’s Internship Program. Representation isn’t just reflected in leadership but at all levels of a business. So we’ve partnered with secondary schools to host Advertising Unlocked events which will hopefully lead to a pipeline of more diverse talent in the future.
It’s all about the environment that you create. You need to be flexible in your approach and establish a mindset of continuous learning and growth. As a leader, you need to be adaptive and take a collaborative approach instead of a “command-and-control” style. The key is creating safe spaces where people feel included, accepted, and empowered. All of that creates the right environment for inclusivity to thrive. Healthy, happy, and high-performing teams allow us to do our best work as a business. We put a lot of emphasis on feedback: our anonymous survey is always running, and we make sure to respond to every single query. Above all, leaders need to listen to their people. Finally, you need to allow people the space to experiment, creating a culture which celebrates successes and learns from mistakes.
Like I said earlier, it’s about being adaptable and taking a collaborative approach. Reverse-mentoring is a key tool that opens you to the diverse perspectives of the people in your team. As a leader, you need to be always learning. Stay open to feedback, keep your finger on the pulse, and be agile in your responses. Our leaders are already doing these things in a client space, and that fosters a mindset of growth and innovation.
It’s about embedding a culture of lifelong learning: we want to develop learners instead of know-it-alls! Our leaders take the responsibility for developing our people very seriously, and we actively promote opportunities for our staff to learn and grow. People are encouraged to be creative and to try new approaches. It's not only important to learn from your successes, but also your setbacks. We recently achieved our IPA Platinum accreditation, which is down to the huge investment we’ve put into employee development.
First, make sure you aim for the stars. Even if you miss, you’ll still hit the sky. Second, always do what you think is right. Filter out the noise, and make sure you always stand by what you believe in.
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