Name: Alex Watson

Title: Director and Principal Mortgage Broker

Organisation: Funded Finance

Husband to Anna and a Dad to Ronia & Clara I'm busy but still passionate about learning and growing. I've dreamt of being self-employed most of my life but had to establish a career first - I'm now 12 months into business, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Alex's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

When I was a younger leader working at a Big Bank I really struggled with an internal expectation to have to respond to everything immediately (I'd watched way too much TV). That built a lot of issues and frustrations that I had to work through. More recently it's been the pressure of managing payroll and providing for people that initially led to a few sleepless nights. Thankfully we've come through that period!

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I initially got a taste of leadership leading a sales team - it was somewhat academic, I was the best salesperson and had good people skills so they gave me a shot. I said yes because it was always something I wanted to do.

The idea of providing a great workspace and lifting others up whilst protecting them from the overall pressure of the business was very attractive. Ultimately I realised that teaching, leading and pulling others along to a bigger vision that I had was something I wanted to dedicate my life to.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I have blocks for the mandatory things in my life. I wake up and exercise first. I spend the morning preparing my family for their day. Make breakfast for the family, shower get dressed and take the girls to daycare - generally, that's all done by 8 am. It's then a structured day around work. Networking, client appointments, team training and morning huddles will take precedence, but the night before I'll schedule time for outbound sales calls emails and processing applications (the actual work).

I have monthly operational activities that I schedule monthly as well. My morning priority is to review the day's work, prioritise what the team needs to do and launch them to nail their day from our 9:30 am huddle. Ultimately I down tools at 6 pm at the latest every day to spend at least an hour with my family until my daughters go to bed at 7 pm. My wife and I generally will spend some time together, and eat dinner if we didn't already eat with the girls, we'll then do one of the following: Finish up any work left for the day, sometimes a client meeting will happen after hours.

Read a non-fiction book, do some study and; Meditate/pray to finish my day before I go to bed by 9 pm. Some of the daily blocks can be flexible if I have an event to attend, that's negotiated by a constant dialogue between my wife and me and I generally try to limit those/give her as much warning as possible.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

It's hard to pin it down, I'm constantly on a growth journey at the moment. Maybe threefold. Firstly - Stop and have fun. I'm so structured in my day and how I operate personally that stopping and taking time to just have a bit of mischief with the team, quote The Office and shoot the breeze - it all feels like I'm wasting time - but I've come to realise that it's an extremely important tool to building culture and allowing the team time to breath Secondly - there's no perfect recruitment process, only the perfect onboarding process.

I've really been challenged to step my business up to provide a template for success for new team members within 3 months of joining. I had a team member cry recently because they'd never had training or been invested in. Actions are a language and I truly believe well-structured onboarding and training is instrumental to that.

Lastly - I want buy-in from my people and I think part of that is having a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal for those Jim Collins fans) - but that only gets you so far. It's setting a giant why and leading a crusade towards that. I have large goals that are so much greater than my own enrichment. By setting that vision and why, my people start seeing my heart, they see the effort and want to be pulled towards that.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so

far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The Motive by Patrick M. Lencioni I go back to this book regularly. I love Patrick M. Lencioni's writing and the way he presents the lesson within the story. This book helped me refine how I view leadership as a concept. It highlights how leadership is often seen as a reward for years of hard work as an employee, or from the perspective of "I'm the boss, so you work for me." As a result, many leaders struggle to define their role or their why.

This book helped me realise that starting a business and hiring employees wasn’t the reward for a successful corporate career but rather the beginning of a whole new challenge. The humble approach of the characters in the book really resonated with me. I find Patrick M. Lencioni and Simon Sinek to be highly influential in shaping how I view leadership and the CEO/Director role.

I don’t want my leadership to be seen as my inherent right as the owner or director. Instead, I want to serve my team and continuously improve - whether that’s through running effective meetings, delivering impactful training sessions, or fostering a culture of growth and excellence.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

It feels a bit odd to say this at 34, but I made the mistake of being a young, know-it-all leader in my mid-20s. My advice? Prioritise learning emotional intelligence above everything else, especially if you’re leading people who are older or more experienced than you.

There’s often a wealth of knowledge and lessons right in front of you if you’re willing to be inquisitive, and humble, and ask thoughtful questions of those you lead. Mastering this skill will have you flying as a leader before you know it.

I also think our focus on technical expertise as a pathway into leadership—while important—doesn’t set us up to lead effectively. Everyone loves the star player on a team. But no one loves the “star” coach who forgets they have a team that got them there to begin with.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far? I had a moment recently where I had to pinch myself. My initial goal for going into business and having staff was simple: I wanted to hire people who could cover my weaknesses so I could create my dream job. But in the hustle of leadership, I lost sight of that and instead focused on educating, growing, and finding the right fit for my team within the organisation. We got stuck into the cause together. I shared my why, my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and the great crusade I’m on.

Not long ago, it all hit home when one of my team members cried tears of joy, telling me she’d never been so invested in, taught, or developed like this in her entire career. A week or so later, I had to pinch myself again. Without realising it, I was actually working my dream job. It’s incredibly rewarding to see my people not just pulling for me and my vision, but also for their own futures. They see a future in my vision that’s big enough to include achieving their own dreams. HECK YEAH – let’s go!