“The first thing that I needed to do was to start creating a safe space for my staff to challenge me. The harder part was for my staff to fail. And sometimes when they failed, we lost clients. And that was really bitter, bitter pills to swallow. But I realised very quickly that if I was to create the safe space, I had to stop micromanaging. Because the minute I started micromanaging, the space was no longer safe. “ S01E08 of the Rethink Culture podcast shines the spotlight on Dillon Jeary, a Cape Town based serial entrepreneur with empathic leadership. Dillon is the founder of Kilowatt, a live events production company, 180 digital, an animation and digital content creation business, Three Peak Studio, for virtual broadcasting, and Circle Forward, a consultancy for team building events. Dillon is a micromanager turned empathic leader with an open mind and a wide open heart. He talks about the importance of creating a safe space for his staff to make mistakes, to challenge him, and to share their feedback. Why “culture is what happens when no one else is watching” and how he came to realise the importance of culture only once his company hit 30 people. How he audits the culture of his companies, and has a committee of company representatives to solve the most important culture issues. How he gives factory workers flexible work hours, something unheard of in his industry. Why he thinks that mental health is extremely important for his staff, and how he makes his people “battle ready” by helping them look after themselves. And finally, why a culture of accountability, freedom, trust, communication and emotional intelligence are critical to attract the top young talent of today into our businesses, but also to attract good customers, good suppliers, and create a sustainable ecosystem. Listen to Rethink Culture wherever you get your favourite podcasts, including: (Spotify)  https://open.spotify.com/show/4BLXQ8CgFHvYG6UoIQazj9 (Apple podcasts)  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rethink-culture/id1655123154(YouTube)  https://www.youtube.com/@rethinkcultureFurther references: Dillon Jearey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-jearey/Dillon Jearey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DillonJeareyKilowatt: https://kilowatt.co.za/Humankind, by Rutger Bergman: https://www.amazon.com/Humankind-Hopeful-History-Rutger-Bregman/dp/0316418536