One of the UK’s leading performance psychologists Martin Littlewood has been brought in by Quooker’s MD Stephen Johnson, to look at how to connect its people and purpose best to drive performance.

With a fast-growing UK and Irish team, coupled with a desire to continue to excel and drive individual and corporate success, Littlewood has been hired as a consultant to focus on helping foster a workplace culture that empowers.  

With an impressive background in sports, Littlewood has built his reputation consulting in the world of professional golf and football, working with clubs such as Bolton Wanderers FC, Everton FC, Leicester City FC, Rangers FC and the Premier League on their Elite Academy Manager’s development programme. His work with these sporting professionals, grounded on how correct self-identity and self-expectation feeds into wider team success, was the reason behind the appointment.  

Johnson comments, ‘Quooker UK is now the size of a corporate company, but we want a workplace culture that aligns more closely to that of a start-up. One that puts people first, can be flexible to the individual, that is based on trust and ultimately is a place where employees look forward to coming to work and giving it their all. I have always maintained that our phenomenal success over the past decade is of course due in large part to the world-class product, but in equal measure due to our people. Company culture is crucial to get right which is why we have invested time and resources into it. Working with Martin has been brilliant in helping us navigate and implement this and we have already seen huge benefits across all teams.’ 

The psychology of personal performance  

Commenting on his appointment, Littlewood states, ‘There are so many parallels between professional team sport and the world of business. You have groups of driven people working towards a shared goal, all with individual responsibilities and unique character traits. My job is to work out how to get the best out every single employee to help the company perform dynamically as a whole.’ 

He continues, ‘When working with individuals, you must first understand who they are and what their unique job in the company is, which takes time and trust. Only by understanding people as individuals can you help them work out their personal goals and focus – where they want to get better or how they can grow most efficiently.’ 

Utilising Littlewood’s Spotlight Profile, Johnson and his SMT have been better able to understand how team members cope under the spotlight, how they respond under pressure, what motivates them each day, how they see their role in the bigger picture etc. The profile adopts a strength-based approach rather than identifying deficiencies. It is about recognising and appreciating colleagues above all.  

Leading from the front and in the spirit of transparency, Johnson’s profile was shared with his whole team. Johnson comments, ‘It is not about hiding who you are, but sharing it. We all come with different strengths and weaknesses, that’s what makes our company unique. By acknowledging and accepting where I am both good and bad at something, helps identify the gaps and how others can step-up to fill them. When this same process is done in every team across the whole company, it helps us better plan and focus hiring around missing skillsets.’ 

Cultivating a culture of ‘we’ not ‘me’ 

Despite being a cultural buzzword of the past few years, wellbeing is more essential than ever for employers to consider. ‘The balance between prioritising performance versus wellbeing is a tricky one to get right. Companies should want to create an environment where it is ok to find something challenging, providing you learn from it. A workplace culture that is ok with failure if it leads to growth is a healthy one’ states Littlewood.  

‘With Quooker, we are looking at building resilience through failure. Much like elite sports which can be ruthless and unforgiving, failure and mistakes can be tolerated, whereas egos that try to deflect responsibility for those mistakes will not be. Egos are intrinsically linked to fear. If you remove a culture of fear, you remove the ego. My job is to work with individuals to hep them better understand themselves and to work out what stimulates fear for them, so they can be better prepared and more settled at work. Indeed, it is only through humility that success can be practically built.’ 

Johnson adds, ‘We are one team at the end of the day. We want people to bring their whole selves to work and see how valuable they are to the bigger picture. Our goal is to give our employees the freedom to perform and give them the best environment in which to succeed. Their happiness is therefore paramount to me and I’m committed to ensuring our workplace is a positive one.’ 

The perils and power of leadership 

Speaking on the topic of leadership, Littlewood notes, ‘Quality leadership makes or breaks a company. When your leadership are out of touch, unwilling to listen or transparent, it inevitably trickles down to create a workplace of fear or intimidation. Leaders must be mindful of the shadows they cast; people naturally follow what they see.  

A healthy workplace is one where there is real freedom to speak truth to power. Are the leaders open to constructive criticism, without fear of reciprocation? Are the leaders willing to change? Are employees given a voice? Is there an open-door policy to the MD’s office?  

The answer to these questions is yes at Quooker. Being driven to succeed, but not at the expense of people, is at the centre of Stephen’s leadership. It is refreshing to see his desire to get the best out of every employee. He expects hard work but in return promises investment into them as individuals.’ 

The Quooker Creed 

 ‘My mantra has Quooker has always been a simple one. To show up and be better today than we were yesterday. Martin has been instrumental in helping develop this into a tangible company creed. Something every employee promises to abide by and is a non-negotiable set of values for new starters to agree to.’  

Littlewood continues, ‘I worked with Quooker on their creed, ensuring it was something everyone at the company was proud of and had contributed to. It was vital every person knew they had a voice, that they were not invisible and that they could wholeheartedly implement. Creeds are not just buzzwords, they are actionable; although I was keen for the team not to shy away from being aspirational. Quooker’s creed is based on four common values – teamwork, trust, respect and passion. The power of this creed is that is has been developed by everyone.’ 

Quooker, under Johnson, continues to be a thriving company. It has recently been named by the Sunday Times as one of the best medium-sized companies to work for in the UK, as voted for by employees, as well as being recognised as one of the fastest growing companies in the North West in the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 list. His work with Martin Littlewood on company culture and personal success has been transformative and the ongoing partnership is set to continue to bear fruit.  

For more on Quooker’s partnership with Martin Littlewood, expert comment, or additional brand information, please contacted the team at quooker@houston.co.uk