Holistic leadership

Leadership Lessons with Elva Ainsworth

The Holistic 360° Specialist

What are the core principles of holistic leadership?

Holistic leadership can be understood through five key characteristics: inspiration, awareness, balance, transparency, and ethics. When leaders embody inspiration, employees are more motivated to perform at their best.

I had a great conversation about personal development through the 360 process with Elva Ainsworth, a passionate leader who has built her business around these principles.

Taking a leap

After a highly successful corporate career, she joined global psychometric specialist SHL to deliver penetrating client insights. But she also had more holistic interests.

In 2000, she took a leap, starting her own business, Talent Innovations, incorporating her thinking into assessment. Her goal was to deliver a comprehensive overview of each individual through traditional 360-assessments incorporating holistic analysis.

Elva has experienced many significant changes over the years, and in our discussion, she told me about some of these in detail. We learn genuine leadership lessons that will help anyone in a coaching or customer-facing role needing to spend more time on their business rather than being in it.

Find the space to ask the right questions

Elva had a successful corporate career with the RAC working in HR. But, aged 27, she had her first child, went on maternity, and decided to focus on what she loved: psychometric assessment. She joined one of the global leaders in the field, SHL.

At the same time, the 360 specialist was also training in homeopathy. 'That taught me a whole new world of energy, life balance, taking responsibility for your health.' Elva continued, 'If you have the right space, ask the right questions, listen, and have the right mirror – magical transformation happens.'

Elva wanted to introduce those features into her 360 feedback, but it was not aligned with SHL's approach. 'They thought I was a bit weird!' she laughed. But she was determined to follow her own path and, in 2000, set up her business, Talent Innovations. Her approach would make 360 a developmental process, not just an assessment. However, getting acceptance of her methodology took some time to gain traction.

Winning leadership acceptance

From day one, Elva was a highly competent and sought-after assessment mentor and facilitator. However, getting leaders' buy-in to her philosophy took time. 'Twenty years ago, leaders paid lip service to assessment. They were unprepared to look deeply at themselves and reflect on what needed change.’

Only in the last six to seven years has leadership matured enough for those leaders to be invested in exploring how they can be more effective. In our modern business world, leaders recognise self-awareness and emotional intelligence as key requirements. This has been a major shift in management thinking and has allowed Elva to deliver more of the holistic approach she firmly believes in.

The importance of pivoting

Elva had been running her business for several years when she took a holiday with her family. Sadly, her brother, fourteen years her junior, had a bad accident and broke a vertebra in his back. Consequently, he was laid up for over six months. She saw an opportunity, given he was a technical wizard. Elva asked her brother to design a 360-assessment tool. A few months later, she had her first spreadsheet-based tool. That moved her towards a more tools-focused consultancy, the first significant pivot.

Four years later, Elva fell pregnant, making it 'imperative to shift my business to another level.' She mind-mapped possible alternatives, realised she needed to focus on the product and withdrew from face-to-face consulting. 'I then realised I needed my brother in the business.' It took six months to persuade him, but eventually he succumbed. The business achieved £700k in revenue and grew markedly.

But five years later, her brother grew restless and decided to move on. Elva was unbowed and, twenty years on, offers clients her third-generation platform.

She says the big pivots in the business have happened when she has taken bold steps, 'like saying I won't do consultancy, I'm now on maternity leave.' Another was her decision to move her family to York, away from the business in London. 'It meant my team had to manage themselves!' It was a huge shift that forced Elva into a strategic rather than operational role. It was truly courageous.

Leading a business remotely

I wondered how Elva managed a London-based business from York. Her answer? 'I have to be incredibly structured with my time. I am very clear about who is accountable for what. And crucially, I have someone I fully trust responsible for the day-to-day business. And that hasn't always been the case.'

Elva emphasises she has to find the right people to work in her business because she doesn't run it on traditional commercial lines. Everyone worked part-time, and she was determined to ensure everybody was thoroughly cared for. 'It's like running another family alongside my two boys and husband.'

Stepping back

Talent Innovations was based on clients buying into Elva. I wondered how she removed herself from that. 'I had to be very strategic, making it clear I don't do that work now, but I can introduce you to someone who does.'

It took a lot of discipline and various alternative tactics. 'I would deliberately work double-handed with another consultant, demonstrating they were as effective as me.' Elva would play to their differences, highlighting her own weaknesses, often being a strength of the partner she had chosen to work with.

Letting go of her ego

Elva had to let go of her ego to get to where she wanted to be as a business leader. 'It was crucial. I learnt that someone else will do what I do but not necessarily the same way or to my standard.' That was challenging, but she had an epiphany when an associate addressed her ongoing desire to reduce her consulting hours: '70% of you is still good enough.' It proved the secret of delegation. Elva started to let go more often.

Delegation can be difficult for a practitioner with such expertise, but other benefits can derive from it. She started to find that other consultants would do things differently to her that were just as good, if not better.

Her other issue concerned the team working in the business. 'They had to feel empowered. When I let my ego get into performance-related issues, it gets a little nasty or awkward. People get upset.' Clearly, that was not the vibe Elva was looking for. She worked hard to overcome those moments when her ego would intervene: 'I sometimes have to take action to stop myself from getting obviously frustrated when one of the team does something plainly daft.' Occasionally, she will write a fiery email, then delete it before pressing send. 'Sometimes I just have to take a big breath.'

Her biggest lesson was to realise that she was responsible for everything in her business, no matter who or what caused a mistake. 'Taking responsibility for it all gets my ego out of the way.'

Pay attention to your energy

As always, I asked my interviewee for some wise words to end our conversation. Perhaps not surprisingly for someone embedded in homeopathy, Elva responded: 'Pay attention to your energy. It's the most critical thing.' Lockdown changed working habits considerably. While many people are back in offices more frequently, there are still plenty working from home at least two days a week.

'When we get a coffee or go to the lady's room, it acts as a natural break in the working day. Working from home can stop those happening as often. That's why it's so vital to be aware of your energy levels and address them when necessary.' As Elva says, neglecting your energy can have serious long-term consequences.

Elva Ainsworth epitomises a leader who is prepared to follow her passion, has made bold decisions when needed, and has learnt how to adapt her own behaviours to become a better leader. These are essential lessons for all of us and emphasise why her belief in a more holistic view of the individual is relevant to our frenetic world.

You can find out more on the company page for Talent Innovations