In 2024, AB Entheos celebrated 10 years of operations. The company is the brainchild of Anne Kamau and Barbara Chesire, former colleagues from earlier in their respective careers. Launching and growing AB Entheos was the biggest professional challenge Anne and Barbara have faced. Through this blog series, they explain the challenges they have overcome, their successes and the lessons learned. This is the eighth instalment in their story of 10 lessons in 10 years, or 10-in-10.
After learning what type of individuals were likely to fit into AB Entheos evolving culture and company structure, 2022 marked the start of a deliberate growth plan. For Anne and Barbara, this meant developing a company strategy – for the first team, with a full team in tow. Here, the power of their partnership became evident. Anne was quick to credit Barbara for being the driving force behind their first strategy, through intentional planning.
Why the first business plan was more than just a formal strategy
Barbara’s approach to developing AB Entheos’ business strategy involved several steps. Formal retreats were organised for a core group of staff to consider what matters to the business and to determine how to execute its mission. Later, the entire team was invited to participate and provide their thoughts. Staff members were encouraged to define their yearly goals, with a clear link to the company strategy, and propose ways in which the organisation could achieve these goals.
This was a bold move. Several staff were young and still building up their work experience. Many founders would not easily entrust ownership of the company’s work to junior colleagues. However, Anne and Barbara felt that aligning their staff to a set of shared strategic goals could increase the likelihood of achieving the goals. These targets did not need to be perfectly hit – it was not a game of darts, after all. Progress was important, which was linked to annual key performance indicators. This helped team members to understand the direct impact of their work on their growth and pay.
Before, Barbara and I used to meet, perhaps with a close associate invited too. We would think about what to do for that year and then consider a strategy. But now, we had a team to include.
~ Anne Kamau
The next step was to encourage team development and build autonomy
With a business plan in place and objectives on how to achieve targets, Anne and Barbara set about encouraging the team to grow their capabilities. On-the-job training led to natural growth. Beyond this, staff were encouraged to identify training opportunities and represent the company at external events and meetings. This meant that the team could really own the strategy – not just help to make plans a reality. One result of this was the emergence of frequent new ideas for Anne and Barbara to consider, including how to improve existing initiatives.
Leadership involves setting big goals and empowering the team to achieve them. This helped us to foster autonomy and initiative within our young team.
~ Barbara Chesire
This has led to a strong culture and clear values at AB Entheos. Input from the wider team is always taken seriously, and people within the business are given significant autonomy. As part of this, and aligned with AB Entheos’ objective to develop protection for vulnerable communities, staff are trained on calculated risk-taking. This is seen as essential for decision-making. This does not mean that it is perfect. Innovation means that mistakes will be made – this is necessary to try new ideas and to grow.
“We didn’t want to be the only ones carrying all the weight”
Beyond the core team being committed to the mission, some have even expressed an interest in more ownership and responsibility. Given how they began, Anne and Barbara have prioritised empowerment across the company. Staff are encouraged to represent AB Entheos at meetings and conferences. This has helped to show that there is more to the business than the initial faces and names that have defined it. This has led to a strong sense of trust within the team, and increased trust has led to people becoming ever more effective agents of the company.
