158: How Prioritizing Culture Helped One CEO Lead a Powerful Transformation with Lindsley Ruth

The World Class Leaders Show

In this episode of The World-Class Leader Show, Andrea Petrone sits down with Lindsey Ruth, an award-winning CEO who led a groundbreaking transformation at RS Group, pushing the company from the FTSE 250 to the FTSE 100 in record time. Known for his unique approach to leadership, Lindsey dives into the strategies that helped him turn a struggling business into an industry leader. But what exactly was his secret?

For CEOs and aspiring leaders, Lindsey's story offers a fresh perspective on navigating high-stakes challenges. He shares surprising insights about why traditional CEO roles are evolving and reveals what it really takes to build a team that drives massive growth. Why does he believe that culture, not performance metrics, is at the heart of success? And how did he rally his team to embrace continuous improvement, even in uncertain times?

This episode also explores a question many leaders face: how do you keep pushing boundaries when success is already within reach? Lindsey hints at the mindset and actions that kept him striving for more, never accepting the status quo. Could his approach to leadership inspire a new path forward in your own organization?

Additionally, Lindsey opens up about the often-overlooked toll of leadership on health and family life. As CEOs deal with intense pressure, how do they protect their personal well-being and relationships? Lindsey offers candid reflections on the sacrifices made and how he found ways to balance it all. For leaders feeling the strain, his insights could reveal a path to not just success, but a sustainable and fulfilling leadership journey.

Episode Highlights ⤵

• Get out from behind your desk early on. Go meet frontline staff and ask for unfiltered perspectives on the business to inform your strategy.
• Culture change must come from within, not top-down mandates. Help people see the why before dictating the what. Buy-in beats forced compliance.
• Your staff are your top stakeholders. Tend to their wellbeing and engagement first so they can deliver for customers.
• Loneliness comes with the CEO job. Have an executive coach you trust as a sounding board for advice and accountability.
• Take smart risks when complexity abounds. Stay open to opportunities along with self-awareness to thrive.
• Reflect regularly by journaling pivotal leadership lessons. Review for continuous improvement.

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About Andrea Petrone:

Andrea Petrone is a Performance and Executive Coach, Facilitator, and Speaker. He helps CEOs and their Leadership Teams to achieve breakthrough performance and build healthy organizations.

Before launching his advisory firm, Andrea held C-suite executive roles in energy, industrial and consulting for more than 20 yrs at the international level. He worked in six countries and three continents.

Andrea works with clients from all over the world, from North America to Saudi Arabia.

Andrea hosts the popular podcast "The World Class Leaders Show". In his podcast and YouTube channel, Andrea and his guests deconstruct the success of high-performance leaders, share their stories and teach the most effective strategies to move from average to greatness.

Andrea is originally Italian and he lives in London, UK.
Connect with Andrea Petrone:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/
About Lindsley Ruth

CEO & Board Member, Global Business Transformation

Award-winning CEO and highly qualified industrial distribution executive Lindsley Ruth was most recently CEO of RS Group plc (formerly Electrocomponents plc), a global omni-channel solutions partner for industrial customers and suppliers, where he was responsible for improving the financial performance of the Group and instilling a renewed focus on putting the customer and supplier back at the heart of the business. He led the turnaround of the underperforming business and, working with the broader team, created a strong vision and purpose for the company leading the company from the FTSE250 to the FTSE100 in six years. Lindsley increased sales by more than 300%, profit by more than 500% and increased the share price by more than 6X.

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