Justin Doyle established Doyle Partners 10 years ago as he wanted to provide local businesses and individuals with a personalised approach to accounting.
His goal is to earn a trusted adviser relationship with clients based on the delivery of strategy and solutions.
Justin is passionate about being involved in the local community, participating in a range of charitable activities including Surfest Crowdfunding. He is also a Director for the nib Foundation.
- What makes a good leader?
I think there are two things. Firstly, having a really strong purpose, believing in what you do and being able to communicate that; and secondly, leading from the front, being there and inspiring your team not simply by just sitting back and giving instructions, but actually getting in there and making tackles.
- What do you believe has shaped your leadership style?
What has shaped it the most is being authentic and believing in what we do. I think people look for that in a leader; they look for authenticity, and I’d like to think that’s what I’ve done. The other thing that has probably shaped my leadership style comes down to necessity.
When you start a business and it gains momentum, you really have to take the wheel or not, so I’ve been proactive about that. I’d describe it as just having to do it.
- What motivates and drives you?
A big thing for me is creating careers paths for people. There’s a saying that you can measure your own success by the successful people around you, so I’ve been pretty motivated in building a strong team and you have to build a strong business to give people career pathways and motivate them. That’s a big part for me.
And the second thing is freedom in being motivated to set up your own business and to take all the risks that are needed for that. It has got to be for some greater purpose and for me it was probably just creating an environment where I was free to make business decisions and to be an entrepreneur.
- How can organisations become leading businesses?
It’s about what the business invests in that shows that. Firstly, investing in their team and their people, whether it would be on obvious things like professional development and training, or often more intangible things that require heavier investment over time, such as encouraging and coaching.
Secondly, investing both financially but also with time and effort in the community. Newcastle is a town of small businesses, and we like to try and be part of many different initiatives and charitable events and things like that. A lot of those areas require the investment of personal time.
- Which local businessperson do you find inspiring?
Well my business mentor locally is Boy Bradstreet. He has been a hugely successful business person and family man and he’s really been a big part of my professional development. I wouldn’t have had the practice I had today without him and his support.
Secondly, my mother, who’s a high-profile business person. Everyone sees the successful business woman she is now, but growing up she worked really hard, and I think that instilled a good work ethic in me. Having a strong female lead and a strong female business mentor like that, I think has made me a better leader.
