The Iconoclast Advantage: Harnessing Company Culture as a Competitive Edge

What if the greatest untapped asset in your business wasn’t a new system, a slicker process, or even a better product, but the courage to lead with soul?

I’m not a typical CEO. I don’t do neutral and I don’t tone it down. I bring my whole self - fire, flaws, feelings and all - because anything less just doesn’t work.

I lead Iconic, with humanity, spreadsheets, a Q2 goals tattoo (yes, really), and unapologetic selfhood.

This is a deliberate business strategy. When culture and commerce work in harmony, everybody wins.

This is the article I’ve been waiting to write.

The Iconoclast Advantage: Harnessing Company Culture as a Competitive Edge

In an industry driven by margins, timelines, and deliverables, we’ve been sold a lie: that culture is soft, and commerce is hard, that feelings are a liability and spreadsheets are the real work. I disagree. I’m a CEO, an iconoclast, and a woman leading a construction consultancy with my heart in one hand and a risk register in the other. What we’re building isn’t just efficient - it's alive with possibility.

The Case for Culture

Too many businesses treat culture like an internal comms campaign - some posters on the wall, a few away days, and a 'we care' statement on the website. Real culture is what determines whether people stay, whether they care, and whether they’ll go above and beyond when everything’s falling apart.

In late 2023, a near-catastrophic financial crisis hit Iconic Project Management Ltd. We survived, not because of our systems, but because of our people. Loyalty kept us afloat. Our culture of trust and emotional literacy turned survival into growth.

I’ve seen up close what culture really means to a business. Like many small businesses, we’ve had our ups and downs, but that crisis nearly finished us. We had to make difficult choices, including redundancies. It nearly broke my heart. The remaining team members knew that their jobs were no longer safe and that the survival of the business required everybody to mount an heroic effort to implement our rescue plan and get us back on a secure footing.

Every single member of the team rose to the challenge. We were open with the team about our situation, and they responded with grace and grit; they worked long hours, they owned tasks far beyond their roles, they even accepted delayed payments while we stabilised. I will never forget the generosity of spirit that made it possible for Iconic to rise from the ashes. Nobody resigned.

I am totally clear that the reason these people were so willing to make personal sacrifices was because of the culture at Iconic. Our colleagues understand that their endeavours benefit every member of the team. They know they’re not just slogging away to line the pockets of faceless shareholders. They’re building something special - something that belongs to all of us.

Culture as Commercial Strategy

A strong culture doesn’t just feel good - it performs. It attracts top-tier talent without a single penny spent on recruitment. It turns clients into evangelists. It makes innovation possible, because people aren’t afraid to speak.

Our team performs well commercially. We track our net profit margin closely and it’s consistently strong. It’s above the industry average, but we review our pricing every quarter to ensure that, not only are we hitting our target, we’re offering exceptional value. One of the cornerstones of our culture is that we seek win-win outcomes.

We’re able to perform at this level because of one thing: our people. We’ve built a team of world-class project managers, not by accident, but by design. We work hard to communicate our culture clearly and consistently. As a result, the right people are drawn to us. We’ve never had to use a recruitment agency.

Once people join, they stay.

That loyalty brings commercial advantage: lower recruitment costs, less time spent onboarding, more continuity for our clients, more trust, more repeat business.

When the culture is right, productivity rises, mistakes drop, and morale becomes momentum. You can measure it, you can scale it and, more importantly, you can build it on purpose.

'I enjoy working at Iconic as it is a collaborative environment that aims to push individuals into bettering themselves in both a personal and professional sense.’ Oscar

How We Do It: Systemising Culture Without Losing Soul

My natural instinct is to nurture. Watching people thrive brings me immense joy. I’m not a detail-driven woman by nature but, as I’ve learned the hard way, focusing on culture without any control leads to chaos.

I’ve spent the past few years systemising our culture - refining it into something that delivers consistent, high-quality outcomes for the people and the business, without stifling the spirit that makes it work.

Here’s our system for embedding culture into the business:

Thinking days

Innovation doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you make space for it.

Every team member is encouraged to take one Thinking Day each quarter—dedicated entirely to personal growth, innovation, or strategic reflection. No deadlines. No deliverables. Just time to reconnect with vision, spark ideas, or simply pause long enough to think.

We’ve set some simple guidelines to help Thinking Days stay purposeful without becoming performative:

• They should be booked in advance and visible in the team calendar.

• They’re moveable only if absolutely necessary for critical project delivery.

• The focus should fall into one of five areas: personal development, innovation, sustainability, leadership & culture, or strategic improvement.

Before the day, team members share what they plan to reflect on with their line manager and PM lead. Afterwards, they share two things:

• One thing they learned.

• One thing they’d like to try.

That’s it - no forms, no slide decks. Just trust, time, and the courage to step out of the whirlwind.

 

1-1 meetings

Every month, I meet 1:1 with every team member. It’s time-consuming, but one of the most valuable things I do as a CEO.

Here’s what we cover:

• Progress and alignment - We review company objectives and individual KPIs.

• Shared success - We talk about what progress means: pay rises, bonuses, parties, even better coffee.

• Clear contribution - Everyone sees how their work benefits the whole.

• Personal interests - We explore what excites them and how we can use that energy.

• Upward feedback - They share what’s working, what isn’t, and how I can grow as a leader.

• Connection - We laugh. We bond. We build trust.

Feedback

Feedback isn’t a performance review—it’s a lifeline. It’s how I grow and it’s how we prevent pain. It only works if people feel safe enough to speak.

It takes a while for people to be comfortable offering feedback to their CEO. Some are scarred by previous experiences in other companies where feedback offered in good faith was used against them. I know this and understand that I need to put in the effort to make the process a safe thing. The way we do this is to record feedback and record actions against each point. I make it my business to be seen to be acting on feedback. Once people see that it’s taken seriously, they gradually become more open with it.

My greatest desire is to be exceptional at my job. Like anyone else, I’m not perfect. Feedback is critical for my own personal development. It’s also an effective method of resolving issues before they become crises. I’d far rather have a short and slightly awkward conversation now than face a long and painful one further down the line.

Chat

It helps that I love to chat, and I make time for it. We talk about all manner of things - identity, neurodiversity, a whole lot of sport, and joy - because people aren’t robots. We joke about arse tattoos in Latin, because humour and humanity both belong in the office.

Recognition

I’ve always believed in the 'positive emotional bank balance' theory: that healthy relationships need more positive interactions than negative ones.

When someone makes a difference, I make sure they know. Immediately. Publicly, where possible.

I’ve recently systemised our recognition system to make sure everybody benefits. Each week, I send a letter of appreciation to a different team member, handwritten on beautiful note paper.

This isn’t a tick-box exercise. The letters are deeply personalised - sometimes, deeply personal. I want my people to know that I see them and I appreciate them. Writing the letters has become a kind of sacred ritual.

Recognition isn’t fluff. It’s fire.

‘It’s a great team of genuinely kind (and funny!) people, where I feel supported, included, and that my ideas are genuinely heard and valued.’ Rachel

The Iconoclast Effect

I’ve stopped trying to fit. I’m reshaping the mould.

I believe that when CEOs lead with clarity, vulnerability, and unapologetic selfhood, it gives others permission to do the same. Company culture becomes not a backdrop, but a business advantage.

When a leader shows up without the mask, the whole team breathes a little deeper. They take more risks, they speak more freely. They stop wondering who they have to be and start becoming who they already are.

This is the iconoclast effect: lead like yourself, and the right people will find you.

A few years ago, I was preparing a presentation for a recruitment event. I asked a colleague for feedback, worried that the deeply personal content made me sound like a crazy lady.

His response? 'If people are going to be working with you, it’s better they find that out before they’ve signed the contract.' He was right.

My style isn’t for everyone but, by expressing myself exactly as I am, I attract the people who thrive under my tender, loving, sometimes feral care.

One colleague once told me that she finds working with me exciting. Not intimidating. Not chaotic. Exciting. She said that seeing me show up as my full, technicolour self gave her the courage to do the same.

I’ll remember the team member who looked me in the eye and said, ‘I actually love you, Lizzie' until my dying day. It wasn’t a joke - it was relief. If I could lead like that, maybe they didn’t have to edit themselves either.

I’m beyond proud of the apprentice who’s launching an entirely new venture from within the company. He knows we’ll back him, not just financially, but emotionally. He knows we believe in him and will do whatever it takes to make his dream come true.

These moments aren’t marketing fluff, they’re culture, lived out loud. They’re proof that you don’t have to contort yourself into someone else’s version of 'professional' to build something extraordinary.

This is what happens when you stop performing and start leading.

You don’t just attract talent - you ignite it. You don’t just retain people - you give them room to rise. In doing so, you build a business that’s not just efficient but alive with possibility.

‘A diverse, helpful team where learning will be central to everything you do.’ Ed

Whole People Build Whole Companies

I’ve been told I’m too much, too emotional, too intense. There have been times I tried to tone myself down. It has never led to more clarity, just confusion, disconnection, and regret.

There’s a quiet school of thought in business that says: 'Be professional. Be appropriate. Don’t bring too much of yourself to work.' It sounds harmless, but what it really says is: 'Edit yourself to be palatable.'

I reject that entirely.

I once heard someone advise a younger colleague not to be 'too personal' at work. While I know the intention was care, it struck me deeply. Why do you need to keep it clean, keep it surface, keep it safe?

I have an unshakeable belief that’s founded in experience: edited people don’t build extraordinary things, whole people do.

• People who laugh riotously with their colleagues then lead with clarity.

• People who are brave enough to say 'I need help,' or 'I’m proud of myself,' or 'I actually love you, Lizzie.'

• People who show up with fire in their eyes and Old French in their email signatures.

I know this isn’t weakness, it’s capacity.

The reason I’m the CEO of this business, and why I think I’m spectacular at my job, is not because I’m flawless, but because I’ve made room for people to be real. In doing so, I’ve made space for greatness.

This is the future of leadership - not softer, but braver. Not less commercial, but more human.

The secret isn’t compromising between culture and commerce—it’s realising they were never separate things in the first place.

‘I love working here, because I'm not just a number... I feel valued, my opinion counts and I can make a difference.’ Mike

Unapologetic Selfhood (and Why It Matters)

Unapologetic selfhood is what happens when you stop trying to lead like someone else's idea of a CEO, and start leading like yourself—fully, boldly, and without shame. You don’t pretend you don’t care deeply about people, meaning, purpose, or beauty, because someone once said business is about 'results, not feelings.' You don’t mute your instincts.

Unapologetic selfhood is what happens when you fully inhabit your own story and let that story become part of how you lead. It means leading, not with performance or polish, but with clarity, integrity, and fire.

It’s when you say: ‘This is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is how I show up and, if that’s too much, I’m not the problem.’

It’s:

• Signing your internal emails with Tot cuer me doins. Toustours.

• Giving a team member a heartfelt appreciation note one day and a medieval banter policy the next

• Putting your values on display not just in vision statements, but in how you speak, how you hire, how you handle mistakes

• Getting a tattoo of your Q2 commitment and owning it - not as eccentricity, but as leadership*

  
  

Unapologetic selfhood is a refusal to:

• Disown your intensity to make others more comfortable

• Compartmentalise your joy, your pain, your opinions, or your tenderness

• Pretend leadership is neutral, emotionless, or safe

Unapologetic selfhood doesn’t mean refusing to grow, it means growing in your own shape, not pruning back the parts of yourself that make you you.

When leaders show up as themselves, without apology, they give others permission to do the same. People relax, they speak truth and, from that foundation, extraordinary things can be built.

Loyal beyond reason. I give my whole heart. Always.

This isn’t a story about being different for the sake of it. It’s my blueprint for leading with soul, and a case study in how that soul becomes strategy. Culture isn’t the thing you do after the business is built, it’s the thing you build with. That’s the iconoclast advantage.

* The phrase ‘Feal outre raison. Tot cuer me doins. Toustours.’ is being tattooed on my forearm this July. It’s in Old French (because I’m a recovering medievalist) and means ‘Loyal beyond reason. I give my whole heart. Always.’

I don’t just talk about culture, I wear it. Yes, the tattoo was meant to be Q2, but apparently even sacred ink needs to be scheduled. The commitment was made. The fire is already burning.

Author

Lizzie Hewitt

Lizzie is the CEO of Iconic Project Management and the driving force behind its bold, people-first culture. Known for her blend of strategic clarity and creative flair, she leads with purpose, passion, and just the right amount of rebellion. Lizzie builds resilient teams, delivers impactful results, and is quietly transforming the construction industry into a space where both people and projects are empowered to thrive.