‘Our mission is to create truly engaging workplaces’ – PsyPotential’s Patrick Psaila

Individuals who are immensely competent in their area of specialisation, often make leadership positions in organisations, and rightly so, as they make a name for themselves in their given field. This however does not automatically guarantee that they would have the complete skill sets to be effective and inspiring leaders. This is where organisations start to have issues which often translate into avoidable strife down the ranks.

“It is only natural,” Patrick Psaila founder and managing partner at PsyPotential notes. “CEOs and other C-suit leaders may be excellent in their specific fields of business management, finance, or marketing, yet they would find themselves improvising when managing people. In large organisations where the detail makes all the difference, and pressures tend to mount considerably, this sometimes leads to an undesirable situation.”

Patrick, a warranted Psychologist, founded PsyPotential in 2015, which specialises in providing leadership development and coaching, equipping senior management with the right tools for effective leadership including training, mentoring, psychometric profiling, and corporate wellness programmes. “Through our products, we aim at humanising the workplace, making it a better space to spend our days in, after all, we do spend most of our waking time in one,” Patrick quips.

“Leadership is less about managing tasks and more about inspiring and guiding people. Effective leaders understand the human aspects of their roles and prioritise the well-being psychological safety and ongoing development of their teams,” he explains. “Through carefully designed mentorship, we help leaders grow confident as they build their three pillars of success – attraction, engagement and retention of good talent. These in turn become pivotal for a successful business venture.”

When leaders lack clarity with their staff, a feeling of uncertainty is created, hindering performance and the ability to reach the desired goals. Much like effective parenting, clear communication, and consistency, go a long way in ascertaining a sound environment in the workplace,” Patrick continues.

“In addition, within a commercial environment, the demands for performance are immense, often coming from beyond the organisation itself. This places C-suit teams under considerable pressure. We understand this very well and strive to provide the right leadership tools and guidance that will help them navigate the next storm successfully.”

PsyPotential’s trademarked programme LTAP (Leadership Team Alignment Process) is a unique facilitated process that takes Leadership Teams through a process of multi-level alignment, to make them more effective in fulfilling their mission and achieving their goals.

Leaders sometimes don’t realise the immense effect they have on their staff members. “Studies show how an employee’s relationship with their direct superior in 70 per cent of cases is as influential in their lives as that with their significant other, and even more significant than that with their therapist or medical professional! This is an enormous responsibility on the shoulders of leaders, whose missteps create ripples in the personal lives of team members, in their families, friends and so on,” Patrick explains. “That is why it is crucial to equip our leaders with an arsenal of skills for effective leadership!”

Humanising the workplace goes beyond bringing treats every so often. “By fostering a supportive environment where employees feel appreciated for what they do and who they are, where they feel understood and valued as humans with interesting stories that go beyond the workplace. In this way, leaders are guaranteed to obtain higher engagement, satisfaction, and productivity.”

In Patrick’s words, PsyPotential is a service-driven organisation which strives to be a force for good, underlining that taking care of people is not just a moral imperative but also a sound business strategy.

“Employee well-being, particularly mental health, is thankfully taking centre-stage, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the challenging years of lockdown and the related hardships we all went through, accelerated the awareness and destigmatisation of mental health issues.”

Reflecting on the younger generations, waiting in the wings to take over the workplaces, Patrick notes how a complete shift in leadership styles may be in order, if they intend to remain relevant. “Traditional authoritative leadership styles are completely ineffective with Gen Z. The younger generation has a different value system which is not saying that it is wrong or misplaced. In fact, they are more likely to respond to a mentorship style of leadership where leaders coach them and facilitate their growth within an organisation, rather than just dish out the orders as authoritative figures. This approach helps employees grow, enhances their performance, and fosters a culture of continuous development,” Patrick expounds.

While the ROI of a sound investment in leadership training may be challenging to measure at a first glance, Patrick argues that a happy, motivated workforce leads to better business outcomes. “By focusing on creating human and welcoming workplaces, companies can aspire to become more productive driving better commercial results, as employees will be more engaged, through a heightened sense of ownership,” Patrick concludes.

This interview forms part of the Digital 50 Business Leaders project. These high-profile interviews are exclusively featured online at MaltaCEOs.mt, highlighting 50 distinguished conversations with business leaders, CEOs, and emerging entrepreneurial talents. Through these discussions, we aim to showcase the remarkable journeys, achievements, and successes of Malta’s business leaders.

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