Selected as one of four recipients of The Good Business Spotlight, a Women’s Month campaign by The Good Businesswoman recognising women whose values, leadership and impact deserve greater visibility, Nicky James, co-founder of Tribeca Public Relations, reflects on the small moments that influence people and what 20 years of leading a business has taught her about success.
A former Tribeca employee recently sent me a message after coming across the word “bureau” in a book. It reminded her of a moment when I had taught her how to spell and pronounce it properly. She told me that this tiny memory had made her think about everything else I had taught her and thanked me for being part of her journey.
Teaching someone how to say “bureau” was probably a completely insignificant moment in an ordinary working day, but she remembered it. As a leader, you do not always know which moments people will carry with them. Sometimes it is a promotion, an opportunity, or a difficult conversation that changes their direction. Sometimes it is taking five minutes to teach someone how to pronounce a word.
When we started Tribeca 20 years ago, success was easier to quantify because it was measured by winning clients, increasing revenue, building a team, receiving industry recognition, and proving that the agency could succeed. These things still matter because a business has to be commercially successful to survive, provide opportunities, and employ people, but my definition of success has broadened over the years.
Today, I notice the people who have built their careers here, those who have stayed for many years and those who have left and gone on to do extraordinary things. I notice clients who continue to trust us, relationships that have survived difficult periods, and the fact that the agency still feels recognisably like the business we set out to build.
The agency has always been grounded in a few simple principles: do not overcomplicate things, stay true to your values, do what you say you are going to do, and put your people first. These principles have helped us create long-standing client relationships, a strong culture, and a reputation for delivering on our promises.
Putting people first has to show up in the decisions you make, particularly when those decisions become uncomfortable. We have turned down new business opportunities that did not align with our values and walked away from existing client relationships when members of our team were treated badly on a consistent basis.
Saying yes to the wrong work can cost a business more than money if you consider time, energy, culture, and sometimes good people. These decisions are never easy when you are responsible for a business and the livelihoods that depend on it, but putting people first cannot only be something you say when it is commercially convenient.
The weight of these decisions is one of the parts of leadership people do not always see. Leading a business means constantly balancing the needs of your people, clients, finances, and the future, often without having all the answers. There are decisions you carry quietly because not everyone can or should carry them with you.
I remember being told that members of the team found me intimidating or unapproachable, which forced me to take a hard look at myself. It was difficult feedback to hear because this was not how I intended to make people feel, but intention and impact are not always the same thing.
I took this feedback seriously and have worked to become a more open, accessible, and considered leader. When stress levels are high, I can still default to being very direct and task-focused. Experience has not made me immune to my own patterns; it has given me a chance to recognise them, take responsibility, and adjust.
I have also learnt that trying too hard to keep everyone happy does not necessarily make you a good leader. People struggle to follow someone who cannot make a decision, and you will not always have perfect information. At some point, you have to make the call and take responsibility for it.
After 20 years, success means being able to look at the agency we have built and recognise myself in it. The values are still there, our people still matter, and the business has remained true to what we wanted to create.
When I think about what makes me proud, it is not an award or financial milestone. It is someone arriving unsure of themselves and leaving as a confident professional. It is watching people become leaders and hearing that something they learnt here stayed with them long after they left.
Leadership is reflected in what people take with them after you have had the privilege of being part of their journey.
