Annabel Thomas MacGregor, CEO of Raised In: ‘High standards and kindness can go hand in hand’

Raised In CIC operates four nurseries in Bristol in community spaces, fulfilling a dual purpose of providing high-quality childcare while keeping community assets alive, by committing to long-term rent agreements and sharing profits locally instead of extracting them out of the area. 

Annabel Thomas MacGregor joined Raised In as CEO two years ago, taking over from one of the social enterprise’s three co-founders. She explains how a strong relationship with the former leader, who stayed on the board, and being given a clear mission helped her to find her feet at the organisation, and she found that building a strong company culture with staff was essential. 

I actually quite enjoy those crisis moments… there is a sense of the team pulling together that I think just leaves you with a huge sense of pride

Quality comes first in Annabel’s mind – and this isn’t incompatible with an empathetic approach to leadership, she explains. “I don't think you are being kind to your team if you don’t have the difficult conversations with them, if needed,” she says. But recognising that anyone can have good or bad days, and trying to communicate well to understand people’s circumstances, is what makes the difference: “I think it’s approaching everything with that sense of kindness and seeing them as a human first.” One of her proudest moments is to have reduced staff turnover at the organisation: “That has been a real focus of mine – how can we make sure that we are the best possible place to work?”

For Annabel, balancing commercial acumen with social value is essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organisation and its mission. “[If] you’re reliant on year-to-year grants or funding, then you can almost do more damage than good if you suddenly have to shut up shop quite quickly and disappear.” 

She felt she made a mark as a CEO for the first time when she “nailed” a new financial model for the organisation, necessary in the face of new funding rules from the government that threatened nurseries’ sustainability across the country. “I was very confident that what we were doing was the right thing, but that was a complete rewrite of the model from what it had been when I started… that really felt like the moment when these big decisions [were] definitely on my shoulders.”

She surprised herself by relishing challenging times. “I actually quite enjoy those crisis moments… We don’t want the crisis moments, they’re not what you want, but there is a sense of that team pulling together that leaves you with a huge sense of pride.”

Listen to the podcast to hear Annabel and Tim speak about:

• Taking over from a social enterprise founder as a new CEO 
• Building a strong company culture and leading with both high standards and empathy
• Balancing social value and commercial constraints as the early years sector is facing a challenging time