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Meet & Greet: Sonny Waheed, CEO of Vexed Gaming

myGwork member Sonny Waheed shares how his empowering and inclusive leadership style helps him to run a successful company as CEO of Vexed Gaming. He also talks about his thoughts on why there are so few out leaders and the importance of LGBTQ+ allies at work, and provides a glimpse into both his work and social life.


 


myGwork: Can you tell us a bit about your company and your role?

 

Sonny: We’re an esports team. That’s professional computer gaming. Think of us as a football team, but playing computer games instead. I didn’t seek out to lead this company. It was owned by someone I knew, and they approached me and a colleague (now business partner) to run the business for them. Having investigated the industry further, and seeing the huge potential, we decided to acquire it from him. On setting up the executive team, the shareholder asked me to take the leadership of the business, and I’ve been running it ever since.

 

myGwork: Have you always wanted to be a boss and why?

 

Sonny: Being a boss has never appealed to me. Quite the contrary. I’m not a 'detail' person, but I’m exceptional at big picture ideas and motivating people. If you know Meyers Brigg types, I’m a clear ENFP. I thought the lack of detail and financial acumen would preclude me from being a boss, but if you have the right people around you, your core skill set need not be an issue. Having a clear vision for your business is probably key.

 

myGwork: How would you describe your leadership style?

 

Sonny: Empowering. I hire people because they have skills and experiences that I do not have. In order for the business to run well, I need to tap into those skills and experiences so that I and the business can benefit from it. To this end, I fully empower my team to step up and lead in areas that they have knowledge on. I expect them to question me and contradict me. Their knowledge is likely to be better than mine and we need their guidance to make things better. I’d also say I’m fun to work with. We spend the vast majority of our awake hours at work, so it really needs to be enjoyable, otherwise there’s no point in doing it. So I always aim to enjoy my work and, I hope, I enable my teams to enjoy their work too.


myGwork: What attributes do you look for when promoting/hiring employees leaders in your company?

 

Sonny: Attitude. When you look at CVs for a job, the reality is that there’s a multitude of people who can do each job (including mine). So for me, I look at the personality and attitude of the individual. If multiple people can do the job, the one I want to hire is the one who will fit in with my team, our culture and have a similar attitude toward getting work done.

 

myGwork: How do you successfully motivate your employees?

 

Sonny: Empower them to think creatively, give them permission to fail and acknowledge and celebrate their success.

 

myGwork: Why do you think there are so few out leaders in the workplace, and what more can organizations do to ensure more leaders who identify with LGBTQ+ are promoted into leadership roles?

 

Sonny: I think it’s generational. Most of the business leaders in the market today are over 40. They (we) grew up in an era where, if your sexuality or gender identity was not as traditionally prescribed, you should feel shame and embarrassment. As a result, most LGBTQ+ people are reticent to share or show those thoughts and feelings. As our country becomes more LGBTQ+ friendly and accepting, it’s a lot easier to talk about our lives, but possibly still not in a public forum. That said, I don’t think anyone should declare their sexuality or gender preference in a workplace. That’s not to say they should hide it, but it has no impact on one’s ability to do a job and so shouldn’t be touted around the business as if it is.

 

myGwork: In your opinion, how important are LGBTQ+ allies at work?

 

Sonny: When you’re from a minority or marginalized community, support from outside that community is vital in terms of feeling accepted and valued. To this, allies across the spectrum for diversity should be encouraged and supported. They help break down prejudices and pave the way for the wider population to better understand and positively engage with the communities.

 

myGwork: How are you personally promoting inclusion in the workplace? What more can organizations do to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace and community?


Sonny: We don’t promote it, per say, but we support people’s decision to express themselves as they feel. If someone wants to be acknowledged in a certain way or to be known for having a sexual preference we encourage and support it. We do not ask any of our staff to be ‘poster-children’ for their sexuality, gender or, for that matter, race of disability. However, we do encourage and promote their voices when they want to be heard.



 

myGwork: What was the last book you read (fiction/non-fiction)? Any interesting take-aways and would you recommend it to fellow leaders? 

 

Sonny: Fiction: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Who doesn’t love a whodunit? I love them and when they’re as entertaining and easy to read as this, it’s a real joy. This follows on from his first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, and I recommend both for a very entertaining and not too taxing read.

 

Non Fiction: Measure What Matters by John Dorr. This book is the originator of the business process OKRs (Objectives & Key Results). Whilst the process of OKRs is brilliant, and a huge boon to productivity, this book is terribly written. It’s unnecessarily long winded and frustrating to read (you feel he got paid by the word to write it). You can get the same output by watching free Ted Talks or YouTube videos. Summary… the OKR process is brilliant. The book much less so.

 

myGwork: What's your all-time favorite movie/show and how many times have you watched it?

 

Sonny: I don’t really watch films multiple times, but one film I have watched about six times is Amadeus. I really love this film. The writing is brilliant, and the creative license of taking the latter part of Mozart’s life and turning it into a jealousy/revenge film was a stroke of genius. I do, however, watch TV shows over and over again (maybe because they’re shorter), and one show that never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I’ve seen it, is Frasier.

 

myGwork: What's your most favourite holiday destination to date and why?

 

Sonny: I’m an urbanite and get significantly more enjoyment out of being in cities than I do the beach or countryside. And for this Tokyo is my ultimate destination. It’s truly a 24-hour city, more so than New York and it’s also such a cultural shock compared to European or American cities.  It’s a city that delights you in so many ways – the sheer number of people, the exceptional politeness, the calmness, the architecture… and whilst it’s not the cheapest city around, the shopping is some of the best in the world. 

 

myGwork: What do you do to unwind? 

 

Sonny: Unwinding for me is simple… good food and drink with friends and family. Aside from that, I really love the theatre.

 

myGwork: Which drink/cocktail helps you unwind most?

 

Sonny: My drink of choice for most situations is wine. However, to kick things off, I love to start an evening with a Gin Martini, served dry with citrus.

 

You can find more about Sonny and connect with him here.

 

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