Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 10, 2021
6 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
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Ifty Nasir discusses modern male leadership, emphasizing inclusivity, diversity, and the need to end toxic traits in business.
By Ifty Nasir, founder and CEO of Vestd, the UK’s most popular share scheme platform.
Male leadership can get a bad rap these days. Who hasn’t heard disparaging ‘male, pale and stale’ comments being bounced around? And equally, we’ve all seen the headlines linking major industry meltdowns (such as the global financial crash of 2008) to toxic masculine traits such as aggression and recklessness.
As the founder and CEO of a tech company, I think it’s important to take note of these valid criticisms and to strive to do something different.
As we approach International Men’s Day 2021, I’ve thought about what male leadership could and should look like in the modern world. My generation of leaders owes it to younger men rising through the ranks, to set a better example for them and to bring an end to bad behaviours of yesteryear.
Now of course every day is school day and I wouldn’t presume that I possess the absolute wisdom in this area but I can tell you that I deliberately set out to create a different kind of company with Vestd.
I wanted to create a company with an inclusive and warm culture that people wanted to be a part of.
The proof is in the pudding
The result is a business with far higher percentages of female and BAME team members than the average startup, and on the back of that, we’ve started attracting serious award attention for our progressive culture.
I’m proud that Vestd is a counterpoint to the industry norms, and for me, I believe our point of difference comes from me having strong female role models growing up. My mum migrated to the UK and without any education, started a shop to support the family.
I always admired her tenacity and drive, and the way she built a life that would work for her competing life demands. The shop was actually attached to the house so she could always pop in to make sure that me and my siblings were fed and clothed between taking orders or serving customers.
Given that my youngest memories are shaped by this incredibly powerful and determined woman (not to mention that I have six sisters!), it would be unthinkable for me to consider sexism in the workplace acceptable.
Lack of progress
Sadly though, it’s still extremely common. A recent report by the BMA (British Medical Association) found that 91% of female doctors had experienced sexism in the workplace. A number that high clearly indicates the breadth of the issue.
So for me, male leaders have to be proactive about the steps they take to eradicate such behaviours. We must become allies.
Part of the solution lies in the balance of hiring.
I’ve certainly noticed that the startup world is dominated by men and to counter that, we interview as evenly as possible for any role at Vestd. It isn’t always possible to achieve an even quota though. Some professions, like engineering for example, have a much stronger weighting of male applicants.
But we can all be mindful of the gaps and be part of the global shift towards equality.
It’s equally important to deliberately build diversity into the very fabric of your company.
It’s a continual conversation for us and with good reason.
Not only is there a fundamental social justice case to providing equal opportunity to all, but it also aids the health of a business if your team is made up of a healthy mix of people of all ages, abilities, races, religions, genders and sexual orientations.
Difference is strength.
Recent studies have shown that cognitive diversity leads to a 20% increase in innovation and that racially diverse teams report a 35% increase in performance compared to their competitors.
For me, the reasons for this are obvious. If I showed you any object front on, you’d only see its shape from your perspective. If people sat around that object in a circle, they’d all get a different view and report different dimensions and perspectives.
And that’s the benefit of diversity. It helps you to avoid groupthink and singularity, which in turn leads to a stronger and healthier company, more equipped to problem solve and to be genuinely disruptive.
Changing behaviour from within
Prior to starting my own company, I worked in the highest levels of the energy industry, latterly as the CEO of Essar Energy and prior to that as the Vice President for BP. Throughout that journey, I’ve seen certain behaviours that tend to be mostly male dominated, and they don’t do anything to help either the business or the individual.
One of these traits is clocking in way more hours than necessary, or more specifically, competitive presenteeism. I think people do this to demonstrate commitment but in actual fact, overworking is detrimental to business success and is damaging to self.
This is something that we can all address by demonstrating, from the top down, that everybody needs a work/life balance. Overwork leads to burnout, job dissatisfaction, high stress levels and low morale across the team.
It just shouldn’t be something that we reward people for, especially in this era of remote and flexible working.
Evolve your role models
I think growing up, that the people I looked up to weren’t necessarily demonstrating traits that were very modern. And that’s okay, times change. You can let go of your childhood heroes, or at least reframe them as people that you wouldn’t actually want to emulate.
I have more role models now, and male leaders that I admire. Like Elon Musk, for example. He’s trying to address the big problems. whether it’s in relation to the survival of the earth through his work on solar power and electricity, whether it’s around the future of humanity in terms of getting off this planet at some stage… he’s thinking about some of the steepest challenges imaginable.
For me, Musk embodies determination and tenacity, and yes, he has his detractors but I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture. I like that he’s a man with a game plan and the drive to achieve ‘the impossible’.
My advice to younger guys
If you are a young man looking towards positions of leadership, don’t just think about your role models. Think about your anti-role models too.
Unfortunately, there are plenty to choose from. Look at the controversies surrounding the leadership of Uber, or WeWork for example. Arrogant and exploitative behaviours. Identify the behaviours and cultures that you wouldn’t want to mimic and stay conscious of better pathways.
And that’s what’s at the heart of this.
There are a hundred million ways to be a positive male leader, and it’s those traits that people need to aspire to and to reward.
Anything else is just self-defeating.
If you are lucky enough to one day find yourself at the helm of a company, have big social ambitions for it. Have missions that are bigger than yourself and bigger than the company.
Aim to change the world for the better. To me, that’s the truest meaning of manning up.
Happy International Men’s Day!
The article discusses modern male leadership, focusing on inclusivity and diversity in business.
Diversity leads to increased innovation and performance, helping avoid groupthink and fostering a healthier company.
Male leaders should actively promote balanced hiring and create inclusive cultures to combat sexism.
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