3 leaders in 2022 rose to the top in the minds of their employees. Here's why

Leadership in times of change makes or breaks a company, most CEOs will agree.

In this year's Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces competition, which was based on a scientific survey of employees who rate their workplace culture, three earned a special Top Leadership award.

The honor came from getting the highest scores from their employees who were asked to rate their “confidence in the leader” of their company. 

The survey also gives participating companies insights about what makes their company unique. Oftentimes, that uniqueness starts at the top.

Here are this year's Top Leaders and what they offer their teams:

Julie Metty Bennett, Public Sector Consultants: An 'us' mentality

At Lansing-headquartered Public Sector Consultants, a nonpartisan, public policy consulting firm which focuses on research, evaluation and strategic planning, a simple visit to the company’s website provides valuable insight about the organization’s culture.

In the site’s “Us” section, a photo can be found of CEO Julie Metty Bennett right alongside individual photos of the entire PSC team, including President Rachel Kuntzsch, whose photo does not appear until the fifth row of images because they are placed in alphabetical order, symbolizing how all staff are valued equally, which contributes heavily to the confidence team members have in the leadership. 

“Ask any PSCer and they'll say it's the people that makes this a special place to work,” said Metty Bennett, the recipient of the special Leadership Award in the small company category, and who, along with Kuntzsch, are the first female owners in PSC’s 43-year history. “My business partner Rachel and I are energized by the team’s desire to help inform actionable public policy and I'm always impressed by their collective dedication to understanding things from different perspectives.”

Ken Booth, Credit Acceptance Corp.: Maintaining a listening culture

The title CEO has not accompanied Ken Booth’s name for long, given that he just assumed the top leadership role at Southfield-based Credit Acceptance Corp. in 2021. However, while his title changed, Booth said maintaining what was already in place culture-wise was most important to him when it came to earning the confidence and trust of his team as CEO. 

“I think I was just myself when I took over as CEO,” explained Booth, the recipient of the special Leadership Award in the large company category. “For a long time, we have focused on our team members. Being a great place to work has formally been one of our company goals since 2001 and I think every year we work at getting better. We focus on maintaining a listening culture and by listening to our team members, we try to make adjustments that are a win-win.”

Terry Katzur, Grand Blanc ELGA Credit Union: A hyper focus on employees

Like Booth, Terry Katzur, president and CEO of Grand Blanc ELGA Credit Union, says the measuring stick of his success is how well he serves his team members.   

“It is both humbling and encouraging to receive an award based on the feedback of ELGA Credit Union’s associates,” said Katzur, the recipient of the special Leadership Award in the midsize business category, who regards empathy as his best leadership quality.

“I am hyper-focused on providing opportunities for our associates to continually develop themselves and advance within the organization.”