Following our July 2026 Employee Ownership Trust – Virtual Knowledge Share, Patrycja Cisewska, Employee Ownership Trust Business Partner at Aquascot, winner of the 2026 Employee Owner of the Year award, and featured speaker of our event, reflects on the journey of her career through an employee owned business as she answers our questions.
This interview forms part of Stephens Scown’s Employee Owners Knowledge Sharing series, where we invite leaders, trustees and employee owners to share practical insights on employee ownership.
When employee ownership became real for you, what stood out most in those early stages?
I think it first became real when I realised how open and transparent the business was. We weren’t just expected to do our jobs, we were encouraged to understand how the business was performing and why decisions were being made.
Joining the Partnership Council was the next turning point. Suddenly I wasn’t just hearing about decisions, I was representing colleagues and helping shape conversations. That was probably the first time I thought, “This is different.”
Then being elected as a Partner Director took it to another level. Sitting in Board meetings and being asked for my opinion on major strategic decisions was a defining moment. I remember thinking, “What am I doing here?” But I soon realised I wasn’t there because I had all the answers, I was there because I brought a perspective that nobody else could.
What has employee ownership changed most in your day-to-day experience of work?
It’s changed how I think.
Earlier in my career I naturally thought about my own job and my own department. Now I find myself asking, “What’s best for the business, our partners and our future?”
It’s also completely changed how I see leadership. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions, listening properly and creating space for other people to contribute. That’s something I’ve tried to take into every role I’ve had.
What has surprised you most, positively or negatively, about working in an employee-owned business?
Probably how much trust it relies on.
People often think employee ownership is all about governance and structures, but actually it’s about relationships. Leaders trusting people with information. Partners trusting that their voice matters. Representatives respecting confidentiality.
Building that trust takes time, but once it’s there, conversations become very different.
For someone in another business who is about to experience employee ownership for the first time, what would you want them to know?
Don’t stand in the doorway.
Employee ownership opened doors I never knew existed, but I still had to choose to walk through them.
Get involved. Ask questions. Volunteer. Join your Partnership Council if you have one. Every opportunity I said yes to pushed me a little further outside my comfort zone, but every one of those opportunities helped me grow.
You never know where one opportunity might lead.
How do you make sure partners don’t see you as “one of management”?
It’s a question I get asked quite a lot!
I think there’s always an element of that, and it’s all about perception. When you’re in Board meetings one day and on the shop floor the next, people will naturally make their own assumptions.
For me, the key is staying authentic. I don’t behave differently depending on who I’m talking to. I’ve been fortunate to work in Production, Quality, Administration and Health & Safety before moving into employee ownership, so I think that gives me credibility. People know I’ve done their jobs, understand the challenges and haven’t forgotten where I came from.
Personally, I don’t see it as “us and them”. My role isn’t to choose sides, it’s to help both sides understand each other better. If I ever stopped doing that, I’d lose the trust that makes the role work in the first place.
How do you manage the confidentiality issue? It must be hard knowing everything that goes on in Board meetings
Trust goes both ways.
Partners trust me because they know I’ll listen honestly. Leadership trusts me because they know confidential conversations stay confidential. Without that trust, my role simply wouldn’t work.
I’ve learned that confidentiality isn’t about keeping secrets. It’s about understanding what can be shared, when it can be shared and why. Sometimes information has to remain confidential because sharing it too early could create unnecessary worry, speculation or distractions that don’t help anyone.
My role is to help people understand the bigger picture when I can, while respecting the trust that’s been placed in me. Ironically, I think being trusted with confidential information has helped strengthen relationships across the business because people know I treat that responsibility seriously.
How would you justify creating a role like this when budgets are tight?
It really depends on what the business is trying to achieve and what challenges it’s looking to address.
For Aquascot, the business recognised there was an opportunity to strengthen partner voice by creating an independent role that connects partners, leadership and governance.
Like any investment, you have to look at the value it creates over time. If a role helps improve communication, build trust, strengthen governance and unlock the potential of your people, then the long-term benefits can far outweigh the initial cost.
For me, that’s been one of the biggest lessons of employee ownership. When you invest in people and give them the opportunity to contribute, you’ll often be surprised by what they can achieve.
How much has employee ownership helped you get to where you are? Did you ever think you’d get this far?
Honestly… not for a second.
I came to Aquascot for what was meant to be a six-week summer job. I’ve always been quite ambitious, it’s actually one of Aquascot’s values to be actively ambitious, so I always hoped I’d eventually move into an office-based or management role with more responsibility. At the time, I didn’t necessarily think that would even be at Aquascot because staying was never part of the plan.
What I never imagined was sitting around the Board table, contributing to strategic discussions or representing partners at that level. That simply wasn’t on my radar.
Employee ownership completely changed my perspective. It didn’t just create opportunities, it changed what I believed was possible. Every role helped me build credibility, every challenge taught me something and every opportunity opened another door.
How do you get colleagues to engage?
For me, engagement starts with being present. Having the “right to roam” means I understand what’s on everyone’s radar, from the shop floor to the Board table, which helps me connect people and conversations.
It’s also why I started spending time on nightshift. Nobody asked me to, I simply wanted to make sure everyone felt included. The best conversations often happen over a cup of tea, not in a meeting room.
I’ve also learned that engagement isn’t about getting everyone to agree with every decision. It’s about helping people understand the ‘why’ behind decisions and creating an environment where they’re comfortable asking questions and challenging constructively.
The flip side is that engagement creates expectations. As a business, we’ve probably gone to the other extreme and partners now expect explanations and are comfortable challenging decisions, whether they’re big or small. Personally, I think that’s a healthy challenge because it shows people genuinely care about the business.
Next steps
The biggest of thanks to Patrycja for sharing her experience with such honesty, to help and inspire others. And a huge congratulations for her well-deserved recent award win.
Stephens Scown hosts the Employee Ownership – Virtual Knowledge Share monthly to help create a community space for employee owners, and those looking to transition. If you are interested in joining future sessions, please visit our Events page.