Executive Outlook: Is Imposter Syndrome Holding You Back?

Who of us hasn’t looked around a meeting room, a networking event, a classroom, or a conference and felt out of place at some point in our lives? It’s an easy trap to fall into, especially in a professional setting.

Perhaps you’ve recently been promoted, switched to a different function or sector, or have just moved company to a more ‘prestigious’ or well-known organisation. Perhaps your meteoric rise to the top happened so quickly that you never had time to pause and assess along the way. Maybe you’re sat at a table with people who are older than you and have been doing their jobs for way longer than you have, or alternatively you find yourself surrounded by people who are younger and sharper.

If situations like these make you feel like a fish out of water or cause you to question your place at the table, it is likely that you are one of the millions of professionals who experience imposter syndrome. But what is it really, how can you be sure you have it, and what can you do about it?

Identifying & Understanding Imposter Syndrome

In the dictionary[1], the imposter syndrome is described as “a psychological condition that is characterised by persistent doubt concerning one’s abilities or accomplishments accompanied by the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of one’s ongoing success.” Essentially, it’s a feeling that occurs when we benchmark ourselves against our peers and believe that we somehow do not measure up, even if that isn’t the case. Some symptoms include increased anxiety, stress over potentially being ‘caught,’ and in severe cases, depression. This fear and panic often leads to stagnation and performance losses, which can severely impact one’s career.

How can you tell if you have it? It might not be immediately apparent. However, if your internal script includes thoughts along the lines of “Oh my God everyone here is brilliant…. and I’m not,” and instead of shutting them down you agree with them, that is a pretty good indication.

All of us experience some form of imposter syndrome at various points in our lives, but may not have had the right words to identify the feeling. In a survey of 1,000 UK professionals, 85% expressed they suffer from imposter syndrome[2]. 25% reported feeling as though their success was pure luck, while 15% felt they were only in their role because their organisation was understaffed.

The sensation affects people of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds and statuses, but is known to hit some groups harder than others. Various studies have shown that women are more likely to be impacted, as are those from non-white ethnicities and younger generations. Of the 85% of UK workers who reported suffering from imposter syndrome, 90% were women. In that same survey, millennials were nearly twice more likely to attribute their success to luck or understaffing than their baby boomer counterparts. When you think of the current diversity issues facing the FTSE 100 and the corporate world in general, it makes sense why these individuals. These are still very white and male dominated spaces, with older and more experienced people at the top. Members of these groups may find themselves amongst these peers and fixate on their differences, rather than on what they bring to the table.

That said, this is not just a female, BAME, or young person problem as it is often perceived to be. Absolutely anyone can be affected, not just these groups. Even some of the world’s top business leaders, athletes, government leaders, and other public figures widely considered to be one of the ‘best’ at their craft face these feelings of inadequacy, with the likes of Sheryl Sandberg, Howard Schultz, Serena Williams, Albert Einstein, Michelle Obama, David Bowie and more all having spoken out about their struggles with this mindset. At the end of the day, we are all just human and battling our own insecurities.

Our Advice

In our experience, imposter syndrome is more common the more successful you become regardless of age, demographics, or background. This has become more prevalent in recent years thanks to COVID-19’s restrictions on personal networking and an increasing number of individuals reaching senior positions at an earlier stage in their career. But how do you prevent those insecurities from stunting your growth? Here are the top 3 tips we share with our clients struggling to overcome their own mental hurdles:

• Understand that Benchmarking is Subjective: No one has ever criticised someone who climbed Mt. Everest for not earning it. There’s a silent, universal understanding that this is a major accomplishment that involves lots of training, preparation, hard work, and determination. Our careers are a much more subjective experience, but is it not the same thing? Didn’t you also have to train, prepare, and work hard to get where you are today? While there are 17 known routes to the top of Everest, almost everyone climbs it via one of two routes and likely will have faced either similar or the same set of conditions, obstacles, and challenges as those who made the trek before and after them. Careers are not like that, and so that makes it harder to compare ourselves to one another. Think of all the different places you could be from, schools you could attend, courses you could take, people you could have in your network, and work experience you could possibly obtain. The possibilities are endless, and therefore no one will ever have the exact same combination of all these factors as you do. There are a limited number of ways to get to the top of Everest, but a million different ways to build your career. Understand that your journey is uniquely yours and is valid, even if it doesn’t quite look like the journeys of those in similar roles.
• Challenge and Change Your Self Talk: Very rarely is outside criticism the source of these feelings, and imposter syndrome is most often the result of the things we tell ourselves. We think ourselves into downward spirals and enable these negative thoughts to continue to persist without challenge. When you catch yourself thinking these things, try to flip the thought. Ask yourself why you feel that way, what evidence you have to support it, and if that thought is really true. We are often our toughest critics and lack the same patience and compassion that we might grant to someone else in our same position. Become consciously aware of the conversation going on in your head when you’re in a situation that triggers your impostor feelings in order to stop them in their tracks. For example, instead of thinking, “Wait until they find out I have no idea what I’m doing,” tell yourself “Everyone who starts something new feels off-base in the beginning. I may not know all the answers but I’m smart enough to find them out.” Show yourself the same grace you would show to a loved one if they voiced similar doubts in themselves.
• Fake It to Make It: And if taking control of your thoughts doesn’t have the desired effect, take control of the situation. Now and then, we all have to fly by the seat of our pants, and usually this improvisation is one of the best ways to figure things out. Instead of considering “winging it” proof of your ineptness, learn to do what many high achievers do and view it as a skill. ‘Fake it until you make it’ is a worn-out phrase, but its message still rings true: Don’t wait until you feel confident to start putting yourself out there. Courage comes from taking risks. You just might find that you know more or are more capable than you think.

There is no cure-all for imposter syndrome, and it is likely to come and go throughout your career. The best thing you can do for yourself is to work on building your own confidence and periodically stepping back to appreciate how far you have come. Take time to track and recognise your success, which will help you to more confidently say ‘yes’ to opportunities. For some, this confidence might come from being around fellow colleagues in networks. Sometimes those around us are able to see us more clearly than we can see ourselves during our moments of doubt. When these feelings set in, ask for feedback from those you trust and whose opinions you value. If this is helpful to you, it is worth remembering that you are not the only one who may be feeling this way. As a leader, there are likely other members of your team battling their own insecurities, in which case you should strive to be the type of leader who ‘pays it forward.’ Be that mirror for your people, just as your peers help you see yourself.

For others, validation from your network might not be the key, in which case it might be helpful to take on a mentor or coach to help build your confidence and adequately benchmark your success. If you fall into this camp and would like some help navigating your career progression, get in touch with our team.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impostor%20syndrome

[2] http://hrnews.co.uk/85-british-workers-suffer-from-imposter-syndrome/

Organisations are beginning to put their plans and objectives into action.

From our conversations with our clients, it seems that Covid 19, inflation, talent scarcity, government funding support and policy uncertainties are creating increased challenges to boards.

As a result customer centricity is high up on the strategic agenda for many businesses in 2022.

And it makes sense.

After two challenging years of working to stay afloat, the time has come to build back better and enter the next era of business. Customers are central to the success of these efforts, but their habits and demands have changed along with the market these past few years. They are savvier, choosier, and more digitally-driven than ever before. In order to become truly customer centric, leaders need to tap into what it is that drives customers and influences them to return time and time again.

We asked our experts to share the top challenges they find our clients experiencing when aiming to become more customer centric, and to share their advice for overcoming these hurdles. Here’s what they had to say:

Top Challenges to Customer Centricity

• Learning to Unlearn: Many top executives got to where they are today through a long and successful career journey. The downside of that is that many reached their post years ago and settled in, sticking to what works. The practices may have historically helped to drive the business forward in challenging periods, but today’s market and customer is like nothing we have ever experienced before. We have never been this digital, this globalised, this actively communicative across various platforms and mediums, or this spoilt for choice with who we do business with. As a result, leaders may find that the practices they previously relied on to evolve their offering may no longer suffice and that they have to unlearn everything they thought they knew about the market, their role in it, and the customers they aim to serve. This can feel uncomfortable and unsettling for some, especially those who have adopted a sort of ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ mentality throughout their tenure. There is no room for stubbornness or ego here. To change the organisation and its practices, its leadership team will need to go within and address the attitudes and actions that are holding them back.

• Listening In: The best way to learn what your customer wants is to listen to them, but the acts of ‘listening’ and gathering business intelligence have evolved alongside the rest of the market. There are so many different ways to do this and to do it constantly. Your customers are communicating with your sales and service teams, browsing your website, talking about you on social media, reviewing you online, having conversations with their peers, and so on. That generates a lot of potential insight, but also a lot of noise. The challenge then becomes sorting through that intelligence, finding trends, and prioritising. It can be hard to delineate between what you are hearing and what is actually important to your customers. There may be a temptation to want to fix everything all at once, but that is not always possible or practical. The challenge for leaders is to take a moment to assess what they are hearing,
• Making Sense of Customer Data: All these customer conversations and activities create vast amounts of valuable data for the organisation that helps to paint the picture of what the journey looks like and where it could be improved. Businesses have access to an immense amount of data, but often fail to use it properly. The challenge leaders face is ensuring they have access to the right information and are using it to their advantage. Advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence will be a big help here, but leaders need to get on board with these tools and develop an understanding of them. The pandemic helped push many laggards towards new tech, but most businesses are still in the exploratory phases of their digital transformation journey. Executives need to push past any remaining hesitations towards technology and get to grips with it and soon, otherwise a lot of potential and valuable insights will continue to be missed out on.
• Generating Buy-In: The previous challenges were concentrated primarily on the leadership team, but true customer centricity flows evenly throughout every area of the business. Yes, leaders may have to unlearn, tune in, and make sense of the market demands, but their staff are the ones putting these lessons into practice. If your own people don’t buy into your vision and what you are trying to accomplish, how do you expect your customers to buy in? Not only do leaders need to be able to access all this data and make sense of it, but they also need to be able to present it to their people in a way that tells a story and brings the customer journey to life in a narrative way. Every member of the team from the board to the interns need to be aligned with the vision. The story told to an organisation’s people is the story that will ultimately be told to its customers. There can be no crossed wires. The sales team shouldn’t be saying one thing while IT says another, marketing says something different, and customer service is on a different page entirely. Every department, whether it is directly customer-facing or not, should know what the customer story is and the role they each play in delivering it. Creating that level of alignment at scale can be a major challenge for leaders, especially if the business has historically been insular across departments.

Top Tips for Overcoming Challenges to Customer Centricity

Thankfully, all of these problems are possible to overcome.

At The Rialto Consultancy, we have worked with leadership teams over the last decade in order to help them unlearn what they know and get their people on board. Here are our experts’ top tips for achieving greater customer centricity moving forward:

• Embrace Radical Empathy: It’s time for being human to come back into fashion. The pandemic bonded us all through mutual struggle, and as a result we all became a bit more understanding of one another. The pandemic and its challenges may not be over, but even when it eventually does come to an end, we need to remember that we are all just people. We have feelings. We have challenges. Take the time to be a bit more forgiving and understanding, not just of your customer but of your people. Practice patience and work to see things from their perspectives. That way, you can avoid friction and work more collaboratively to tackle problems.
• Expect Imperfection: Part of being human is making mistakes, learning from them, and continuing to try. The most successful customer centric leaders are those who understand that things won’t always be perfect, and who are accepting of this. What’s important is becoming more fluid and adapting to what comes. With so many different touchpoints and conversations happening all at once, things will inevitably get overlooked or you might feel tempted to try to fix absolutely every complaint brought to your attention. That is not feasible, and leaders need to come to terms with the fact that they might not always have the answers. Instead, be more curious and more tactful about how you address problems and prioritise.
• Understand the Journey: Do you know what it is like to be your own customer? What does the journey look like? What steps and processes do your customers go through when doing business with you? What is it like to complete a purchase on your website, or file a complaint with your customer service team? Every member of your team, not just leadership, needs to know what the journey looks like firsthand. Recently in the US, news broke that food delivery service DoorDash would be requiring every single one of their employees across all departments, including their CEO, to deliver one order each month. The reactions to this were mixed, with some staff outraged that they would be made to do the ‘lowliest’ job of the organisation, while others praised the initiative’s empathetic benefits. Your organisation may not go to these lengths to create an understanding of the journey, but at the very least your entire team should know what your process looks like from the perspective of your customers. That way, you can identify problems from the inside in order to fix them, and ensure that the people interacting the closest to your customers understand exactly what they are experiencing.
• Engage More: In order to listen to and understand your customer, you need to interact with them. Often, executive leadership has very little direct contact with the customer and instead are fed by intel from those ‘on the ground’. Their understanding of their customer comes from reports and second-hand news. By increasing their own direct interaction with the customer, leaders can build that all-important empathy and understanding.
• Trust and Empower Your People: Even if you are more actively engaged with your customers, the majority of the interaction will still fall on your team. Leaders need to trust their staff and find a way to empower those closest to the customer to best advocate for them. This is much easier to achieve if there is alignment across the organisation and a consistent story being told.
• Advocate on behalf of Your Customer: Advocating for the customer shouldn’t only take place during direct interactions. The customer’s perspective needs to be represented in every conversation, always. Someone should be playing ‘devil’s advocate’ on behalf of your customer in every meeting, strategic conversation, presentation, and so on. Instead of focusing on what’s in it for the business, someone always needs to be asking what’s in it for the customer. The more people you have asking this question, the better. Not only that, but everyone should be able to answer it by the time the conversation is done. Weaving this practice and mindset into absolutely everything helps ensure that the customer is always put first. When the customer is properly catered to, everything else will fall into place.

Becoming customer centric cannot happen overnight. It will take time, patience, experimentation and innovation to get it right. However, the organisations that dedicate the effort to get it right will have an easier time navigating what comes next with greater agility the support of their customers.

Last week, the United Nations closed their annual conference on climate change, known widely as COP26. By the end of the two-week summit, diplomats from nearly 200 countries had reached an agreement known as ‘The Glasgow Climate Pact’ to work together towards global sustainability goals. There was a great feeling of optimism as government bodies and major organisations announced their pledges, targets and commitments throughout the summit, with 60 of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies joining the UN’s Race to Zero campaign. One in three of the largest public companies in G20 countries now has a net zero target, up from one in five last year. After the summit, one thing is clear: climate change needs to be at the top of the strategic agenda for businesses moving forward.

So what does this mean for leaders? Now that pledges have been made and some regulatory standards have been outlined, what is the next step? How can you ensure that your organisation is helping to make the world a greener place rather than just ‘greenwashing’?

Following Through on Promises

While it provides a good basis for setting targets, many critics of The Glasgow Climate Pact feel that it lacks the regulatory muscle to ensure change. As a result, some feel it falls on the businesses who made pledges to make good on those promises, and for the rest of the private sector to play along.

As many leaders know, making a pledge or setting a goal is just the beginning. The challenge is in the follow-through.  With net zero targets becoming a prominent part of the conversation, expect to see businesses incorporating climate goals into their strategic plans for next year. Many may choose to use the guidelines outlined by government pledges, and others may choose to go further or reach for achievable ‘quick wins’ that can easily be accomplished. But given the new focus on climate change on a global scale, businesses can no longer get away with having no sustainability targets whatsoever.

Getting Beyond ‘Greenwashing’

Not only is acting on climate change important from a regulatory standpoint, but it also matters to your customers. A survey[1] conducted by Deloitte in May 2021 found that 65% of respondents expect CEOs to do more to make progress on societal issues, including reducing carbon emissions, tackling air pollution, and making business supply chains more sustainable. Rather than leaving it to businesses to be the change, customers are willing to act on their beliefs. 23% of consumers surveyed by Deloitte say they will switch to buying products from an organisation that shares their values on environmental issues, 42% have changed their own consumption habits to match their stance on the environment, and 21% have encouraged others to switch to a company whose values align with their own.

It is clear that customers want to do business with organisations that stand for something, but there is a difference between taking a stance and actually acting on it. In this case, being all talk and no walk could be classified as ‘greenwashing.’ This term is used to criticise businesses who go to great lengths to market themselves as being ‘eco-friendly’ and use PR initiatives to seem as though they are taking tough action on climate change, when in reality they are doing very little. In recent years, corporations such as Volkswagen, H&M, BP, Nestle, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and even IKEA have all come under fire for this. Customers are quick to see through the smoke and mirrors to the true story, and leaders need to not underestimate their audiences.

Actions for Leaders

With all this in mind, what do leaders need to know and prioritise moving forward? The first step is to take this issue seriously and understand that this is not just the latest buzzy trend in the marketplace. This is an issue that affects us all and requires swift and decisive action. As a business leader, you play an important role in driving change. Your people, your stakeholders, and your customers are all looking to you to lead the charge and set the course for how to proceed. Here are our tips for doing this effectively:

• Get Up to Speed with Expectations: Big businesses weren’t the only ones who made pledges and set targets at COP26. It is worth reading up on the targets that were agreed in The Glasgow Climate Pact and the targets set by the countries your organisation operates in. What are they aiming to achieve, and when? Even if there are currently no set, mandatory regulations that require your organisation to meet specific targets or behave a certain way, it is always best to understand what the bigger picture looks like. You and your team can use the government’s goals as guidance when plotting out your own climate strategy, and work towards the targets they have set out on a macro level. This is a means of playing it safe as well. Just because no mandatory regulations may have been set, they could be at any minute. If you aren’t already working towards these targets, regulations may make it so that you have to adjust very quickly to catch up. Instead, it is better to operate as if the targets outlined are already law so that if and when they actually do become enforced, you will already be on the right track for compliance.
• Be Realistic: As we have discussed, making a public pledge is a good start for signalling your stance, but you need to ensure your words aren’t empty. Do not overpromise and underdeliver. When creating a climate strategy, take a look at where you can actually deliver results. This might be a series of quick wins to get you started as well as some longer-term initiatives that will be rolled out over time, but everything you are proposing needs to be achievable. No business is going to reach net zero overnight, but every organisation has small actions they can take to start working towards that goal. Take an honest look at your business and where you can improve and start there.
• Don’t Shout About It: While you should be transparent with your audiences about your stance on climate change and what your organisation is doing about it, there is no need to shout it from the rooftops. It is always better to practice rather than preach, as your customers are more interested in your actions than your words. Communicate that you are taking action and be clear on how, but do not make that the central component of your marketing or media unless what you are doing can match up to the hype. Otherwise, you may be accused of greenwashing and lose a lot of credibility and trust in the market.
• Champion Change: As a leader, your people are looking to you to take charge and set the tone for change. They aren’t going to buy into the vision if it seems like you don’t. If you are going to set forth initiatives and make sustainability a key component of your organisational identity, then that change needs to start with you. Be clear on what the stance is and what expectations the team needs to meet. Provide clear actions to follow so that everyone knows what role they play. Ensure everyone is aligned on the vision and why it matters. Adjust your own personal habits if you find that they contradict what you are looking to achieve. It can be little things to start, such as carrying a reusable water bottle or becoming more conscious of how your actions contribute to your own carbon footprint. When you lead by example, you become much more credible for your people to follow.
• Keep Up to Date: The UN’s climate summit only happens once a year, but sustainability is an ongoing conversation. There are new developments constantly, and if you are going to truly become a champion of climate change it is important you stay up to date. Incorporate checking for new updates or research into your regular newsgathering activities. Just as you should be keeping tabs on your industry, you should be keeping a finger on the pulse of climate change. By building an understanding of what’s happening, you may come to find that you need to make some adjustments in your own knowledge or capabilities. Do you need to educate yourself on any specific topics to help better inform your strategy? Do you need to better understand a topic in order to effectively communicate to your team why they should care about it? Do the regulations require you to adapt your approach or capabilities as a leader?

Sustainability is a top-of-mind business issue, but one that requires firm action. It matters not whether you feel the responsibility for leading the charge falls onto the government or the private sector; we all have a role to play. Leaders need to act as champions for change to ensure that their organisation is doing their part and not making promises they aren’t delivering on. The world will be a better place for it.

[1] https://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/consumers-expect-brands-to-address-climate-change-01618945334

The workforce landscape today looks quite different to what we saw back in March 2020. Since then, we have seen the unemployment rate fluctuate, predictions about the economy change like the weather, and a shift in the way we do business. Most organisations are battling an increasingly competitive marketplace, navigating disruptions in their supply chains, and adapting to changes in their customers’ habits and needs. Though the situation appears to be looking up, it is likely that businesses will be grappling with these challenges and impacts for many months to come.

As a result, most leaders recognise that there is an imperative to look at and think about ‘work’ differently, including what it really means, how it’s done, and where it is done. After operating in survival mode for the past year and considering these issues from a place of uncertainty and instability, many organisations will feel it is time to establish a more constant and stable foundation. The organisations that will come out on top are those who seize this moment to shape the future of work, developing new business models and ways of working that successfully encompass their purpose, goals, and vision while also improving the customer experience.

At the core of bringing these plans to life and enacting the vision day-to-day is the business’s people. People now need to be valued more highly than capital, or at least on par. Business leaders need to be thinking about the contributions their people can make, how their people need and want to work, and what their people need to do to help the business reach its objectives. This is where strategic ‘workforce planning’ can and should come into play because oftentimes, the most impactful change starts from within.

What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

Strategic workforce planning involves pulling together a coherent and agile plan that blends business strategy, people, data, and technology in order to make workforce composition and capability decisions that meet the organisation’s financial, productivity and customer targets.

During the planning process you may uncover a need to make some restructuring decisions, but there is far more to strategic workforce planning than hiring new talent or making redundancies that, if not thought through, can also create the risk of losing existing talent. These plans need to encompass how you intend to meet current demands in a sustainable, timely, and cost-effective way and they will likely require you to take an honest look at your existing workforce to spot risks and opportunities. If meeting the demands of the business means growing a specific area of it, do you intend to bring in new talent or invest in what you already have? Do you have the right skills in the right roles? Are there internal promotions you could make, or talent that would be better utilised in a different area of the business? Do you have the right expertise on your side in the necessary areas?

Putting people at the heart of any restructure is what will separate a successful attempt from a high risk one. The people in question will include both your internal and external stakeholders, such as your staff and your customers. All stakeholder groups have specific needs and roles to play in the function of your business, and the complex and wide-ranging needs of these varying audience groups may require deeper expertise in topics such as employment law, social planning, engagement, psychology, or consumer behaviour. Identifying the areas that need strengthening and working that into your plans by allocating the appropriate workforce resources will go a long way in helping restructuring efforts or transformation projects to succeed. Putting the building blocks together now ensures that HR teams, line managers, and business leaders have the opportunity to implement a smooth with mitigated risk.

A People-Centric Approach

People are one of the biggest if not the biggest expenditure of most organisations. Maximising the potential in this area is crucial, not just for the sake of your investment but also for the sake of your organisation. While strategising and planning happens at the top, your staff are the ‘boots on the ground’ actually bringing these plans to life. The C-Suite may determine what customer targets need to be met, but it’s the organisation’s employees who interact with those customers on a regular basis and have a direct responsibility for accomplishing the goals set by the higher ups. The people you choose to put in those roles matter.

Each member of the C-suite normally represents a different specific function of the business, whether it be Marketing and Sales, Operations, Technology, Diversity, Innovation, or even People, but they cannot properly fulfil their roles without all of the individuals representing different roles, specialisations, and functions throughout the organisation. Managing a dynamic workforce and supporting capability development that spans the entire business is a central challenge for leadership to overcome and relies heavily on successful communication.

Communication and Culture

In an ideal world, every business experiment, innovation, restructure, or project would run smoothly, effortlessly. Unfortunately, organisations don’t always have all the answers needed in order to make that happen and today’s environment is too dynamic to enable such change. As a result, successful firms are relying on their workforce to be part of the journey and play an active role in developing solutions to the problems that arise.

A key component of keeping a people-centric approach is not just assuming what’s best for your staff or customers, but actually communicating with them and shaping a fully inclusive culture. Don’t assume that your staff automatically have the skills you need, and attempt to identify which areas seem to be lacking. Don’t deliver your plans as edicts and expect buy-in, either. Allow your workforce to be architects of the organisation’s future structure and culture. Clarify and communicate an inspiring vision of what success looks like and how it will be measured, solicit employees’ opinions, listen to their contributions, take feedback on board and allow it to inform the strategy, and share impact measurements as they’re achieved. Ensure individuals know what is expected of them in terms of action and behaviour, and the role that they play in the bigger picture.

It would be remiss of the leadership team to not include elements of organisational culture in their strategic workforce planning. Focus on employee satisfaction in order to dam the flood of staff dissatisfaction or turnover and to build brand goodwill. If the last year has taught us one major HR lesson it is that one uniform way of working may not be the most effective approach for all staff. It’s worth rethinking ways of working to be more stimulating or providing staff with an environment that supports them in how they want or need to work, whether that environment be a designated office or a remote location. If skills gaps have been identified, encourage continuous learning or support upskilling initiatives. By investing in your people, you can broaden your horizons rather than narrowing them and build an environment that engenders a sense of purpose.

The most progressive employers will give their people a choice to join them on this new journey, or to bow out. Those employees who are not committed to the vision should be allowed to go with grace and without spectacle. After all, once they are no longer your employee, they could very well become your customer or a key thought leader in your industry.

The Role of Staff

While the brunt of strategic workforce planning will fall on the leadership team, there are a number of actions staff can do in order to support these efforts and ultimately shape their own career paths and future contributions.

The first and most imperative is to keep up with trends and identify future-focused skills that may be of long-term value to the organisation or may become a requirement for their role down the line. This provides a bit of leverage for the individual during organisational cutbacks and having these skills already on the payroll may help minimise leadership’s need to recruit new talent in order to meet their goals.

Once the new business models or plans have been introduced and the expectations have been clearly outlined, staff should take stock of their own behaviours to identify what needs to change in order to support a potential culture shift. It might involve becoming more open-minded to change, collaborative, communicative, innovative, or curious.

Finally, the people-first focus should not only be a leadership priority. As mentioned, it’s the staff who work most closely with the customers and who have the most first-hand knowledge of what their needs, priorities, habits, attitudes, or behaviours might be. It’s important to understand how these influences might impact the business on a large scale in terms of its products, services, profits, messaging, and so on. However, it’s also valuable to be able to maximise this knowledge on an internal basis in order to further your own career and help inform wider strategy.

In order to create impactful and widespread change for the business, the process often needs to start at its core with its people. From top to bottom, an organisation’s people play a crucial role in driving success, and therefore need to be one of the first areas considered when developing plans and solutions. But in order for a business to get the most out of this resource, it’s crucial to invest the time into proper planning, the resources for proper skills development, and the effort of cultivating a culture worth buying into. This may be a challenge for some Leaders, but it can make all the difference.

We have reached an interesting point in our professional lives. The digital revolution and its implications coupled with the economic and societal aftermath of the pandemic have presented organisations with a new set of critical of challenges to overcome. The responsibility may fall on the board or a group of key decision makers to carve a successful path forward and present solutions for helping their organisation to stay relevant in the future. While those plans may look different for every business, it is clear that strong and engaging leadership will be crucial for success in whatever comes next.

But what makes an effective and successful leader? What skills, capabilities, and attributes do they possess that inspire others to follow their lead and buy into their vision? How do these individuals seem to effortlessly navigate even the most challenging circumstances?

The harsh reality is that not everyone is cut out for leadership, and not all who attempt it will be successful. We work very closely with global leaders of all backgrounds from organisations of varying types and sizes, and while there is no clear-cut formula for what makes a leader successful, several patterns have emerged.

Here are the five factors that most often result in leadership success, as identified by our ongoing research and multi-disciplinary team of specialists:

1. Mastering Buy-In

Good leaders have the ability to engage teams in facilitating change within the organisation, and know that speaking in edicts and assuming that their word will be taken as law is not the same as generating buy-in. Similarly, you cannot expect automatic buy-in on your initiatives simply because of your position in the company. Mastering buy-in is all about building strong collaborative relationships with the people you need to have on your side and giving all a voice in shaping the future.

Networking and fostering your connections over time helps to build a strong reputation and rapport. Good networking helps build a basis of trust and support that can help you to win new business or engage staff more effectively. These connections will not only enable you to win support more easily, but also allow you to gain understanding and perspective that can help to inform the plans and initiatives you create.

The most successful leaders are constantly looking for patterns, opportunities, and problems across their teams, industry, and markets that they can leverage to help further their business objectives. They are skilled at assessing concerns by asking the right questions and listening effectively. However, the challenge top leaders face is getting others to also understand these issues, see the opportunities to be gained, and get on board with making any necessary changes. It goes beyond persuasion. The most successful teams are those who truly buy into the bigger vision and purpose and are committed to delivering impact. It falls on leadership to create and encourage those attitudes.

2. Communicating Effectively

Of course, if you want people to buy into the plans, objectives, and initiatives you are proposing, there needs to be clear communication of what you are looking to accomplish and how. Leaders are tasked with managing countless relationships throughout the organisation, the industry, the community, and perhaps even the world at large. Learning how to convey the right messages to these various groups so that everyone truly understands and can act accordingly is a major skill for leaders to develop.

Effective communication is vital to gain trust, create alignment, and drive change. Without it, objectives get lost, vital information can be misinterpreted, relationships suffer, and unnecessary hurdles are created.  Being able to communication across multiple channels authentically, consistently, simply, and clearly is what separates a successful leader from the rest.

The best performing teams are typically supported by an environment that enables them to feel safe and enthusiastic about sharing their ideas and allows them to work through problems collaboratively and constructively. Strong leaders encourage and seek out the opinions of their people, and they take the time to actually listen. Staff usually have a deeper insight into the day-to-day workings of the business and the needs of the customer than those at the top of the organisation do and can provide a much-needed reality check when proposing new ideas. Leaders should encourage these discussions and take feedback on board in order to ensure their initiatives will actually provide value to the organisation.

3. Delivering Results

Making plans and setting objectives is only half of the battle. How well do you actually deliver on them? In our blog about leading with purpose, we discussed the idea of ‘walking the talk,’ or essentially practicing what you preach. If you are making promises to your team, your customers, and the organisation’s other stakeholders, there needs to be action attached.

You could have every sought-after soft skill there is, but at the end of the day success boils down to delivering results. In order to do this, get clear on expectations and responsibilities, clearly define your goals and determine what metrics you will use to measure individual and team. What is the value of your initiatives, and how will others experience it? Success will look different for every project and every leader, but some good areas to observe for benchmarking include efficiency, profit, productivity, leads, and satisfaction levels.

Your effectiveness as a leader hinges on your ability to not only make plans and get the team involved, but also to turn your ideas into positive outcomes. That sends the message to your team and your organisation’s stakeholders that you are trustworthy, dependable, and can follow through. All of these contribute to deeper trust and easier buy-in in the future.

4. Setting Standards for Wellbeing and Professional Development

Leaders are the most visible figures in the organisation. Depending on their level or role within the organisation, they may even be the public figurehead for the business. That responsibility comes with a unique set of pressures and expectations. The way a leader behaves, carries themselves, and manages their role is a reflection on the organisation and has been proven to directly impact staff’s attitudes and performance.

That is why it is vitally important for leaders to set a good standard and model the behaviours and attitudes that they would like to see reflected throughout their organisation. This includes being aware of and open about their own strengths, weaknesses, and limitations as not only a leader but also a person. Leaders carry a lot of responsibility, and that comes with heavy expectations. By looking after their own wellbeing, leaders are able to send an important message about the importance of mental health and work-life balance. While we may be in business to create a profit, we are not alive to be in business. Those who lead with emotional intelligence, mental agility, empathy, and humanity are more likely to be viewed favourably by the people they are looking to gain the support and trust of.

Because of the added pressures and responsibilities, leadership can often feel isolating. While a big part of the job is creating and managing relationships in order to further business objectives, it is important for senior leaders to create their own support network. The most effective leaders recognise that they cannot and do not have to go it alone. Having formal confidants such as other board members, trusted colleagues, a mentor, or a career coach can help to provide professional support when the stresses of the job begin to pile up. Outside of work, having an informal network such as friends and family helps to provide personal support and encouragement when needed.

Additionally, successful leaders know and understand that the only way forward is through experimentation, exploration, agility, and open-mindedness. At times, progress will require even the most experienced leaders to unlearn old habits in favour of new future-focused practices. The best leaders are those who are constantly evolving and adapting. These leaders seek out opportunities for continuous learning and encourage their teams to do the same.

5. Embracing New Technology and AI

Of course, technology is one of the most vital areas for reskilling and retraining. With our increased reliance on digital technologies and the rapid adoptions of new tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), proficiency in digital skills has become a must-have. It is vital that leaders familiarise themselves with these tools so that they can champion them within their organisation. As with any major change, there is likely to be pushback from some members of staff. Along with the other capabilities already discussed that help to build trust and credibility, a leader’s ability to reasonably explain the uses and benefits of emerging technology can go a long way for getting the sceptics on board. Once that happens, the organisation is able to better keep pace with the evolving business landscape and ever-changing habits and increasing expectations of their customers to deliver long term value.

Again, there is no fool proof formula for successful leadership. What sets effective leaders apart is a willingness to continuously learn, evolve and adapt, effective communication and listening skills, strong relationships, and a focus on the future. Focusing your attention on the five areas above will position you and your organisation well for long-term success.

The past year has been challenging for leaders everywhere, even surpassing the 2008 financial crisis. It has forced executives to adapt to professional and societal change at record speed. Waves of change altered the modus operandi, and the way customers and clients behave, requiring a new mindset, changed behaviours and in some cases, innovative operating models.

Some leaders responded by casting aside pride, bureaucracy and tradition to enable new positive behaviours that drove rapid change and helped their organisation stay competitive. This period proved to be a true ‘trial by fire’ lesson in digital transformation, consumer behaviour, and compassionate leadership. As a result, some of the most effective leaders were those who adapted swiftly to become more agile, decisive, innovative, digital and data savvy, collaborative, customer-centric and empathetic.

While some elements of our professional lives may return to the way they were before COVID-19, many aspects have changed permanently. If the Government’s plans are successful and truly irreversible, we will have no choice but to address them sooner rather than later. What lessons can be learned from the workforce to lock in the best practices developed during the pandemic, and how can they successfully combine with the ways we worked pre-COVID? How do we do this successfully when teams are split between remote locations and the shared office? Here are our top tips for successful leadership in a hybrid working environment.

The ‘Best’ Best Practices

What really constitutes ‘best practice’? Is it what works best for the most amount of organisations, creates the most profit, or causes the least friction? Normally what becomes considered ‘best practice’ involves a combination of these factors, but it can also vary on a case-by-case basis. Government and trade bodies give us regulations that serve as macro benchmarks, and there are a few that have become engrained in overall working life and were very prevalent pre-pandemic. For example, working from an office was the standard for most organisations.

But then during the pandemic, certain things became best practice out of necessity. Working remotely or from home is a prime example. When nonessential businesses were given no choice but to close their doors due to lockdown and the stay-at-home orders mandated working from home wherever possible, having the ability to log in remotely and continue to get work done was a saving grace that allowed staff to continue on with the essential activities of the business. But what happens now that these restrictions have lifted? Organisations and their leaders will need to assess the benefits and determine the best course of action. Was working from home successful simply because it was a necessity, or were there notable changes in morale, efficiency, and productivity?

This transition period requires leaders to take stock and be honest about what best serves the organisation’s objectives, its customers, and its staff. This may require letting go of preconceived notions and long held biases or beliefs about what best practice truly means.

One of the most valuable resources a leader has is the team. Open up a dialogue with staff to discuss what is and is not working. What elements of remote work do they like, and what benefits have they seen? Have they found a better way of doing things this past year? Do they even want to go back to the way things were? With their feet on the ground, your team’s feedback and performance will give you the best idea of what should or should not be considered best practice.

What you learn from your staff and what you have observed over the past year can be weighed against what you have traditionally done in order to determine the true best practices for your organisation. However, the only way for this to be successful is to be honest and to leave your own biases behind. Embrace agility and new ideas, whilst keeping your focus fixed on the future and the evolving needs of your core stakeholders and customers.

Creating Alignment and Clearing Communication Hurdles

Many major organisations have already announced their intention to allow staff to continue working remotely at least some of the time.  Many others are poised to follow suit. If you have determined this to be the best course of action for your business, your challenge is now to embed your new best practices into a hybrid work environment.

When all staff work from the office it is perceived to be easier to monitor performance and impact, and it enables easier collaboration between teammates. When staff were working from home, they all had no choice but to rely on email, video conferencing, and collaboration platforms to communicate with no in-person elements. A return to the office with a hybrid model will split the workforce between locations and may cause communication hurdles or confusion. Not only that, but how can you monitor impact and individual contribution this way?

In our consulting work with organisations, we at The Rialto Consultancy have found that the issues that most organisations have with mindset, impact, and performance stem from poor or ineffective communication and lack of alignment. Overcoming barriers to clear communication will be an essential first step for implementing hybrid working models effectively and creating much-needed alignment across the entire organisation.

You cannot have everyone on the same page and aligned if no one knows what the business’s goals are or what is needed to achieve them. Now that you have hopefully identified what is to become best practice in your organisation’s new normal, you need to be sure that all members of the team have a full understanding of what will be expected of them. Set standards for behaviour and benchmarks for performance, making time and putting systems in place to monitor whether or not these are being met both when the employee is in the office and at home.

It may require extra effort to level the playing field to make sure that communication is consistent across locations. When hosting a meeting in the office with the staff who are physically present, determine how remote staff can participate and ‘be present’ in a similar way. Will you require additional facilitation and means of sharing communication. Likewise, if hosting a meeting virtually, encourage in-office staff to gather and dial in together. Make sure that all parties are granted an equal opportunity to speak and share perspectives and ideas and foster an environment where they feel encouraged to do so. If an in-person conversation lends some valuable insights, recap and share on the Slack or Teams platform as routine to keep remote staff looped in. It may take reinforcement and frequent check-ins to ensure everyone is clear and nothing is missed.

This might seem difficult to accomplish and may take some getting used to. But once this in-depth level of communication has become standard behaviour, it will be much easier to keep the team on track and monitor progress. Thankfully, the technology we are fortunate enough to have access to can smooth out the transition and make hybrid working more seamless overall.

Easing the Transition

Technology has undoubtedly played a critical role over the last year, and it will continue to be essential in order for hybrid models to be both feasible and successful. But even after a year of relying on it, technology can still cause friction, annoyance, and discomfort. Is your staff ready and willing to work this way? Are they willing to potentially adapt their own communication styles in order to make sure all members of the team stay in the loop?

Of course, communications will be crucial to success here as well. Ask staff about their concerns and hesitations with the new model, and work with them to ease their concerns. Clearly communicate why the organisation is choosing to implement a hybrid work model, how it is expected to work, what communication channels will be needed, and what outcomes are expected to be achieved. Making staff feel included and heard as part of the process will go a long way to creating a culture that supports and embraces change and innovation.

There will undoubtedly be some grey areas and ambiguity throughout the transition period. By following the advice above, leaders will be better armed to help their team settle comfortably into a hybrid working model as a part of the culture.

Career transitions can be challenging for most executives, but there is an extra level of scrutiny, responsibility, and forward thinking that comes with considering a career as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). These individuals are at the helm of the organisation and are tasked with driving the business forward. They are often credited for their company’s success, and on many occasions the first to be blamed when things go wrong.

But what does it take to be a CEO today? And what do current and aspiring CEOs need to build for future stages of their career? Here is the latest outlook and key considerations for current and aspiring CEOs.

CEO Snapshot

Our research has found that the average age for a CEO is 58 years old. Based on the current metric that only 5% of FTSE 100 and 2% of FTSE 250 CEOs are female, the CEO is more likely to be male. While this split is heavily unbalanced at present, we have seen the number of female chief executives rise in recent years as boards look to appoint more diverse leaders.

The average tenure for the role is 6 years. It is most likely that the CEO was appointed to the position through internal succession, as supported by recent research[1] which found that 72% of new CEOs are promoted internally, and 8.4% are former executives or current or former board members. That means that only 19.6% of CEOs are brought in externally for the role, but most of these ‘outsiders’ are not as disconnected as one might think. More than 90% of these candidates have pre-existing connections to the firm or its leadership. Most outsider hires are not CEOs poached from other firms (3.2%) but are instead in roles below the CEO or Board at other firms (55%) or those not currently in an executive position (31%).

For those considering a transition into a career as a CEO, it is worth examining the connections and networks you already have, and the need to invest in developing new ones within the companies and sectors you would like to work for.

Top Market Challenges impacting CEO’S

If you are a current or aspiring CEO, these three areas of concern will be most prevalent in coming months according to our research:

1. COVID-19 As we transition out of lockdown and face the economic repercussions of the pandemic, CEOs will be tasked with helping their company to thrive in the next normal. This may mean spearheading a change project, making tough decisions about the organisational structure, or creating a new strategy for the business and developing and launching innovations whist workforces get used to hybrid working.

2. Technology Adoption of new technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating in every industry across the world. Contributing to the creation of a new digital strategy will be a critical responsibility for the foreseeable future. Future-ready CEOs have a duty to understand the technology, its impacts on their industry and beyond, the potential benefits to the business, and any ethical risks or consequences for human staff.

3. Environmental Impact Sustainability and greener practices have become a top priority for both businesses and consumers in recent years. This issue is expected to remain prevalent, and responsible CEOs should understand their organisation’s impact and participate in any plans to help reduce it.

Top CEO Priorities

Current and aspiring CEOs should expect to focus their energy in the following four areas:

1. Data to Drive Execution Data has become a critical component of the digital-driven business landscape. This data can be harnessed and analysed by AI to make decisions based on insight rather than intuition. CEOs need to understand how their organisational and customers’ data can be safely collected and used, and how instrumental it can be in turning the generated insights into real, actionable strategy for the organisation.

2. Agility and Speed A crucial capability for today’s CEOs is the ability to pivot. They need to understand how to adapt their businesses and deliver sustained outcomes in a rapidly changing external environment. All of the challenges listed above will require CEOs to embrace a lot of change over the next several years, and the ability to be flexible without losing momentum is imperative for success.

3. Digital Evolution The future of business is digital, and the companies who are leading the pack in implementing digital technologies have radically improved their operational efficiency and their customers’ experiences. Understanding the capabilities available from harnessing digital technologies will help CEOs guide their organisation in reimagining its purpose and business models.

4. Linking the Company with the World at Large: The role of the CEO is that of the figurehead of their company, serving as the liaison between the organisation, the industry, and the world at large. Fulfilling this responsibility effectively is more important than ever for today’s CEOs as they navigate an era of digital technologies, social consciousness, and scrutiny across a vast range of media platforms. A CEO needs to be able to react quickly and effectively to a crisis should one arise.

People Priorities

A CEO is ultimately a leader and is responsible for guiding the organisation and its people into the future. CEOs should expect to focus on these people-centric priorities for the foreseeable future:

1. Hybrid Working The pandemic required teams to adjust to remote work models, and this way of working looks poised to stay in some form as we return to normalcy. CEOs will need to adopt a leadership style that is effective both in person and virtually, setting a precedent for leaders  around them to follow. There needs to be an understanding of how staff work best, and clear communication of responsibilities and expectations in order to maintain productivity and wellbeing.

2. Productivity For many organisations, this past year has produced a lot of creativity and productivity. The CEO needs to be able to capitalise on this in order to ramp up innovation capabilities. Some organisations struggled to adapt to remote working formats, or to the overall challenges posed by the pandemic. Within these companies, the CEO should prioritise a review of what needs improving and iron out any issues before proceeding with new initiatives.

3. Board Make-up and Upskilling The CEO often plays an integral role in the hiring decisions for other top roles within the company. Who are you seating at the table alongside you? Are you willing to champion, digital savviness, experimentation, diversity, inclusion, and or sustainability within your organisation? How do you plan to reflect this dedication in the decisions you make? These are all essential questions for CEOs to have in mind. Not only that, but consideration needs to be given to how existing staff will be supported and invested in long-term. The pace of change and rise in digital technology is going to cause potential displacement of staff and a critical need for upskilling. The CEO should work with the rest of the board to devise a strategy for supporting people through the transition, whether that means investing in training and development opportunities or making touch decisions investing and providing outplacement and career transition services.

Personal Development

Personal development is a critical component of a successful professional career, and your efforts here can make or break your career transition. Based on our research, we advise focusing on these core areas:

1. Being Accessible, Inclusive and Transparent The priorities and needs of staff have shifted in recent years to become more purpose driven. Our research shows that it is not just millennials and Gen Z staff who feel this way, as older employees expressed similar views. Staff want to work at a company that stands for something, and follow leaders who they respect and admire. It falls on the CEO to set the tone for the culture of the organisation and to ensure that the purpose statement is lived out day-to-day. Learn to be respectful of diverse viewpoints, be transparent, and work on your communication skills.
2. Experimentation Strategic, contemporary CEOs do not look for a niche but instead study the changes in the marketplace, actively seeking out new opportunities, and seizing them. Radical change, pivots, and growth rarely happen overnight or at the first attempt. A successful CEO is one who understands that they need to take risks but knows when to switch gear or change direction to achieve the right results. Be open and ready to sprint in the short term and set realistic goals to focus on and achieve.
3. Building Knowledge and Networks As mentioned, a majority of CEO roles are obtained through connections. ‘Who you know’ has always been an important aspect of business life, but it is even more imperative for the CEO.  While your connections may open the door to your next role, they will also be valuable for your success once you are firmly rooted in your role. It is common and highly beneficial for CEOs to connect with other CEOs to share ideas and experiences, encourage and support one another, and create a dialogue surrounding the challenges or opportunities in the market. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in digital technology have accelerated this dialogue and fostered greater learning across industries. This has provided CEOs with the opportunity to share their successes, failures and best practice. Do not simply view your network as a potential gateway to your next job, though this may be the case. Identify peers that you admire, can learn from, or can engage with in thought-provoking and insightful discussion about the role.

The role of Chief Executive can be one of the most demanding and most rewarding executive positions available. This individual is responsible for the future of the organisation and its people. Success takes innovative thinking, resilience, flexibility, transparency, and initiative.

[1] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3644496

With the COVID 19 vaccine rollout providing hope and early promising results, it seems that we are closer to a return to a new normal than we have been for over a year. This positive outlook means that it is safer for both individuals and businesses alike to start seriously considering and planning for what comes next, what this time has meant for businesses, and what needs to change in order to suit new ways of living and working. One major topic that needs to be covered as part of the discussion is purpose.

This past year has brought out the human side of business. It has led many of us to revaluate what is truly important and presented many organisations with challenges to their purpose statements. But what does purpose truly mean for businesses, leaders, and their people in 2021 and the near future? How do you transfer it from words into a real actionable leadership strategy?

Defining Purpose

Fundamentally, many businesses exist to make a profit, but profit should not be confused with purpose. Purpose is the starting point that led to the founding of the business. Think of it as the the ‘Why’ at the centre of Simon Sinek’s ‘Golden Circle’ model. Purpose looks beyond profits to the long-term impacts you would like to have on your customers, staff, market, community and the environment.

‘Purpose’ and ‘values’ are often misunderstood, due to being used interchangeably or variably in different contexts. Your purpose is why you are in business, and your values are the guiding principles and standards for behaviour. Think of purpose as the big picture roadmap for the direction in which you would like the organisation to progress.  Values are the compass for how to get there. In the Sinek model, values sit in the ‘How’ ring. How do you behave to ensure you are living out your organisation’s purpose? How does the organisation work towards this vision each day?

Why It Matters

Purpose and vision exist on an individual level as well. Just as you have your reasons for pursuing a particular career path and have a set of moral principles that matter to you, so will the people you do business with. Millennials and Generation Z are more socially conscious than previous generations, and as they begin to make up larger portions of the workforce and consumer market, these young people want to buy from and work for companies whose purpose they resonate with and whose values they share.

Think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the top of the triangle after all the basic and security needs are fulfilled, we start to look at topics such as belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. Purpose provides unification, motivation, inspiration, and helps individuals tap into these higher level needs to get more out of their role.

Employees turn to purpose as a way of bringing meaning to their work and to understand the contribution they are making to the organisation and the world around them. Research has found that these employees who find meaning in their day-to-day work feel much more satisfied and engaged. Employees who feel connected to their organisation’s purpose have a deeper sense of belonging and are therefore more motivated in their roles and are easier to retain.

The intrinsic motivation which purpose can provide to staff has become incredibly valuable during the hardships of the past year. The changing business landscape has forced many businesses to rethink how they can incentivise their employees, especially in situations where financial rewards are not practical or possible. In some cases, the fulfilment of doing meaningful work and contributing to the bigger mission and vision may be enough to encourage staff to remain with the organisation.

Walking the Talk

For this to have any affect at all, businesses and their leaders need to ‘walk the talk.’ Your purpose is mere words on a page until there is action behind it. For example, a business can say that its purpose is to create a fairer world for all, but this means very little if its board comprises only one predominant demographic, and if its female staff are not paid the same as their male counterparts. Clearly, a lack of diversity at a senior level and unfair compensation practices are in direct conflict with the organisation’s mission of fairness.

This is a very serious and big picture example, but infractions against a company’s values and purpose can occur daily in smaller instances. Authenticity matters. If a leader is to serve as a champion for the organisation’s mission and purpose, they need to ensure that their words match their actions. If your company has outlined its values, you need to ensure that both you and your team are meeting those standards of behaviour. If you state that you value inclusion, you must ensure that you give every member of the team a voice. If you value respect, it’s important that you are respecting your team’s boundaries and opinions, and that they are showing the same respect to one another.

This sends a clear message to your team that the company is serious about what it stands for, and thereby helps to build their faith in the organisation. Staff will find it easier to buy into a purpose if they see it being lived out every day. Leading by example is critically important to build this type of trust and to reap the productivity, motivation, and retention benefits that ensue.

Putting this into practice post-COVID will be challenging for many leaders. Reinforcing purpose on an individual level and creating that sense of alignment and unity is more difficult whilst staff continue to work remotely.

While it is essential for staff to have a clear idea of where the organisation and its leadership stands in terms of values and purpose, it is equally important that each individual team member understands the role they play in that. This understanding of individual impact will help staff find their place within that bigger picture.

Operationally, this links back to the standards set by management. Leaders need to continue holding their team to those same behavioural principles even when outside of the office. Examples would include allowing everyone a chance to speak on video calls or monitoring team correspondence to ensure that teams maintain respectful for one another.

At Rialto, we work closely with teams to help staff gain an understanding of the impact they make on the organisation, and to understand where they can improve. Often, issues can be swiftly resolved through better communication from leadership. Managers need to have conversations with their staff about the purpose of the organisation, the contributions each team member makes towards furthering that purpose, and the values and standards of behaviour that every person in the organisation is held to.

One of the clearest indications of walking the talk is a company’s willingness to invest in its own people. Taking the time to ensure that everyone is aligned, on board, and motivated is the best way of ensuring that a company is living out its own purpose. Leaders should ensure that they are authentic in their words and actions and are leading by example. Hold staff to the right standards, but make sure they each understand what contributions they can be valued for, how to make those impacts, and how this all fits into the greater purpose of the organisation. That way, you build a team that truly believes in the work that they do, and who are willing to stand by the organisation, its customers, and its wider stakeholders.

Only a small number of organisations have been able to successfully scale their digital initiatives beyond the experimentation and piloting stages, a study finds, which identifies six barriers which must be navigated on when embarking on a digital transformation journey.

Business analyst Gartner contends that this is because digital transformation requires more than simply investing in the latest technology – it demands significant changes to culture and systems.

“To change an organisation designed for a structured, ordered, process-oriented world to one designed for ecosystems, adaptation, learning and experimentation is hard,” said Marcus Blosch, research vice president at Gartner.

“Some organisations will navigate that change, and others that can’t change will become outdated and be replaced.”

The six barriers and Gartner’s advice on overcoming them are outlined below:

1 A change-resisting culture

“Culture is organisational ‘dark matter’ – you can’t see it, but its effects are obvious,” said Blosch. “The challenge is that many organisations have developed a culture of hierarchy and clear boundaries between areas of responsibilities. Digital innovation requires the opposite: collaborative cross-functional and self-directed teams that are not afraid of uncertain outcomes.”

Those aiming to establish a digital culture should start small: define a digital mindset, assemble a digital innovation team, and shield it from the rest of the organisation to let the new culture develop. Connections between the digital innovation and core teams can then be used to scale new ideas and spread the culture.

2 Limited sharing and collaboration

Digital innovation with its collaborative cross-functional teams is often very different from what employees are used to with regards to functions and hierarchies and resistance is inevitable.

“It’s not necessary to have everyone on board in the early stages. Try to find areas where interests overlap, and create a starting point,” said Blosch. “Build a first version, test the idea and use the success story to gain the momentum needed for the next step.”

3 The business isn’t ready

Many business leaders are caught up in the hype around digital business. But when the CIO or CDO wants to start the transformation process, it turns out that the business doesn’t have the skills or resources needed.

Gartner recommends focusing on the early adopters with the willingness and openness to change and leverage digital. But keep in mind that digital may just not be relevant to certain parts of the organisation.

4 The talent gap

Employees need new skills focused on innovation, change and creativity along with the new technologies themselves, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT)

“In smaller or more innovative organisations, it is possible to redefine individuals’ roles to include more skills and competencies needed to support digital,” said Blosch. “In other organisations, using a bimodal approach makes sense by creating a separate group to handle innovation with the requisite skill set.”

5 Current practices don’t support the talent

“Some organisations may shift to a product management-based approach for digital innovations because it allows for multiple iterations,” said Blosch. “Operational innovations can follow the usual approaches until the digital team is skilled and experienced enough to extend its reach and share the learned practices with the organisation.”

 6 Change isn’t easy

Developing platforms, changing the organisational structure, and creating an ecosystem of partners is challenging.

According to Gartner, enterprises should build the organisational capabilities that make change simpler and faster. To do that, it said, they should develop a platform-based strategy that supports continuous change and design principles and then innovate on top of that platform.

In this white paper, Rialto examines four areas which we have identified as critical to organisational growth: enabling innovation; becoming customer-obsessed; forming strategic partnerships and alliances; and reskilling and upskilling the workforce with 21st Century skills.