The Role of Data in Strategic Decision Making

On average, an adult makes approximately 35,000 conscious decisions every day. Some of these choices are as simple as ‘tea or coffee,’ while others have much higher stakes. For business leaders, that number is likely much higher and many of those decisions hold much greater weight. Day-to-day, senior executives are tasked with making choices that impact their business, their people, their customers and – in certain cases – wider society.

Each individual leader will have their own approach to decision making, with some preferring to seek the advice of trusted peers while others rely on their own intuition. In fact, research has found that more than 40% of CEOs make decisions based on gut feelings. But in our increasingly digital age, businesses and their leadership have a powerful weapon in their arsenal that hold incredible value for making smarter, more effective decisions.

Understanding Data-Driven Decision Making

‘Data’ is not unique to the digital age. Before the somewhat recent wave of digitisation and the subsequent migrations to cloud storage, businesses kept physical records locked in filing cabinets or stored in boxes. These methods were not necessarily the most convenient or secure but served their purpose of telling the story of the business via facts and figures.

Data looks rather different in the digital age. With our shift towards smart devices, social media, and e-commerce, businesses today have access to more data than they realise or utilise. The volume of online activity makes it difficult to pinpoint exact figures, but estimates suggest that 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day. Every interaction, every web search, every sale, and every activity between the organisations and its audiences creates a data trail that helps the business to gain a better grip on its standing in the marketplace and among its customers and competition.

The process of using this information to guide the business strategy and validate courses of action is commonly known as Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM). Organisations may do this by analysing macro trends and research from credible third parties, conducting their own surveys and focus groups, or running tests to generate original insights on specific products or business challenges. These and other DDDM practices have been used for centuries. However, an innately modern phenomenon is occurring wherein an increasing number of companies have begun using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the wealth of digital data produced by the everyday digital activities of the business.

Combined, these methods provide deeper insights into the activities of the business, its people, and the markets in which it operates.

Why Use DDDM?

According to a PwC survey of more than 1,000 senior executives, highly data-driven organisations are three times more likely to report significant improvements in decision-making. It is easy to understand why.

In the wake of the pandemic and its aftereffects, it has become more important than ever for businesses to develop the right strategy and prioritise actions that drive impact. The challenges in the marketplace have made it imperative for leaders to make wise choices regarding their products, customer experiences, operations, personnel, suppliers, and more. However, the stresses of navigating the tumult amid pressures to deliver business impact can often cloud judgement and create space for irrationality.

Becoming data-driven can help to keep the business on track by creating a stable model for decision-making that can withstand both troubling times and ideal operating conditions. Much of its value can be attributed to the fact that data is inherently objective. At some point or other, all of us will have heard the phrase, “Numbers don’t lie.” Data offers a similar infallibility. While it is possible for biases to creep into data collection methods and taint the outcomes, overall, data lacks the subjectivity and ‘blind spot’ thinking that intuition-based and other decision-making methods possess. When collected properly, data paints a picture of the way things are rather than presenting individuals or the business through the lens of how you perceive or wish them to be. It may not always be what we want to hear, but data will tell us everything we need to know to grow and evolve.

Because of its ability to benchmark the current position of the business, data makes it possible to better understand the potential impacts of any subsequent decisions and track progress along the way. Data can lend credibility to gut instinct or help steer leaders away from paths that may not deliver the desired impact. This is crucial in times of turmoil when every decision carries extra pressure, and resources may be increasingly valuable. Data analytics and insight generation can often highlight issues that may require immediate attention, areas for improvement, develop risk metrics or potential cost savings. On their own, these insights may seem small, but can help inform a wider strategy that pilots the business towards a more favourable position.

Since data is both logical and objective, it is much easier for business leaders to become more confident in their decision making over time. This confidence will be key for generating buy-in for any strategic initiatives and earning trust for the leadership team. Staff, customers, and other stakeholders want the business to be led by leaders who have proven their competence and their ability to make good judgements. Prioritising data in decision making increases the likelihood of achieving the best possible outcomes much more often, thus increasing the credibility of the leadership team in the eyes of their audiences, as well as the leaders’ own sense of conviction.

Top DDDM Challenges

This is not always as easy as it may seem. In the most recent NewVantage Partners annual survey, which tracks the progress of corporate data initiatives, just 26.5% of organisations reported having become data driven. The biggest challenge seems to be a people issue. 91.9% of executives in the survey cited cultural obstacles as the greatest barrier to becoming data driven. Crafting a successful data culture requires shaping collective beliefs and behaviours to unite all levels and areas of the business over a shared mission to lead with insight.

As with any major organisational change, there needs to be effort invested into communicating objectives, creating alignment, and ensuring the right values and priorities are embedded into the organisation’s practices. Leaders may experience pushback or resistance and will have to work through these changes collaboratively with their people. Data is a fluid asset that flows throughout the business and transcends organisational boundaries. Therefore, it can at times become difficult to assign clear ownership to it, which increases the complexity of managing the business’s valuable information. Communication is critical for assigning responsibility and creating the necessary alignment across teams.

The nature and sheer volume of the data itself presents obstacles as well. The majority of this information is unorganised with experts predicting that by 2025, 80% of global data will be unstructured. This form of data is more difficult to analyse, quantify, and search through. Common examples include email communications, photos and videos, social media posts, websites, and open-ended survey questions. When you consider how many of these items are generated each day, the burden of data analysis becomes much heavier. That is why many businesses looking to become more data driven have begun rapidly adopting advanced technological tools that are capable of assigning meaning and gleaning insights from this mess of information.

How data is collected, managed, and shared creates a major challenge both internally and externally. Customers are not naïve to the fact that the organisations they do business with collect and use their data. Over time, consumers and businesses reached an unspoken social contract in which customers agree to surrender their data in exchange for better products, services, and experiences. But as part of this agreement, it is also expected that the business will use and store this data in a way that safeguards their customers. In recent years, we have seen companies including British Airways, Yahoo, Marriott Hotels, and various social media platforms experience major backlash when this trust is breached. We have also seen the introduction of specific laws, such as GDPR, designed to provide additional protections to consumers in the data age. Navigating the ethical and regulatory considerations of fair data use is a challenge every business needs to take very seriously.

Becoming Data-Driven

But how can leaders overcome these obstacles and put DDDM into practice successfully? At Rialto, we consult with C-suite executives, Non-Executive Directors, HR Directors, Board members, and other senior leaders on strategies to enhance their capabilities and keep pace with the evolving marketplace. Our experts are advising senior leaders to develop a greater focus on the following:

• Maintain an Open Mind: The first step to becoming more data-driven is to be willing to take it on board. Data will not always tell you what you want to hear or confirm the beliefs you may have, which can be uncomfortable. This discomfort may be especially strong for leaders who have historically relied on gut instinct in their decision making. To reap the benefits of data, you need to think of it as an ally. Leaning into your organisation’s data can make you and your business more efficient, more effective, more strategic, and more targeted than ever before.
• Take a Proactive Approach: DDDM is most often reactive in nature. An insight is presented by the data which in turns triggers a decision to either remedy it or follow in the direction it leads. While this is often fine, sometimes the insight is gleaned too late for the subsequent action to make a real impact. Therefore, leaders should aim to use data proactively to become more strategic. Data does a great job of presenting what is, but it is also very useful for assessing what could It is possible to leverage insights in a way that enable the business to test potential courses of action, predict trends, or identify budding problems before they worsen. Learning to use your data in this way will help you navigate the present while setting your organisation up for the future.
• Keep Data at Your Core: Of course, for DDDM to be effective, it needs to be consistent. Your organisation’s data needs to be at the core of all decisions, not just the larger or more strategic ones. When deciding anything, leaders should reflect on the data rather than reverting to gut instinct or previous behaviours. Make it standard practice to tie all decisions back to the data to support your thinking. Use all any data sources available whether it is your digital data, research your organisation conducts itself, or simply the latest macro trends and stats. Over time, referring to the data and applying relevance to your decision making will become a habit that can support more analytical ways of thinking.
• Understand Where DDDM is Headed: While AI and other technologies are not the only way to assess or collect data, these tools are unrivalled for the depth and efficiency they can produce. Therefore, DDDM is relying more heavily on the insights created and presented by advanced technologies. AI is capable of analysing all the organisation’s digital data constantly in real time, a feat no human worker could replicate. This technology can also process and make sense of millions of data points in a matter of seconds. It would take a human worker months of nonstop work to get through this volume of information, and by the time they finish, it is likely that the trends and market conditions will have changed. To keep abreast of ever-changing consumer habits and economic fluxes, businesses will increasingly rely on digital DDDM tactics moving forward. Understanding this now will help to prepare for this inevitable shift.
• Upskill as Needed: That said, it is critical for leaders to have the right digital capabilities for navigating the future of DDDM. Given where DDDM practices are headed, a baseline understanding of AI will be of value to any leader possessing decision-making responsibilities. To support data-driven mindsets, leaders should also look to increase their analytical thinking capabilities. Being able to make sense of patterns, spot anomalies, and derive meaning from charts and figures is a crucial aspect of becoming data forward. The ability to translate raw figures into business relevance and commercial thinking will also serve you well. Additionally, honing softer skills like communication and collaboration are crucial for creating data driven cultures. The most effective data-driven leaders are those who empower their teams to become active contributors the business’s growth. Focus on improving these areas to get the most of your DDDM activity.

If you would like support with strengthening your capabilities through Leadership Development executive coaching or creating a data-driven culture within your organisation via our Business Transformation services, please get in touch with our team.

There is no question that 2022 was yet another challenging year for businesses. Interest rates reached record-breaking levels, war broke out on European soil for the first time in decades, inflation hit a near 40 year high, and the disruptions that began in 2020 continued their ripple effects.

With a New Year ahead, the blank slate of the next 12 months presents fresh opportunity, but also holds unknown challenges. The challenges of last year did not cease to exist once the clock struck midnight, but what will they mean for us this year?

To help you prepare, we have compiled an overview of some of the latest key executive outplacement market statistics and issues to be aware of when navigating the market in Q1 2023.

Market Snapshot

Before making predictions about what lies ahead, it is important to get a sense of where the executive outplacement market currently stands. There are both positives and negatives to be found, as indicated by the latest ONS Labour Market Overview report. The estimate of employees on payroll for November 2022 showed a monthly increase of 107,000 on the previous month’s figures to a record 29.9 million, meaning employers continue to seek out full time employees with the right skills. This coincides with a decrease in the economic inactivity rate, which decreased by 0.2 to 21.5% in the latest report. The decrease was driven by those aged 50 to 64, mostly due to them leaving retirement and returning to the workforce amid economic turmoil.

At the same time, both vacancy and pay figures remain stagnant. In the latest ONS report, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 65,000 on the quarter to 1,187,000. Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) among employees for August to October 2022 held steady at 6.1%. Zooming in by sector, average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9% and 2.7% for the public sector. The ONS states that this is the largest growth rate seen for the private sector and is among the largest differences between the private sector and public sector growth rates we have seen outside of the pandemic period.

After adjusting for inflation, total and regular pay both fell by 2.7%. While this is slightly smaller than the record fall in real regular pay (3.0%) which we saw earlier in 2022, this end-of-year figure is among the largest decreases in growth since comparable records began.

2023 Predictions

It is not just pay that will be affected by the economic difficulties we continue to face. The fall in vacancies reflects a general caution across industries about the market and financial conditions, and the challenges will not stop there. Here are our predictions for what lies ahead between January and March 2023:

• Recession fears to become a reality: For months now, the possibility of a recession and making preparations for one have been a key topic of discussion, however this has yet to be officially declared in the UK or across most of Europe. The UK experienced unexpected growth in November 2022 bolstered by the World Cup, leading some experts to question if the situation is really as dire as it seems. The German economy, Europe’s largest, stagnated in Q4 2022 but grew by 1.9% across the year, indicating the country may narrowly escape a recession.

Despite this optimistic blip, we are not quite out of the woods yet and recession is still a very real possibility. The latest forecast from World Bank forecasts that recession is a seemingly likely outcome for us, with their latest Global Economic Prospects report predicting that the global economy will grow by only 1.7% this year. This is a sharp fall from the 3% growth they predicted in their previous report published in mid-2022. The world’s three most prosperous economic regions—the US, the Eurozone, and China—are expected to experience a ‘period of pronounced weakness,’ with their downturns more significant than those experienced by poorer nations. After surging by 5.3% in 2021, growth in the world’s richest economies is likely to slow to just 0.5% in 2023. Therefore, despite the optimistic outlooks possessed by some, it is likely not a matter of if we will declare a recession, but a question of when.

As the conflict in Ukraine surges on, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to create ripples, and inflation rests at record heights.  We seem to get closer to an official declaration of recession every day. Therefore, it is certainly not out of the question that this announcement could be made in Q1. Should this happen, this would be the first time in over 80 years that two global recessions have occurred within the same decade. With the 2008-09 recession a recent memory, many businesses and executives will be proceeding with caution. Everything that happens now will be a result of recession wariness.

• Hiring will slow and freezes will continue: Higher interest rates and inflation have hit businesses hard, while higher costs of living have reduced customer spend. This has led many businesses to restructure and tighten up their budgets to preserve their financial health as much as possible. Typically, staff is the first area impacted.

We have already seen cautionary shrinkage in the jobs market reflected in the previously mentioned ONS data, and that contraction will most likely continue throughout Q1. In fact—within the first two weeks of 2023 alone—Amazon, Salesforce, Goldman Sachs, Barratt Developments, JLL, and Liberty Steel have all announced redundancies and hiring freezes that will impact their UK workforces. Others have announced that they are considering making cuts in the near future. That said, expect a pause rather than mass redundancies. Data from Iwoca found that nearly four in five companies plan to keep staffing levels unchanged in 2023.

While this is certainly concerning, opportunities remain available, especially at the senior level as the need for strong relevant leadership increases.

• Battling slowdown versus innovation: Businesses will face the uncertainty of the current slowdown whilst also having to navigate the challenge of needing to remain at the forefront of innovation disrupting every industry. Of course, the challenges in the market will impact each industry and sector in their own way. As one might expect, some will find balancing harder than others.

In the final quarter of last year, we saw a downturn in VC activity as investors opted to sit out the turbulence in the market. In the technology sector, which is central to the venture capital landscape, the last year has brought the steepest and widest drawdown for a generation. However, VC funds remain very well stocked to make rounds of new investments at much healthier valuations compared to one year ago. Predictions from London and Partners indicate the UK tech sector is showing resilience despite the challenges seen in many other major European cities, with sectors such as Fintech, Edtech and Gaming thriving.

In addition to this, for the first time, we saw every single subsector in Financial Services heading downward, with the biggest falls seen in Banking and Markets and Investment Management. Here at Rialto, our team also observed US employers made far more aggressive job cuts than their UK, European or Asian counterparts – almost without exception.  The focus on improving services for people remains high, as does the focus on aligning banking practices and technology to global/social problems. However, for the past decade—and maybe even longer than that—sustainability issues have remained as the key agenda item despite the cost-of-living crisis presently causing major threats to progress.

Retail is another sector we expect to have a particularly tough quarter ahead. Decreased customer spend, disrupted supply chains, and higher costs resulted in a December 2022 sales gain that was lower than the rate of inflation, meaning people likely bought less due to having to pay more. With no end to these challenges in sight, retail faces a tough Q1. We expect to see hiring freezes and redundancies here, but equally acquisitions and changes in leadership will be on radar to keep businesses afloat. Innovation will show itself in different ways, as retailers continue to go more ‘hybrid’ with their offerings beyond their normal inventory.

Manufacturing will also continue to struggle. The latest S&P Global/CIPS UK Composite PMI recorded falls in new manufacturing business for a fifth successive month, and as a result jobs were also lost for the third month running. In addition to this lack of new business and ongoing supply chain difficulties, the industry has been hit hard by the energy crisis. Costs have become a major concern. According to an industry survey conducted by Make UK and PwC, 70% of companies expect their energy costs to increase this year, with two-thirds saying they expect to cut production or jobs as a result. Rather than hiring new talent, manufacturing will likely turn to upskilling and retraining existing staff. 52% of respondents in the survey reported that they are engaging in this activity. Those looking to advance or enter manufacturing in Q1 or beyond will need to ensure that their skills are on par with those which firms will be instilling in their existing workforce.

Planning ahead

While we continue to teeter on the precipice of a recession, it is important to remain both optimistic and realistic. Yes, the coming months will be challenging, but will this really feel out of the ordinary given how much disruption has occurred in recent years? Just as we persevered through the pandemic and all of its ripple effects, we will adapt once again. We may escape recession, or we may not. Either way, opportunities in the executive outplacement market will remain, and executives should continue to be at the forefront of market changes to reposition themselves, upskill, and retain visibility as a leader of the future.

If you are considering undergoing an executive job search or career change during this period, you may face new barriers but not total roadblocks. It is important to keep visible online and active among your networks. Your personal digital brand remains one of the most valuable weapons in your arsenal for attracting and obtaining new opportunities. Instead of shying away from the challenges in your industry, use them to develop your thought leadership. Showcase your expertise and apply your insight to real issues impacting your business, industry, or job function.

Double down on skills and work on developing capabilities that will benefit your current or potential employer when navigating current and future market conditions. Upskilling will likely be the go-to strategy for businesses this year when it comes to their talent and recruitment, so it is essential that your abilities are on par with what your target organisations are expecting from their current staff. To gain a real competitive advantage, develop skills that exceed these expectations.

As always, if you would like personalised, one-to-one support with navigating your career transition or would like to explore our specialised capability of securing c-suite decision maker meetings for you in any industry globally, our team can help. Get in touch with us to discuss our bespoke programmes for personal digital branding and executive job searches.

Failure is not the true enemy of success; complacency is. As humans, it is in our nature to stick with what we know and gravitate towards tried-and-tested approaches that have previously yielded results. But as we have learned through ongoing disruption, sometimes what worked before no longer applies.

Many senior executives will have steered their businesses in new directions and made major organisational adjustments as a result of new challenges, but may have neglected to make necessary changes on a personal level. New ways of working require new ways of thinking, leading, communicating, and operating. If you as an individual are not growing and evolving alongside the business and the wider marketplace, you risk negatively impacting your organisational and personal effectiveness as a leader.

Change does not need to be radical to be effective. In fact, smaller sustained action is often more beneficial for generating long term impact than sudden drastic overhauls are. By committing yourself to a series of regular activities, you can help to ensure you are performing just as effectively and consistently at the start of the financial or calendar year as you are at the end.

Here are five pieces of executive career advice and our career coaches’ suggestions for manageable goals you can focus on to achieve long-term, sustainable value at the senior level.

1. Focus on Self-Improvement

In psychology, ‘self-actualisation’ is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and is the one step left to strive for after our basic need for sustenance, security, socialisation, and status are met. We are all predisposed to desire to reach our full potential. For many senior executives, there is not much further left to climb up the professional ladder in terms of title or role, and therefore this esteem comes from achieving one’s own internal purpose.

This ideal will look different for everyone, and in our executive career coaching work we advise our clients to gain a clear understanding of what this ideal means to them on both a personal and professional level. What fulfils you most in your daily life? What do you want to be remembered for someday? What values, goals, and priorities drive you at this level in your career? What type of life do you want to be living, and what is your optimal career at this stage?

The next question is focused on the present scenario, namely, how far away are you from reaching that version of yourself, and what are the key steps you can take towards getting there? For many, the easiest place to start is within. Set the intention of taking time out to assess and improve. Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses with full honesty. Assess whether those values and goals you have set for yourself are being served in your current state, and if not, what you could be doing instead to live out those values and reach your goals sooner. The things you valued earlier in your career may differ from what matters most to you now. Your circumstances may have also changed over time. Apply both big- and small-picture thinking here and be willing to shine light on even the most shadowy parts of yourself.

Our advice for executives is to not treat this as a one-off activity. You can set time out for a deep dive, but should check in with yourself at various points throughout the year to ensure you are keeping on the right path. While setting an agenda at the start of your self-improvement efforts can help you keep focus, it is important to remain curious. As we experience more life, our goals, circumstances, and priorities change. We are rarely the exact same people we were in January by the time December rolls back around. Therefore, it is important to stay curious about the world at large, your career, and yourself throughout the year and adapt and flex as needed. These are valuable skills, and this openness and agility will serve you well.

2. Acquire New Skills

Investing time in your own capabilities is always worthwhile for enhancing your value in the marketplace and furthering your own personal growth.

Over time, you may have picked up on a few of your own shortcomings. But one of the best ways to identify what skills will be most valuable for your career is to research macro and general industry trends, as well as those relating to your job function and sector. Gaining an understanding of what’s happening in the marketplace and the wider world can help you to identify opportunities and threats to your business, as well as to your personal growth and progression. We do this regularly with our career coaching clients, and it is majorly beneficial for helping them solidify their career objectives.

Picking up new skills, prioritising continuous learning, and leveraging your existing capabilities in a new role can help you to take advantage of the next growth curve. Our latest RALI insights illustrate that data literacy and digital/technology literacy continue to be key as many organisations ramp up their digital transformation plans. You do not have to learn to code, but you do need to have a general understanding of the role technology is beginning to play in your business, your industry sector, and your customers’ lives. Our insights also show that soft skills such as communications and collaboration continue to matter in the hybrid working world. Also, as previously mentioned, agility and flexibility are high up on the skills agenda in the continuously disrupted marketplace.

These soft skills will take internal work to develop and are learned in practice. As for the rest, you can develop those harder and more technical capabilities through your own research, seeking out training opportunities, enrolling in a course, or attending topical professional events such as those offered throughout the year by Rialto.

3. Reassess Your Leadership Style or Ways of Working

Soft and hard skills may not be the only areas that need adapting to move forward. As we have learned first-hand these past several years, it is often the case that many of the tactics that worked in the past may no longer be effective in the face of new challenges or business conditions.

You may find this is the case for your leadership style or ways of working. Perhaps you have introduced new practices in reaction to challenges or situations that arose in the past and remained on that same path even after the issues were resolved or no longer impacting your business. You may have even resisted change altogether, taking on an ‘if it isn’t broken’ mentality. Either way, you may be backing your team and the business into a corner and stifling their opportunities to flourish.

Many businesses conduct periodic reviews with their teams and leadership, which helps make it easy to glean feedback that can fuel this improvement agenda. These reviews should be approached not as an opportunity to critique your team, but as an opportunity to learn about the business from a different perspective and gain insight into how your leadership is either helping or hindering growth. If your organisation does not conduct these reviews as standard, you can have informal chats with your team or colleagues to discuss what is and is not working within the business and where your leadership could improve. Beyond that, seeking out career coaching can help you gain insight from an objective third party.

Our advice is that this too should not be treated as a one-off activity and should be revisited periodically. Every executive should be regularly collecting feedback day in and day out and adjusting their style accordingly. You may find that your team requires compassion and empathy in one period, and confidence and boldness in another. We never know what the day, month, week, or year will bring when we enter it, so it is imperative to constantly evolve.

4. Refresh Your Personal Digital Brand

How you present yourself within your organisation is important. But it’s also imperative to position yourself appropriately in the external market – i.e. in your industry and the job market. Senior leaders are often the most public-facing members of the organisation, which means that reputation and perception matter in many of these roles. Your reputation is crucial to gaining respect within your industry. For those planning a career change or undergoing the executive job search process, the focus should be on differentiation in a highly competitive senior marketplace. Are you being seen by the right people, and are you making the right impressions?

In all these scenarios, having a strong online presence is incredibly valuable. In our digitally driven age, this has become our frequent first impression of people. Ahead of a meeting, you may run a quick Google search, or before an interview the HR team will most likely review your LinkedIn. These activities enable us to create perceptions about one another before we even meet. It is an inevitable reality of our technology-driven daily lives. Therefore, you need to ensure that you are making the right impression.

Furthermore, your online presence can help attract opportunities for speaking engagements, conference attendance, or even new roles. LinkedIn is a powerful player in the executive jobs market. According to LinkedIn’s own data, 52 million people use the platform to search for jobs each week. Eight people are hired every minute, and 101 job applications are submitted through the site every second. It is an incredibly powerful tool, with benefits that you cannot afford to miss out on.

Our career coaches advise setting aside some time to dedicate to your personal digital brand. Assess which platforms you want to be found on professionally, and work to strengthen your profile. If you haven’t updated your About section, Experience, Education, or profile imagery in a while, make sure they are relevant to your current circumstances, and that they support your strategic objectives. Try to get into the habit of updating these sections whenever new developments happen.

If you aren’t a regular LinkedIn user, it is never too late to start. Many might find LinkedIn a bit daunting, overwhelming, or time consuming. Really, it is not as complicated as it may seem, and it is possible to reap the benefits of LinkedIn without spending all your time on it. Set a block of time aside to overhaul your profile at the start of your efforts, but also spend a little time on it each week to keep up your presence on an ongoing basis. The easiest way to do this is to build LinkedIn into your workday routine. Dedicate five to ten minutes each day checking your notifications and messages, interacting with others on your feed, sharing content, or engaging in Groups. It’s a short bit of time, but through the year it can really add up.

We have a blog series that can help you get started. Alternatively, if you would like individualised help tailored to your specific needs and objectives, we offer bespoke personal digital branding programmes.

5. Grow Your Network

There is more to LinkedIn than thought leadership. LinkedIn is a social networking platform, with the operative word here being ‘networking.’ The value of having a strong professional network cannot be overstated, but it tends to be something we let fall to the wayside over time. Data from McKinsey shows that only 14% of professionals have grown their networks since 2020, while less than 50% reported making any effort to do so. In neglecting your network, you may be missing out on opportunities to grow and enrich your career.

Our career advice in this vein is to make it a point to extend both your physical and virtual network. If you aren’t connected online to those you know physically, be sure to bridge that gap across touchpoints. Online, you should also consider reaching out to those you may not directly know but who may be beneficial contacts for you to have. In fact, research from MIT, Harvard and Stanford found that weaker social connections on LinkedIn have a greater effect on job mobility than stronger, more direct connections. Reaching out to your lesser known, secondary, or third-degree contacts on the platform is more likely to yield opportunities than mining your close personal relationships.

Make time to review your connections to ensure you haven’t missed any key ones, and make the task of growing your network into a regular LinkedIn habit. You could set KPIs for yourself to keep on track through the year, whether that be setting a goal to send a certain number of new connection requests per week, or growing your network by a specific number by a certain date.

We understand that this activity can take a greater time commitment to get right. Taking the time to research those potential connections and sending out requests can require time that busy senior executives do not possess. We do offer a service to alleviate this burden, enabling you to grow your network with minimal effort and focus on the more important task of developing relationships and sharing insights. Contact us to learn more.

In summary, if you have fallen into the trap of becoming complacent with your own personal development, it is time to remedy that. Regularly setting targets for yourself can be a great motivator to enhance and develop as an executive, and are much more likely to generate sustainable long term growth.

At this point, we are no longer strangers to disruption. It feels as though we have adapted, redirected, and flexed nonstop since early 2020 to the point where this has become our default mode of operation.

2022 was a continuation of this way of being rather than a deviation from it. While we saw the end of most of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions worldwide, the effects of the pandemic continue to ripple through our personal and professional lives. Rising inflation, geopolitical tensions, disrupted supply chains, greater adoption of emerging technologies, and shifts in the job market have created a new landscape for leaders to contend with as we wrap up this year and prepare to begin anew.

Naturally, many leaders are concerned about what lies ahead for the next 12 months, and what these hurdles might mean for their business’s growth, profitability, and shape. As many of our clients move their focus to 2023, we are highlighting five of the main challenges and priorities they foresee ahead.

1. Transforming Business Models and Culture

With accelerated and disruptive changes remaining a constant, business leaders need to continue to adapt existing business models, experiment with new approaches or change direction, informed by past lessons. If the last several years have taught us anything, it’s that we need to embrace flexibility and agility to overcome challenges. Many businesses and their leaders have adapted out of necessity rather than strategic or competitive motivations. That needs to change in 2023.

Business leaders can no longer ride the waves of disruptions in an attempt to keep their heads above water. The time is coming to think differently and boldly. Agility is a critical component of this adjustment, but rather than simply flexing with the times, leaders need to be tracking the disruption and looking a step ahead.

If supply chains are insecure, efficiency and costs need adjustment, and customer expectations are fluctuating now, what might that look like moving forward? What implications might current disruptions have in both the short and long terms? What changes to organisational goals, standards, and practices will need to be made as a result?

This is the time for leaders to shake the constraints of legacy thinking and models. What has historically worked may no longer fit the current and future needs of the business. In 2023, leaders will be tasked with determining which models and practices or team mindset are most effective and implementing them into the organisation’s ecosystem.

Expect to see continued shifts in the ways we work as a result. Hybrid working models have been with us long enough now to no longer be considered ‘exploratory,’ so expect to see businesses solidifying their stances on their staff’s office attendance in 2023. Hybrid calls for more fluid organisational hierarchies, with employees taking on more individual self-management responsibility and working more closely together. Rather than making decisions and edicts in a top-down management style, the role of the leader in 2023 will be more focused on encouraging and empowering the rest of their team’s decision making, autonomy, innovation, and collaboration.

2. Talent Shortages

Businesses will continue to face challenges in building teams in 2023. The effects of the pandemic’s ‘Great Recession’ are still with us all, with PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey from earlier this year finding that one in five workers globally had plans to quit in 2022. Moving into 2023, we are also contending with trends such as ‘quiet quitting’ in which employees’ burnout impacts their motivation and productivity, as well as many major organisations enacting their own hiring pauses in reaction to economic difficulties.

All these factors combine to create a turbulent talent market in the new year. Many executives will enter the ‘job’ search either unwillingly as the result of redundancy or corporate restructures, or willingly in search of increased reward or deeper fulfilment. Rialto Associate Director Nicholas Storey expects that the latter motivation will be a key factor driving the talent market in 2023. He says:

“YouGov data has found that only 17% of people actually enjoy their jobs. That means that the other 83% are waking up to attend jobs that either don’t excite and fulfil them, don’t pay them enough, or don’t match their skillsets. After enough time, that will wear on a person to their breaking point at which time they will likely undergo a transition. On the business level, this is a big issue as you end up with staff that are dissatisfied, not invested in your organisation’s mission or objectives, and on their way out. I think 2022 was a wakeup call for many leaders in this regard, so I expect that in the new year these leaders will actively look for ways to help their employees feel more fulfilled and valued where they are while also enticing new talent to come on board.”

Employers need specific skills on hand to grow the business and deal with the challenges ahead, and therefore they need to be in the best position to develop their existing teams and attract any skills by they don’t have. Retaining and attracting employees will be a top priority for HR directors and other leaders in 2023 but will be difficult to accomplish with such fierce competition in the marketplace. While the Great Recession and corporate cutbacks have injected an influx of talent into the market, not all these professionals possess the in-demand skillsets that will help propel the business into the future. Therefore, competition for those individuals who do possess these capabilities will be fierce. Organisations need to consider what they can offer to new talent that sets them apart from other businesses, whether it be financial reward, aligned values, opportunities for progression, training, or beyond.

3. Upskilling for Teams and Leadership

If leaders cannot recruit the talent they need, then they will need to cultivate talent and skills required in-house.  Investing in skills and training for current staff can help ensure the business has the skillsets it needs for ongoing success without the difficulties of having to recruit it. Not only does this set the business up for success, but it also helps to deepen employee’s individual investment into the business and improves retention. Expect to see more businesses invest in in-house training or funding outside learning opportunities for employees in the new year.

Leaders will need to invest in their own skillsets as well to stay relevant. However, leadership is complex and varies by person and organisation. There is no singular recipe or combination of skills that ensure a leader will be successful in their role, but there are a few areas where senior executives can focus their efforts in response to the varying shifts in the marketplace to become more effective in highly disrupted environments.

While it will be imperative for those at the helm to have the necessary technical capabilities that their roles and industry might require, at the leadership level there is an even greater need to focus on the development of skills that help those in charge to better engage their stakeholder audiences.

‘Human-focused’ skills like communication, collaboration and empathy will be important focal points in 2023. The pandemic created a need for more compassionate leadership and continues to matter as we enter 2023 amid financial strains, geopolitical instability, and other challenges. Leaders need to be able to show resilience themselves whist also taking time to understand the circumstances of their staff, stakeholders, and customers so decisions can be made with those groups front of mind.

If future success is to be achieved through cross-department collaboration and empowered teams, then leaders need to be able to bridge the gaps between groups and create alignment. As mentioned, many organisations will be shifting away from top-down leadership styles in 2023. For this to be successful, communication will be key. It falls on leaders to engage their teams, customers, and other stakeholder audiences in conversation to gain insight and identify future opportunities and areas for improvement or diversification. Amid so much change, leaders will also need to ensure they are sharing the right messages with the right audiences at the right time. This requires tactful communication skills that take time to hone and develop therefore doing so would be a worthwhile investment for any senior executive in 2023.

4. Accelerated Digital Transformation

Of course, strong digital skills will also be imperative at every level as digital transformation disrupts at an accelerated pace. According to data from Vistage, despites 86% of decision-makers expecting a recession, the majority of leaders are poised to spend more on technology in 2023. In fact, 51% expect to increase spend by an average of 21%. This will involve a modernisation of both hardware and software in an attempt to streamline practices, make better use of data, and optimise organisational efficiency.

There are several major trends that business leaders should be focusing on in 2023. Cloud technologies and ‘bossware’ tools will remain popular as staff splits their time between home and the office and leaders aim to keep track of productivity. Augmented and Virtual Realty (AR and VR, respectively) tools are positively impacting the experiences that companies can deliver to their customers and are in the early stages of reshaping how we work via the Metaverse. However, one technology continues to reign supreme above all others.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will remain a top exploratory area for businesses in 2023 and will touch every industry and function in some capacity. Rialto consultant Katie King is well-versed in this shift, having published two books on the impacts of this technology on businesses. She predicts:

“We are seeing record AI adoption following the pandemic, and the population of businesses actively using and exploring this technology far outnumbers those who continue to resist it. AI makes it possible to overcome so many of the challenges that plague businesses today such as delivering results with limited teams and resources, managing a disrupted supply chain, and navigating ever-changing customer demands. There are so many tools and vendors already in the marketplace, which may make it feel a bit overwhelming to start but also lowers the barrier of entry for businesses looking to adopt. I expect that many of the holdouts will shed their AI inhibitions and get on board in the new year and that this technology will be an integral part of many business functions by the end of 2023.”

Expect to see AI take on a more active role in the new year. HR will enlist automated tools for their recruitment, training, and employee engagement activities. Manufacturing and operations will assign AI to resource optimisation, maintenance, and supply chain management. Sales and marketing will use technology to better understand customers, deliver more personalised experiences, and keep on top of trends while management will leverage AI to gain real-time insight into all areas of the business. There is not a single function that will not be impacted by technology, and businesses seem more open-minded than ever about embracing it.

Of course, as practices become more digitally driven, risks increase. Cybersecurity threats are at an all-time high with new threats emerging every day. As businesses invest in new tools, they must also be thinking of ways to safeguard their systems against any vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is essential when assigning 2023’s technology budget to allocate funding for security initiatives. All it takes is one breach for customers to lose confidence in your business entirely.

5. Sustainability

All that in mind, a threat bigger than cybersecurity, inflation, technology, and talent shortages looms above us all. Climate change continues to worsen year-on-year and cannot be ignored. As a result, customers are demanding greater transparency in organisations’ sustainability initiatives, climate-friendly products and services, and pledges from businesses to ‘do better.’ According to Harvard Business Review, over 700 of the 2,000 largest publicly traded companies—including 52 of the FTSE 100— have stated their intentions to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

If your organisation has not defined its sustainability values and begun altering its practices accordingly, then 2023 is the time to do so. Take the time to zoom out on the big picture of your day-to-day activities and to think critically about the impact your business is having on the world at large. From there, you can begin to identify actionable steps towards change. You will not be able to drastically reduce your impact overnight or eliminate your environmental footprint entirely, but small actions can compound and amount to major impacts over time. In 2023, businesses might consider switching to renewable energy sources, reducing waste, tightening up your supply chain, or allowing staff to work remotely more often.

Beyond demonstrating your organisation’s dedication to the global issues that impact your people, taking the time to examine your practices may highlight other inefficiencies and potential cost savings you may have otherwise overlooked. At the end of the day, an investment in sustainability should be part of all decision making, no matter the cost.

After three full years of disruption and change, there is still more ahead in 2023. Therefore, it is critically important to take the personal time to reflect and learn from what has come before so that we may continue to evolve and drive business forward and remain competitive across an ever-changing landscape.

Today’s C-suite executives certainly have their work cut out for them. These leaders are responsible for piloting the business through turbulent times, inflation and economic downturn, supply chain security, fluctuating demand, global disruptions, and shifts in customer expectations. It’s a tall order, and a major challenge for many businesses looking to recover from these setbacks and step into the future with the right foot forward.

As a result, we are seeing many businesses make major changes within the C-suite to build leadership teams that are better equipped to deliver the necessary impact to help the business succeed long term. This has involved reshaping roles, introducing new voices at the top table, and shifting focus towards more strategic objectives.

Here are the 3 major changes organisations are making:

1. Titles Aligned with Strategic Goals

Historically, C-suite titles have been limited to departmental designations such as Finance, Marketing, or Operations. It made sense that the key functions of the business had representation at the top of the organisation, with the Chief Executive at the helm overseeing everything. While those titles still hold valuable places in the C-suite, many organisations have begun to understand that stronger leadership and ownership is needed for their strategic priorities.

That’s why when you look at many of today’s boards, you see newer titles such as Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Data Officer, and so on. Research from LinkedIn found that a search for titles incorporating the word ‘Chief’ returned 51 different variations, most of which reflect the changing priorities of top-level leadership.

These titles may appear gimmicky, but their value is anything but. The creation of these roles indicates an understanding from organisations that both the business landscape and the world at large are changing, and that the business needs to adapt accordingly.

Can the appointment of these C-suite executives fix the shortcomings in these priority areas overnight? No. However, having leaders with remits dedicated specifically to these issues creates accountability for the organisation and helps ensure that these issues have an ever-present voice in all decision-making processes. The act of appointing a Chief Sustainability Officer itself will not reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint, but it will help to ensure that sustainability is represented in all leadership conversations and has the internal support required to make change happen over time.

In addition to these strategic titles, we are also seeing businesses adapt, expand, and adopt certain roles to improve the organisation’s ecosystem orchestration and cohesion. For example, the Chief Growth Officer, Chief Alliance and Partnership Officer, and Chief Customer Officer may be tasked with connecting traditionally siloed departmental roles like marketing and sales and infusing external customer-facing objectives into internal strategy. The Chief Data Officer will likely be tasked with bridging technology with other areas of the business, an increasingly important task as businesses accelerate their digital transformation projects.

We mentioned in a previous blog that having a niche related to one of these highly important business priorities is a major asset for any top executive to bring to the leadership team. As the C-suite is evolving, there is potential for executives to combine their leadership capabilities and subject matter expertise to create real impact in these newer board positions. The expansion of the C-suite allows for more voices in the conversation and can help to shape the leadership team into one that adequately reflects the evolving needs of the business and its people. You may be able to bring something unique to the table, and your insight may be exactly what the business needs moving forward.

2. Purpose-Driven Activity

Beyond strategic priorities, these titles and appointments are also driven by organisational purpose. ESG has become a major focus for businesses, with Harvard Law School’s ESG Global Study 2022 finding that the European market boasts the highest percentage of ESG users at 93%, which is more than both North America (79%) and Asia-Pacific (88%). Research from Deloitte backs this up, as 79% of respondents in their survey of 212 C-suite leaders across various industries reported that their company has a clear and defined purpose strategy that is integrated with core business strategy.

But it isn’t just the leadership team that cares about environmental, social, and governmental issues. According to a study by PwC, 76% of consumers say they will stop buying from companies that treat the environment, their employees, or the community in which they operate poorly, while 86% of employees prefer to support or work for companies that care about the same issues they do. As more Gen Z enter the workforce and become a bigger part of the customer population, it is expected that more attention will be paid to ESG-related issues in the years to come.

Issues like climate change and D&I are at the top of every board’s strategic wish list, and it falls on the C-suite to deliver the desired results. Appointments of C-suite executives with ESG-related remits is on the rise, but it is also becoming increasingly important for C-suite members in all areas to integrate these issues into their own agendas. The C-suite needs to work together to create an aligned strategy that creates accountability throughout the organisation and provides a basis for each individual member to draw from with their own teams and activity. Executives can no longer afford to overlook ESG, nor should they try.

3. Increased Scrutiny

The ways in which the C-suite delivers on ESG goals, enacts the organisation’s purpose, and behaves in times of turbulence will not go unnoticed. These roles carry a lot of responsibility and accountability both internally and externally. C-suite executives must answer to various stakeholder audiences including their fellow C-suite and board members, their teams and direct reports, the rest of the organisation’s staff, as well as investors and customers. These roles require a high level of relationship management skills to meet the varying needs of these different groups. It is a juggling act, and there are often trade-offs to be made.

Sometimes, the leadership team gets it wrong. Other times, serving the best interests of one group negatively impacts another. These situations are undesirable but an inevitable reality for C-suite executives. Unfortunately, our increasingly digital activities heighten this scrutiny. Thanks to social media and the ever-active digital news cycle, word travels fast. The C-suite are no longer mysterious, faceless entities that sit at the top of an organisation and are relatively unknown outside their specific industries. Social media has made it possible for many executives to position themselves as thought leaders and share content with a wide-reaching audience, while a 24-hour news cycle is able to pay more attention to things that might have otherwise been missed or selectively passed over. We are even seeing a rise in some C-suite executives becoming micro-celebrities outside of the business world—think Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sheryl Sandberg.

This increased attention can be both positive and negative. On one hand, a positive public perception of a leadership team can reap various benefits for customer loyalty, investments, and market performance. On the other hand, it puts additional pressure on C-suite executives to toe the line and deliver impact. In the wake of a scandal or organisational shortcomings, it is often the C-suite that bears the blame both internally and externally in the court of public opinion. C-suite executives need to be poised to perform under pressure and immense scrutiny despite challenging circumstances.

Our Advice

Navigating these changes may provide challenges for seasoned and long-serving members, or prove intimidating for new executives. Our executive career advice for overcoming these hurdles and driving impact is to:

• Be flexible. The only way for the C-suite to overcome change is to anticipate and adapt to it. Keep an open mind and remain agile. As the C-suite expands to give voice to more diverse perspectives, don’t write these new appointments off as a box ticking gimmick. Be open to these new perspectives and be willing to collaborate and learn. The C-suite is the sum of its parts but is at its best when those parts work in harmony. Be willing to take feedback on board, adopt new ideas and practices, and change direction as needed.
• Look ahead. Yes, we are seeing a rise in titles related to timely issues such as remote work experience, well-being, and AI, but what comes next? Executives should take time to study trends in the market to improve their understanding of what is to come and begin preparing for it. Make decisions using data, evidence, and intuition so you’re not surprised to see a rise in titles like Chief Metaverse Officer, Chief Automation Officer, or Chief Cohesion Officer.
• Create purpose and demonstrate responsibility. ESG is here to stay, and every member of the leadership team should have a solid grasp on the organsiation’s stance on various issues. Which causes matter most to your customers and stakeholders, and what is the C-suite doing about it? How do the organisation’s activities align with the values and visions it claims to represent? C-suite executives are in the spotlight and therefore need to walk the talk.
• Be self-aware. Of course, this scrutiny extends beyond just ESG issues. How you carry yourself day to day will impact how the rest of the C-suite perceive you, whether your team will be willing to buy into your vision, and the level of trust the board, shareholders, and investors are willing to put into you as a leader. There is a lot of value to be found in taking the time to reflect on your own individual impact in the grand scheme of things. Where are you delivering the most value, and which areas require work? No one is 100% perfect all of the time. Seek out feedback from your team and peers and be willing to reflect and adapt. Enlist the help of a career coach who can provide specialised executive career advice as needed. The organisation will improve when you perform at your best.

Rialto is at the forefront of providing insights on both individual and organisation transformational change. Our focus includes supporting senior executives to make game changing career moves. Over 6,000 professionals globally have successfully made senior level moves globally over the last 11 years.

Our careers can often feel very personal to us, and for good reason. We invest our time and energy into achieving success, and work hard to build, nurture and maintain this over time. This leads to an inherent sense of control and ownership. As a result, a career change can be a scary prospect, but it can also be an opportunity for growth and new experiences. Whether by choice or necessity, a career change can give us a chance to reassess our values, passions and goals, and find a new path that aligns better with them.

While it can be daunting to leave behind the familiar and venture into the unknown, a successful career change can be incredibly rewarding, leading to renewed motivation, job satisfaction, and a greater sense of personal fulfillment. If you are considering a career change, take the time to reflect on what you truly want out of your professional life, and don’t be afraid to take the first step towards a new and exciting future.

Sometimes, however, that ownership can feel threatened or slip away from us. We may hit a plateau after climbing the career ladder for so long, or we find that we are in a vulnerable position during a period of restructuring or cutbacks. In both situations, it is common to feel as though decisions about your career and its direction are no longer within your control.

Losing career ownership is not a position any professional wants to be in, but it is not an impossible one to bounce back from or avoid. Here’s our advice on how to do just that.

Understand Your Options

First, you need to reflect and assess what caused you to lose that feeling of ownership. You might feel as though you’ve run out of road after racing full speed ahead or have nowhere left to go after reaching a certain level or the top of your organisation. You may also experience feelings of unease, burn out, or complacency as thoughts of ‘what now?’ occupy the space which ambition once filled. Alternatively, you may be content in your existing role or company but find that you face redundancy as the business heads in a new direction or scales back expenditure. Your career seems to be out of your control.

In either case, you have two options. The first is to invest your time and energy into improving your impact, value, and security within your current role and organisation. We recently shared a blog about how to take control during difficult periods, and the advice there may be of use here. In challenging economic times, when the focus shifts towards the business and you find yourself standing on less stable ground, you might feel like a pawn in a game. Your stability and security are at the mercy of someone else’s decision making, which puts you in a vulnerable position.

While you cannot control what the rest of the organisation will do, it is possible to shift how you are perceived within it. This is where strategic thinking and self-motivated action become crucial for demonstrating value and providing stability. Vulnerable executives—and even those feeling a bit stuck—may be able to chart the course of their careers in an entirely new direction within their existing role and organisation. This can be achieved by demonstrating their ability to make a meaningful impact in the face of new or emerging business challenges and to continue making valuable contributions regardless of what comes next.

For both executives in vulnerable positions and those who feel stagnant, the option of changing role or company is an attractive option. It can accelerate your career trajectory if a move is made strategically.  While this option may seem daunting, it is not as drastic as you might think. The average professional will have five careers throughout their lifetime, and most often their path will not follow a linear trajectory. Gone are the days of finishing school, getting a job, and climbing the ranks of one organisation until it’s time for retirement. The modern executive will instead make a series of motivated moves driven by a multitude of potential factors such as financial gain, changes in personal circumstances, the pursuit of passion or ambition, or self-preservation. Just because you are currently on one path does not mean you have to stay there. Not every career move needs to be upwards to be fulfilling. Linear moves can prove just as invigorating and reintroduce that sense of control that has been lacking.

Taking Control

Regardless of which option you choose, the best way to regain ownership over your career is to invest in yourself to make your career feel personal so you understand your value to in demand external market trends. Here are some steps you can take:

• Know Yourself: Over time, life and business circumstances can get in the way and make it easy to lose sight of your values, objectives, and aspirations. We find it is often valuable for executives in these positions to take stock internally and reassess what matters most to them, what they are looking to achieve in their careers, what level of risk they’re comfortable with, and what they bring to the table. This self-knowledge not only makes your career feel personal again, but it is also a critical first step in being able to demonstrate your own potential value and long-term contribution to an existing or prospective employer.
• Know the Market: This is critical to your success given the faster pace of change. It can also become easy to lose your grasp on the market due to ever-changing conditions and ongoing disruption. Whether you’ve been in one place for too long or been absorbed in the challenges of your current role or organisation, you may find that you are out of touch with the current market conditions, in-demand skills, the latest trends, and potential opportunities outside your immediate sphere. The best course of action here is to maintain a sense of curiosity and an eagerness to expand your horizons. Be open to learning all you can from different peers, reading books, articles, blogs or interacting in discussions that enable you to share and shape your ideas and observations.
• Know Your Value: As you begin to understand which factors are impacting the wider market, you must also consider what that might mean for your current or potential organisation and the role you may play as a result. As shifts and mega trends like AI and emerging technology, ESG and EDI become top priorities for businesses, where do you fit in? What can you bring to the table in the areas that matter most to your industry and employer? If you do not have existing knowledge and experience in these areas, this is where your willingness to learn can be incredibly valuable. Keeping an open mind and being flexible to change is an essential element for success in today’s competitive and ever-changing marketplace. Understanding what is needed and how you can deliver it will be crucial.
• Know Your Peers: One of the best ways to gauge the needs of the market and assess your place within it is by actively engaging. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn have become powerful tools for industry research and competitive analysis. Engaging in conversation with others in your industry can highlight some of those trends and insights you may be overlooking. Talking to trusted colleagues can help to shed some light on what others perceive your strengths and value to be. You will also be able to benchmark your skills and capabilities against others in positions like yours, which will prove beneficial if you have chosen to make a career move.

But don’t forget to make some connections along the ways. Data from McKinsey shows that only 14% of professionals have grown their networks since 2020, while less than 50% reported making any effort to do so. If you fall into this camp, you could be missing out on some major opportunities to advance or enhance your career. Many job opportunities—especially at the senior level—are secured by word of mouth and peer referrals. If you aren’t engaging with your peer network and keeping them in the loop about your goals, you may be missing out on potential opportunities to expand your horizons and enrich your career.

Don’t be afraid to connect with those outside of your immediate sphere. Real growth happens when you venture outside of your comfort zone. In fact, research from MIT, Harvard and Stanford backs this up, finding that weaker social connections on LinkedIn have a greater effect on job mobility than stronger connections. Reaching out to your lesser known or secondary contacts on the platform is more likely to yield opportunities than mining your close personal relationships would be. An investment in your network is an investment in your overall career and should not be undervalued.

• Know It’s All Going to be Okay: Change can be inherently unsettling, especially when you feel as though you’ve lost some of your control. However, if you are being proactive about bettering yourself and improving your contribution, you are on the right track. Be confident in yourself and your ability to navigate through this. If you had what it takes to get this far, then you have what it takes to keep going. Don’t be afraid to be bold, as experimentation is often the predecessor to advancement. Your previous thinking is what got you to where you are, so you may have to think outside the box to move ahead. The key to regaining or retaining ownership over your career is realising that that control never left you in the first place. You have always been in the driver’s seat but may have just needed to shift gears.

Rialto is at the forefront in providing insights on both individual and organisation transformational change.  Our focus includes supporting senior executives to make game changing career moves with over 6,000 professionals having received support over the last 11 years globally. For more information on our executive career transition programmes call +44 (0) 20 3746 2960 or make an enquiry.

At any time, but especially during times of market turbulence and volatility, organisations need capable leaders at the helm, driving decision-making, determining the strategy, and delivering results. There is a greater need than ever before for diverse thinking and ideas, with the role of the board increasingly focused on practical and strategic planning requiring complex levels of problem solving. There is no set number of how many individuals can sit on the board, most organisations appoint 8 to 12 directors to lead the business forward. While competition for these roles can be fierce, there is a constant need for those equipped with the right skills, capabilities, and demeanour to add new perspectives and challenge the status quo to drive new ideas and better decision making.

It’s a challenging position to be in. Beyond steering the organisation into the future, members of the board are also responsible for answering to the organisation’s various stakeholders and are often the first to come under fire when something goes wrong. While many executives aspire to these positions at the top, the truth is that not everyone is cut out for it. So how can you tell if you are? How do you know when it’s time to take that next step and put yourself forward for a seat on the board?

While there is no singular pathway or clear recipe for success in a board position, there are key traits and mindsets in particular that successful board members usually possess. To help you determine if you are on the right path, our expert executive career coaches have identified 5 key attributes that may indicate you are ready to occupy a seat at the boardroom table.

1. You’ve got a good grasp of the general, but are also a subject matter master

Some might say that Board members need to be a jack of all trades, possessing business acumen, a solid grasp of the big picture as well as some baseline financial, operational, key market, and people knowledge. Specific C-suite roles will have their own specific niches and responsibilities inherently, but in today’s fast-moving and ever-evolving business environment, specialised experience and knowledge are becoming increasingly valuable.

Your ability to advise effectively on in-demand subjects such as digital/emerging technology, customer engagement and retention, sustainability or ESG, diversity and inclusion, corporate governance, cyber security and so on will make you an unbelievably valuable asset to the board and enable you to bring in a unique, expert perspective on specific issues that may be plaguing the business. The board becomes much more well-rounded, nuanced, and effective when these differing perspectives are on hand. Therefore, it makes sense why organisations will be looking to internally promote or bring in board members who can add something to the conversation.

2. You keep a finger on the pulse of the marketplace and an eye on the future

However, what we would have considered ‘general business acumen’ three years ago certainly differs from what is needed today.  Shifts in our ways of working, volatile market conditions, new operating models, supply chain issues, and talent shortages have created a hefty set of challenges for the board to work through. What was once considered ‘best practice’ may no longer be, and some leaders may be uncomfortable or unwilling to adapt to these changes.

Odds are, if the organisation is bringing new people onto the board in either an executive or non-executive capacity, it’s because the business needs to try something different or head in another direction. No board has ever benefitted from bringing in a ‘yes person’ who simply nods in agreement and reinforces the status quo. Many of today’s businesses need to adapt to survive and require leaders who can drive them forward.

If you are the type of person who is always thinking ahead, thinking differently, constantly learning, and adapts well to change, then you could be positioned for board success. You understand that situations change swiftly and often, and you embrace this tumult rather than allowing it to overcome you.

3. You’re a people person

When our executive career coaches say you should be a ‘people person,’ we don’t mean this in the sense that you’re outgoing and personable, though those are beneficial characteristics for any board member to have. The primary objective of the board is to further the interests of the business. However, the best way to accomplish this is by tending to the interests of your various stakeholders. Each of these groups will have their own specific needs and getting to the heart of these interests and objectives will require you to have a deep level of emotional intelligence and human understanding.

You need to be customer centric in all board-level decision making activities to meet the needs of those who the business exists to serve. You need to be a team player to ensure your people feel empowered to contribute their ideas and everything runs smoothly internally. You also need to focus on creating an organisational culture that supports the business’s efforts to acquire, develop, and retain valuable talent. But in addition to all of this, you need to be impact-driven to help reassure your investors and any shareholders that their financial interests are being served. It’s a bit of a juggling act but being able to keep your stakeholders front of mind and allowing that to drive your decision-making is imperative for any board member.

4. You aren’t afraid of the difficult conversations, and know how to conduct them tactfully

A major part of successful stakeholder management is being able to communicate effectively. The board sits atop the chain of communication, and information is fed both upwards and downwards. You need to be skilled at getting your point across and holding your own in very strategic conversations, which can at times be challenging when you’re among a group of board peers who all possess strong opinions.

In nearly all board positions, you will also need to be skilled at successfully relaying any actions or insights back down through the organisation. You need to be able to judge what information needs to be shared and how to best present it. You also should be a skilled listener who is able to make their people feel heard. Your team have the most interactions with and therefore the best grasp of the needs of your customers, so you need to be willing to hear what they have to say. Taking feedback on board without getting defensive, being able to relay it back to those who need to understand or act on it, and representing your teams and customers’ perspectives in top-level conversations goes a long way.

5. You are both self-aware, self-improving and have recognisable value

Beyond advocating for others, you need to be able to advocate for yourself. Those who are promoted to the board or who are hired onto it from outside all tend to possess a high level of self-assurance. They have worked their way up to the top and gathered valuable skills and experience along the way. Apart from the occasional bout of imposter syndrome, no senior executive has ever joined the board without believing to some extent that they belong there. If you have been thinking about this for a while, then odds are that you do, too.

Successful executive and non-executive board members know exactly what they bring to the table, whether it’s their networks, experience, specific hard skills, or reputation within the industry. They know the value of these assets and how to leverage them successfully. This most often happens through a combination of their online presence, how they carry themselves in the workplace day-to-day, their contributions to discussions, and any other professional activity. In today’s digitally driven age, there is significant value in maintaining a strong presence that demonstrates the impact, results and outcomes you can achieve. The board are often the most public-facing and scrutinised members of the organisation, so an ability to well represent both yourself and your organisation is essential.

Being a successful board member requires more than just making a strong outward impression. You should also be comfortable looking inward. If you are the type of person who is constantly learning and evolving, you are on the right track. As we touched on earlier, the business world does not stay stagnant and therefore neither should you. Know the value of what you bring to the table but keep putting in the work to continue building your value long term. Consider executive career coaching to enable you to continue growing and evolving with third-party help.

If all the factors above apply to you, then congratulations—you are likely ready to take the next step and pursue a board position. If you find that you relate to some but not all, then you can now consider areas to work on improving to better your chances of earning a voice at the boardroom table. The key word there is “earning,” as these positions aren’t just given. Those on the board work hard for their place, whether they’re hired from outside the organisation or by internal promotion. Honing your skills and doing more than just talking the talk will get you that much further up the ladder.

Most of Q3 encompassed the quieter summer months, during which time many professionals switched off and enjoyed a summer reset and developments in the executive job market were largely uneventful. But as the number of Out of Office replies began to dwindle, marketplace difficulties ramped up. The end of Q3 saw the appointment of a new Prime Minister, the passing of Britain’s longest reigning monarch, record-breaking inflation figures, hiring freezes across once-booming industries, an increasing number of insolvencies and corporate restructures, a major fall in the value of the pound, and the introduction of a mini budget with major implications for UK businesses and individuals, and the executive job market as a whole. And that was just September, leading us into Q4 with much to contend with.

This combination of factors has certainly created a challenging set of circumstances for businesses and executives end the year on. Many will be looking to take whatever action they can to close Q4 strong and position themselves well for the new year. As the final quarter begins, we are looking back on the executive job market trends that emerged at the end of Q3 and highlighting the key considerations and skills for navigating the final three months of 2022 and beyond.

Market Snapshot

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) September 2022 Labour Market Overview revealed that the number of payrolled employees in the UK had risen to a record 29.7 million in August 2022. This constitutes a monthly increase of 71,000. Unemployment reached its lowest rate since July 1974 at a mere 3.6%. Additionally, the number of job vacancies in June to August of this year decreased to 1.26 million, which is the largest quarterly decrease since 2020.

September was a busy month economically. At the time of the publication of this blog, the ONS have not yet released their figures, but the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)’s Labour Market Tracker lends some insight. The tracker found that in the week of 19-25 September, the number of active job adverts across the UK rested at 1.45 million, which is lower than any point since the pandemic began but is high when compared to pre-pandemic levels. This marks a significant drop in job postings since the beginning of July, when there were 214,564 new positions listed weekly compared to 143,000 currently. It appears that the market is experiencing an autumn chill as we enter Q4, and likely foreshadows just how impactful the circumstances created in September will be on activity for the rest of this year.

It is likely that this drop in vacancies can be partially attributed to companies slowing down or freezing their recruitment activity. If Q3 taught us anything, it’s that no industry is truly immune to the impacts of a challenging macroeconomic climate. Tech—which had been experiencing something of a ‘gold rush’ in recent years and saw major gains during the pandemic—has slowed down on hiring. In Q3, both Meta and Google implemented hiring freezes while Microsoft made hundreds of staff redundant. Similarly, every subsector of Financial Services experienced a major reverse in hiring activity in Q3, as evidenced in our City Financial Services Job Market Indexes for July/August and August/September 2022.

A fall in recruitment activity is characteristic of periods of recession as businesses tighten up their expenditure and reallocate resources. While that often means less available budget for new hires, it also means a lack of budget for bonuses or salary increases. Despite the ONS data indicating a growth in average pay for workers (including bonuses) between May and July 2022, pay has not kept pace with the high costs of living and inflation rates that are set to rise even higher through the end of the year. Once these were factored in, the ONS found that real pay actually dropped 2.6% between May and July. The pay figures will likely influence the Bank of England to continue hiking interest rates early in Q4, which will in turn cause businesses to become even more conscious of their expenditures through the end of the year. Switching to a new company will continue to be the best option for senior executives looking to increase their financial reward.

Key Considerations

• Low Hiring Activity Does Not Equal Zero Opportunity: Periods of boom and bust are not abnormal for the executive job market, but they usually tend to hit different industries at different times depending on circumstances in the market at large. For example, businesses in industries like Hospitality struggled gravely during lockdown, while others industries like Tech thrived in the new hybrid and remote work environment. In times of recession or near-recession, challenges seem to impact every industry and sector simultaneously, which is what we are experiencing now. When this happens, businesses of all sizes and sectors tend to proceed with caution. It seems as though hiring is halting en masse as big players announce their plans and strategy. However, businesses proceeding with caution does not equate to total market inactivity. There is still opportunity in the market; there just may be less of it than there historically has been.
• The Need for Leadership: Senior executives in leadership roles, or those aspiring to them, may find that their skills and capabilities are under more scrutiny and in higher demand than ever before. As restructuring takes place, leaders will be expected to deliver results in a high-pressure environment. This means that on one side of the coin, leaders will need to be on their A game to drive impact and navigate their team in a direction that best serves the organisation at present and in the future. On the other, it means that some organisations will be looking to recruit those with the necessary skills for delivering results. As we stated in our recent blog about taking control of your career during restructuring: it is time to step up or step aside.
• Navigating a Candidate-Driven Market: Competition is undoubtedly fierce in the senior market where everyone seems to be on a similar level in terms of background, experience, or credibility. This is where skills become paramount, as these are often what differentiates strong candidates from the singular ‘right’ candidate and is what usually turns the tables in favour of the executive. While there may be an excellent pool of global senior talent available at any given moment, candidates with all the right future-ready skills and capabilities are scarcer. Therefore, competition amongst businesses to secure this talent will be fierce, and the power is in the hands of the executive to command their desired compensation, working arrangements, equity, or work-life balance conditions. This is an incredibly beneficial position for the executive to be in but is only possible if the right skills and capabilities are possessed.

Key Skills

The question is therefore what capabilities will employers value most as we wrap up 2022 and begin planning for 2023? Here are the skills that senior executives should be developing and championing to differentiate themselves in the executive job market and drive business value in the foreseeable future:

• Communication: You will have many stakeholders to manage during this time. Senior executives may have to answer to the chairman, the board, and shareholders in addition to their staff and customers. Being able to navigate these audiences and tailor messages accordingly will prove highly valuable. Q4 is on course to be highly challenging economically, which will undoubtedly draw questions from your teams, your managers, or those with equity stakes regarding the direction of the organisation and its plans for overcoming these difficulties. You need to be able to share the right information with the right audiences in the right way and at the right time. These conversations might prove to be challenging, and so you may benefit from the advice shared here.
• Digital Skills: It is becoming increasingly clear that for most businesses to push forward, generate profit, and set the business up for future success, they must embrace technology. The pandemic was a wakeup call for many, and the ongoing disruption continues to solidify the need for digital transformation. You do not need to learn how to code but should aim to educate yourself on the tools and technologies available and how they may potentially benefit your business or industry. Artificial Intelligence is a strong technology to focus on, and proficiency in this area is in high demand. However, transformation is ongoing and fast moving. Many businesses are already upgrading or swapping out some of the tools and solutions they adopted only last year. It is essential to keep a finger on the pulse of what is happening now, and where technology is headed.
• Customer Centricity: This growth in digital has been underscored by a societal shift in habits. Essentially, your customers’ habits have changed, and so the business needs to change alongside them. This is true of all activity that businesses will conduct through the end of the year and beyond. Just as businesses will be hit by challenging economic conditions, so will their customers. Priorities will shift and purse strings will tighten. Businesses and their leaders need to consider their customers’ shifting needs and circumstances and build their end-of-2022 and early 2023 strategies around them. You need to become a champion for your customers in every conversation, every brainstorm, and every decision-making process. Your customers hold the key to the future of your organisation, and if you are not catering to them, you risk losing control.
• Agility: Of course, none of us know what exactly the final three months of 2022 may hold. September alone demonstrated just how much can happen in a short period of time. Those best positioned for success adapt in an agile way to changes as they happen instead of allowing these changes to stop them in their tracks. Your ability to think ahead and prepare for all possible scenarios will be a major asset for any employer and will allow you to continually deliver impact.

The end of the year will undoubtedly bring about many challenges for executives to contend with, and while much remains to be seen with Q4, whatever happens in these next three months will set the tone for 2023. Senior executives should be focusing in on their skills either to champion a career change or to create valuable impacts for their current organisation.

To learn more about our executive career coaching and executive outplacement services, get in touch with our team on +44 (0) 20 3746 2960.

As the business landscape continues to shift and evolve, many executives may be feeling uncertain about their futures. In the face of widespread insolvencies, profit warnings, and restructuring plans, it’s more important than ever to seek out strong executive career advice to ensure that you’re prepared for any potential disruptions in your career path. With so many factors at play, from global supply chain disruptions to changing consumer behaviors, it’s critical to have a solid strategy in place to navigate these uncertain times and come out on top.

In moments like these, the focus often shifts to the business, with leaders needing to make careful and difficult decisions on whether to adjust structures that might be undermining growth or change strategic direction towards some form of transformation. This may require reworking practices, introducing new technology and new operating models, rethinking customer segmentation, geography, making challenging staffing decisions, re-evaluating and redirecting investments, or a combination of these. Clearly, the primary objective is to safeguard the future of the business.

But when these moments strike, how do executives demonstrate value and the impact they can make? How can you become an integral part of a solution driving growth and setting the organisation up for continued success? Read on for our experts’ top executive career advice for navigating a restructuring.

Stepping Up

When the business takes centre stage during times of turmoil, the focus is usually on the collective rather than the individual. No one is going to automatically push you up the ladder or carve out routes to progression for you. Promotions and pay rises are not guaranteed. The responsibility of managing your career has to be completely your own.

This can feel equally daunting and liberating. It also presents a choice. You can choose to become complacent and let the future happen, or you can seize control of your own destiny. Only by having a clear plan that puts your career into your own hands carving out the right opportunities for yourself do you give yourself the best opportunity to progress.

Being able to take initiative and inspired action whilst adding value and driving results will become critical. Restructuring challenges senior leaders to either step up or step aside. Rather than bowing out and accepting the latter option, most will look to take their career and their skills to that next level, whatever it might be.

Mindsets and Skills for Success

In the evolving environment, our experts’ executive career advice is to consider setting yourself standards to make game changing, transformational career moves. It is important to think both internally and externally about your value and impact.

What can be done from within to make an impact? What external factors may be holding the business back, or influencing the conditions in which it operates? You must understand which challenges lie on both sides and how you should be equipped to help overcome them.

• Confidence, Communication, and Conviction: If you have ideas about how you can help the business progress where it’s clear a restructure is needed, now is the time to speak up. Do not be afraid to put your ideas forward and become part of a solution. Do not assume that others have noticed the same things you have. You need to be willing to be the person who points out flaws in the ‘as is’ status quo and who does not let complacency and comfort overrule progress. Some executives may feel they lack internal support during a change when the focus is solely on keeping the business on course, so they must therefore be willing to back themselves and become their own greatest advocate. That said, volatile times often create high stress and pressured environments where miscommunication may occur. The clarity and delivery of your ideas is just as important as the confidence with which you present them. Because of the pressures involved, you may need to navigate a wide range of emotions with the leadership team and stakeholders.
• Relationship Management: It is crucial to have a united front on the inside of the organisation. Alignment amongst team members is key to delivering transformation. Global research continues to demonstrate that most transformations fail because stakeholders are not aligned. Understandably, it may feel like ‘every man for themself’ as economic and operational uncertainties lead to stress and reflection. For leaders, it is important to gain an understanding of what your team’s personal priorities are in order to effectively influence them to buy into your organisation’s change and growth objectives. You need to get comfortable with wearing various hats simultaneously playing different roles with different people. With the board and C Suite, you may need to become an advocate for your team or an advisor. For your team, you should provide a stabilising force. With clients/customers, you offer a much-needed resource. As situations evolve, you will need to navigate these various relationships with tact, empathy, and sensitivity.
• Agility and Future Focus: We can expect some of the current volatility in market dynamics to stay for a while, which will require a willingness to adapt accordingly. Once today’s challenges subside, new ones will spring up in their place. It is likely that we will see an endless cycle of disruption that ebbs and flows, and senior executives must be ready to evolve and lead. That means developing the ability to adapt in real time while also looking ahead. We know current threats such as climate change and digitisation will remain for the long term, so it’s best to embrace them now. But it is not just our challenges that will change. We have already seen shifts with hybrid working, and our working models will continue to evolve. Expect to see rigidity and hierarchical structures challenged by these dynamics for more fluid ways of working that favour project-based and people centred leadership styles for maximum adaptability. Restructuring offers an ideal opportunity to adopt new practices that improve the business’s efficiency and profitability, so it is better to embrace agility now to set the organisation up for future flexibility.
• Customer Centricity: If you are not also considering how these changes will impact your customers, then the battle is lost before it has even begun. Every challenge your business faces trickles down to your customer through the products and services you are able—or unable—to offer successfully. Your customers must be at the very core of all the efforts that spring up from a restructure. Their needs should underlie every idea you propose. They should be at the core of all strategic conversations and inform any changes you make to your practices. The aim of a restructure is to make the business as efficient as possible and increase its profitability. It is ultimately your customers who will be impacted by these changes, and whose activities will make or break your efforts. Keeping their needs front of mind is non-negotiable.
• Digital Capabilities: Digital will underscore all of this. Digital transformation has accelerated and is increasingly critical for survival. Understanding the new tools in the market and having the capabilities to use them will be highly valuable. You may be tasked with adopting these tools in your role, introducing them to your team, or implementing them into your new, restructure-driven strategy. Fundamentally, digital capabilities are becoming much more imperative for current and future business success as most Boards will invest more in this area in the future.

With so many moving parts in the wider external market and within your own internal business landscape, making time to step up, take control of your career, and drive impact may feel a bit daunting. But if you don’t, then who will? Having command over your next move and honing the right skills will enable you to become an asset for business transformation and success and will demonstrate your continued value as business dynamics evolve and organisations transition from one phase to the next. Be willing to back yourself and put your ideas forward, because you just might have exactly the solution that a business needs to charge ahead.

Many of us take time during the summer to have some much needed downtime, to regroup, recharge, and come back healthier, happier, and more focused on what we’d like to achieve both personally and professionally during the last leg of 2022.

With increased talks of an impending recession, profit warnings up by 66% as compared to the same period last year and supply chain and cost stresses continuing to bite, naturally there may be more questions than normal about what lies ahead. Leaders will likely need to continuously adapt their thinking in order to navigate a future successful path for both themselves, their teams and their businesses.

Resilience will be a key attribute which differentiates those teams that will thrive in an increasingly  difficult environment. It will come down to their ability to flex and adapt, to make the most of opportunity, and to mitigate risk. Successful teams and their leaders will be able read changes in the market, take prompt action, and make informed decisions to adapt business models. Being able to spot problems quickly, being able to absorb the hit, and still being able to get up and go again will be essential for future success.

If you haven’t had time for reflection, here are some useful questions to dwell on to help you build that resilience and prepare for what may lie ahead.

What are we doing well? What needs improvement?

Typically, leadership teams begin brainstorming their goals for the following year during Q3 and Q4, so now is the perfect time to take stock of your business’s, your team’s, and your own strengths and weaknesses. Be honest and critical so that you can strive for actual measurable improvement and spend the final portion of the year ironing out any flaws. That way, when the time comes to move into the new year, you will be better placed to proceed with agility instead of getting caught up with troubleshooting.

What will a recession mean for businesses?  Are we ready for it? What can we control?

A recession has been looming for a while now, and it’s only a matter of time before it hits. If our friends across the Atlantic offer any indication, this will happen sooner rather than later. According to a recent Goldman Sachs prediction the UK will go into recession by the end of 2022 and will keep contracting in 2023.  It also predicts that the UK economy will contract by 0.6% in 2023.  We have all become well acquainted with disruption—especially over the past two and a half years—so this recession will be the latest in a long string of challenges businesses and executives have faced. But if being blindsided by the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that there is value in scenario planning ahead of time.

Businesses still have time to adapt their strategy to soften the blows a recession might bring. Difficult decisions will be made, and tough conversations will undoubtedly be had. Preparing for the latter in advance can help to ensure they go as smoothly as possible. This blog can offer some advice for navigating these discussions successfully.

What skills will be most valuable for senior executives while finishing out this year?

For executives looking to make things happen for both themselves and their teams, it is important to appreciate a different approach to the prevailing market will be needed. Knowing how to present your leadership value and focusing on strengthening your personal digital brand is increasingly critical in a digital world.  Hopefully as part of your summer reset you were able to assess your goals and set a few actions towards achieving both your teams but also your own personal career development. Our coaches recommend taking a holistic approach to deliver a game changing career move and not just a quick change for the sake of something different.

Keeping a focus on skills is crucial for staying relevant in the marketplace and navigating any difficulties that lie ahead. Based on what we’re seeing now, it’s safe to assume that understanding the technological landscape across your market will continue to be valuable, as will what have traditionally been known as ‘soft skills.’ This includes capabilities such as communication, creativity, and empathy. All of these will likely come into play as we continue to navigate ongoing challenges with talent, face difficult decisions, and rethink our approaches to upcoming disruption.

Developing resilience doesn’t happen overnight. Leaders need to be willing to take time out to reassess and flex as needed. The next few months may be understandably rocky, but taking the time now to plan ahead and evolve your thinking will prove beneficial in the long run. You had a nice reset this summer, but now it’s time to channel that energy into finishing the year on a strong note.

If you’d like our team’s help in building a game changing team, enhancing your leadership capabilities and driving greater impact within your organisation, get in touch with us about our Leadership Development services.