Executive Outlook: Executive Career Transition Market Trends in Q4 2021

In the blink of an eye, we’ve arrived at Q4 of 2021. As we begin looking forward to the festive season and all it brings, now is also the time for reflection and planning for the New Year.

If you have your sights set on a career move in 2022, here are factors you need to consider about the Executive market as it stands as of November 2021.

Executive Job Market Snapshot

A fair amount has changed since our previous market update in early Q2. The government’s popular furlough scheme has come to its official end, and back in April, only a quarter of UK adults had been vaccinated against coronavirus. Today[1], that number is much higher, with 87% of the UK population aged 12 or over having received a first dose and nearly 80% fully vaccinated with both doses. A new development is that over 8 million people have had a third ‘booster’ dose. While this is excellent news for the state of public health in the UK, it also comes as great news for the recovery of the professional market.

The statistics reflect this as well. Currently, the UK unemployment rate stands at around 4.5%, which is a decrease from the 4.9% rate we saw at our last update but still higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 4%. However, these figures are met with vast opportunity with the number of vacancies available in the market hitting an all-time high of 1.1 million between July and September of this year. The number of employees on payroll has also broken records, rising 207,000 to 29.2 million in September 2021.[2]  However, at senior levels within the professional and executive market place, the numbers employed are 600,000 less today than pre Covid-19.

But with the unemployment rate higher than it was pre-COVID, why so many unfilled roles? We’re experiencing what has been dubbed ‘The Great Resignation,’ wherein professionals are leaving their roles or considering leaving their roles without having another opportunity lined up. This is creating even more vacancies in the marketplace rather than creating one-for-one swaps. What is driving these executives to take the leap? If you are one of them, what do you need to consider? The following trends may shed some light and help you better plan for your own executive career transition.

Key Market Trends

The Future is Flexible

One of the biggest changes to the professional world over the past 18 months has been our idea of what ‘work’ and the workday need to look like. Now that staff know they can work from anywhere, many are disinterested in returning to the office full time. Remote work provided greater autonomy and freed up more time for family, exploring interests and hobbies, focussing on wellbeing, and pursing more continuous learning and upskilling opportunities. Whilst some employers are calling their staff back into more traditional 9-5 workdays in the office, many executives are unwilling to sacrifice their improved work-life balance now that they have it. Hybrid and flexible working models seem to be the solution many organisations have turned to. Currently, an average of 44% of staff are back in the workplace at least some of the time and that number is predicted to rise to 56% by the end of the year.[3]

If you are considering an executive transition in the new year, your stance on flexibility will be important to determine ahead of time. If you are looking to work remote or hybrid, prioritise this as part of your search. Filter your search with this criterion and understand opportunities and potential barriers of compromises. Be up front with potential employers or any contacts who may be putting feelers out for you. Let it be known that this is what you are looking for in your next role. That way, you end up in an organisation that shares your views and will be much happier in the long run.

The Skills Divide

The number of vacancies and the unemployment figures demonstrate that the issue is not with the number of roles or candidates available in the marketplace. Rather, it’s a skills issue. The jobs available simply don’t match the people. At the executive level, this looks a bit different. Rather than having an overabundance of skilled staff and too many roles that they are overqualified for (or in some cases, that individuals no longer have the relevant skills for), the problem is that there are very few opportunities available at this level and a highly competitive market of executives to fill them.

At this level, the skills focus needs to be about differentiation. The candidates who stand out will be those who possess the in-demand, future-focused skills that will help the organisation progress and futureproof. Executives who show a clear understanding of the direction their industry is heading and who demonstrate the ability to meet the evolving needs of the organisation are those who will stand out from the pack. Let’s look at what those skills might be.

Sought-After Skills

In our previous update, we listed four skills that will be crucial for anyone looking to make an executive career transition. These are still the main areas to focus on, but it is worth reiterating and expanding on these given the current trends.

• Technological capabilities: We have undoubtedly become much more digitally-oriented during the pandemic, and that will continue and expand to include more advanced tools. A PwC survey found that 52% of companies accelerated their AI adoption plans because of the Covid crisis, close to the results of a similar survey conducted by Harris Poll and Appen at 55%. Executives are beginning to invest in upskilling to respond to this change rather than resisting it. A survey by The AI Journal found that most executives (74%) anticipate that AI will deliver more efficient business processes, help to create new business models (55%), and enable the creation of new products and services (54%).[4] The task at hand for executives is to get up to speed with the tools available, understand their potential impacts and benefits, and begin thinking critically about how these capabilities can be leveraged in their desired role, industry, or organisation. Understanding these impacts may highlight other areas for improvement that can help the executive get ahead of the curve. For example, most professional roles will be done in partnership with AI, wherein the technology will do the more mundane, time consuming, or routinised tasks and the human will take on the more strategic and creative roles. With that in mind, the executive may choose to focus their attention on improving in these areas or other human-specific capabilities that technology cannot fulfil.
• Communication: Now that hybrid working is taking off and becoming more widely practiced, it is essential to develop the right skills for staying connected with colleagues across locations. You might be really excellent at delivering your thoughts in person, but not as great at presenting virtually. Or maybe you are a strong verbal communicator, but not as skilled at putting your thoughts into written word. Hybrid models combine all forms of communication, and therefore you should strive to strengthen your capabilities in the formats that may not be your current strong suit. The success of these working models hinges on teams’ ability to stay aligned and leaders’ ability to keep everyone on track and on the same page. Focusing your attention on this specific soft skill will prove incredibly valuable in any role you are looking to pursue.
• Collaboration: Our changed relationship to the office has carried over into how we conduct our workday, with much more emphasis on project-based work. It is essential for executives to have strong collaborative capabilities to help lead and execute projects. It is more likely that the executive will be managing and overseeing, so the focus needs to be on delegation. In a hybrid model, it can be challenging to fairly distribute work and monitor individual contribution and impact. It falls on leadership to keep their finger on the pulse of the project to ensure things are running smoothly and each member of the team is successful. Assessing your own management style and making changes as needed is crucial for navigating the next chapter of the working world.

The climate for a New Year career move is looking much more promising than it did this time last year, but still requires focus and determination from the candidate. If you are serious about advancing your career in 2022, it’s best to begin now. Set your objectives, determine your goals, begin plotting your strategy, and do the necessary legwork that you have to do to fill gaps in your knowledge or capabilities. That way, once the holiday break is over, you’ll be able to hit the ground running and be seen as a leader of the future that organisations want to invest in.

[1] https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations

[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58881124

[3] https://www.ft.com/content/e0c6e4f7-4d5d-477d-9ac7-fc74e8391075

[4] https://hbr.org/2021/09/ai-adoption-skyrocketed-over-the-last-18-months

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

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

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

What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

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

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

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

A People-Centric Approach

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

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

Communication and Culture

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

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

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

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

The Role of Staff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Mastering Buy-In

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

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

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

2. Communicating Effectively

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

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

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

3. Delivering Results

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

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

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

4. Setting Standards for Wellbeing and Professional Development

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

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

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

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

5. Embracing New Technology and AI

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

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

2020 proved a challenging period to make a career move. Many executives choosing to put their transition plans on hold as organisations grappled with navigating remote working, creating new target operating models, adapting to rapidly changing customer behaviour, and new views about society impact. As we move into Q2 of 2021 with over a quarter of UK adults already fully vaccinated and the lockdown roadmap proposing a full lifting of restrictions ready for Q3, the remainder of 2021 promises a more optimistic outlook.

Many will now be contemplating whether this is the right time to reignite career plans that have been put on hold and invest some serious effort into career planning. With the furlough scheme due to end at the end of September, there is also a recognition by many that they will need to be match fit to be offered a new executive career challenge whether that’s internal to their current organisations or their role is placed at risk and in the worst scenarios they find themselves in need of executive outplacement.

Executive Job Market Snapshot

According to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s overall employment rate is at 75.1%, which is 1.4% lower than it was at this time last year, and 0.1% lower than it was in Q4 of 2020. The unemployment rate is approximately 4.9%. This figure is higher than it was at the start of the pandemic, but lower than it was when the second wave of the pandemic began last autumn. Businesses have become better at coping with lockdowns, and the government has invested heavily in supporting jobs in order to keep this figure low.

That said, there were some in small shifts in employment opportunities in Q1 2021. Since the start of the pandemic in March, a total of 813,000 payroll jobs have disappeared. According to the ONS data, 56,000 fewer people were on the payroll between March 2021 and February 2021 alone. It is not just existing jobs that are disappearing, but also new opportunities. There were an estimated 607,000 job vacancies in January to March 2021, which is a 22.7% fall compared to the previous year. However, this number increased month on month in Q1, rising nearly 16% between February and March alone. Things continue to look up as reopening plans provide businesses with more optimistic outlooks.

According to data from two latest labour market trends reports, the biggest gains in active Q1 job postings in the UK were found in a variety of professional functions. The number of active Executive Management job postings climbed an impressive 14% between January and February 2021 alone, and a further 3.2% between February and March for a total rise of 17.2% across the quarter. Marketing and PR postings increased by a total of 28.4% between January and March. Other Q1 gains include Sales/Business Development by 27.6%, Finance/Accounting by 23.2%, Administration by 21.8%, IT by 22.1%. HR by 17%, and Operations/Logistics by 15.7%. This signals a positive step forward for businesses and is encouraging news for executives looking for their next role.

Sought-After Skills

For those executives considering a career transition or in the midst of a job search, our research reveals that after technical capability to do a job, the capabilities that businesses will be most looking for in executives to lead the future include:

1. Technology Savvy

Digital transformation and next gen technology adoption are rapidly accelerating worldwide and will continue to do so. With hybrid work models becoming the norm, a basic knowledge of video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Webex, Teams, and Google Meet, and the ability to use collaboration platforms like Slack, have become the bare minimum baseline. However, employers are going to expect much more than that from candidates in the future workplace. In general, executives should focus on gaining an understanding of new tools and their impacts, uses, and risks. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of data are excellent and very valuable places to focus one’s attention. Adoption of disruptive technologies such as AI, Blockchain, IoT, 3D printing, and so on is accelerating in every industry across the world. An understanding of these tools and the necessary skills to employ them successfully will be a crucial requirement for executives moving forward.

2. Strategy and Creativity

With this rise in new technology, various functions of executive roles will undoubtedly change. It’s likely that AI will pick up some of the more mundane or routinised tasks, freeing up time for higher value business activities. Future executives will be expected to be able to provide value in the human intelligence areas that technology does not currently have the ability to replicate. While tech can derive some incredible insights from data, it takes human intelligence and experience to translate those insights into strategy and actionable plans for the organisation. Similarly, while AI can write great copy or even music, its capabilities have yet to match human creativity. Executives may be able to find valuable niches in these areas to enhance their desirability in the future workforce.

3. Agility

The challenges presented by COVID-19 and the digital revolution have made rapid change a regular fixture of professional life. The ability to pivot to these changes, keep an open mind, and experiment will be one of the most valuable assets an executive can bring to their team. As a Agile leaders you should be able to demonstrate that you can align actions to thinking. For example, to gain competitive edge it may be necessary to quickly get a beta product to customers and then refine it with feedback rather than undergo prolonged research and development cycles. Show you are prepared to take risks and capitalise and learn from failures rather than fear them. Success as an agile leader also depends on learning new skills and acquiring knowledge and tools that allow you to determine how working practices can evolve.

4. Soft Skills

We have seen a rise in the prioritisation of basic soft skills as technology and the pandemic reshape and redefine the world of work. Communications, listening, and teamwork skills will be imperative for successfully navigating hybrid work models and collaborating with dispersed teams. Time management and accountability are also necessary for keeping on track when working this way. Empathy is essential as organisations place higher importance on wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion and begin to actively champion social causes.

Areas to Focus on for a Successful Executive Transition

Many people don’t appreciate the unique challenges presented when seeking a new senior level role. From our experience working with Senior Executives over 29+ years, we have found that the key challenges include:

• Family and money commitments
• The changing dynamic in organisation structure and reward.
• Fewer jobs at the right level (Our research indicates that approximately 800,000 senior roles have disappeared within the UK in the last decade).
• Competition from a wider talent pool including geography, age and skillsets.
• Time management.

It’s only when you actually sit down and start thinking about your next challenge that you realise the process is a lot more complicated than you initially thought. You need to be clear on how your skills and experience translate to your target role’s required specifications, your target organisations and their challenges, areas where you can add value, and where you will find opportunities.

All of the above make it more important than ever to ensure you create a market winning strategy to differentiate yourself and position yourself as indispensable to prospective employers or customers. Focus on the following high-performance behaviours:

1. Networking

As the old saying goes, much of business is all about who you know and as a result many opportunities are secured through referrals from connections. Foster your existing relationships and let them know that you are open to new opportunities. The pandemic has given rise to more virtual networking opportunities, which makes it easy to meet and connect with others. That said, do not simply view networking as a potential gateway to your next job, though this may be the case. Identify peers that you admire, can learn from, or can engage with in thought-provoking and insightful discussions about industry issues or the landscape for your role or field. These discussions may highlight other areas you can improve on or skills you can champion in your search, helping you to become a more valuable executive overall. As one executive explained: “Following the trail of “breadcrumbs’ from one contact to the next and to the next until you land in front of someone that has a position, or is in a position to create one, is the key.”

2. Personal Branding

Making a lasting impression as a senior executive is harder than ever, especially now that the entire process is much more digitally driven. If you have been out of the job market for a while and are now considering a transition, it’s worth reading up on the latest hiring trends in more depth to get an idea of how you need to be found digitally and how you may be assessed. A good place to start is by looking at the individual personal profiles of those in similar roles in order to understand how they present themselves. It’s fundamentally critical for leaders considering a transition to answer the question, “What makes you so great and what specifically can you achieve when you walk through the doors of your next employer?” Don’t underestimate the time it takes to do this nor leave it up to others to work out your story. Your positioning needs to be relevant and compelling. You also need to be crisp, succinct and articulate in your presentation and be ready to present with the same level of coherence regardless of the setting you might be in whether that’s online, at an interview, in a networking meeting, or with a colleague having coffee. Platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram provide an opportunity to build your credibility and brand to support this process through the creation of a digital trail that builds credibility, authority, and name recognition. You can read our advice for developing your personal digital brand in this blog and our tips for content creation here.

3. Remote communication

Online meetings have become the centrepiece of much of our lives, and this is no different when looking for a new executive position. Although we have been ‘practicing’ for the past year, many executives who have gravitas, presence, and confidence in person come across as stiff, unapproachable, or even uncomfortable during video meetings. Not all physical cues translate from in-person to video, which make the ones that do even more important. It takes time and practice to appear confident and show your true self, especially to people we don’t know. Unlike an in-person or phone meeting, you also need to remember that your first impression during an online meeting doesn’t always involve you. The first thing individuals see is your username and picture, followed by you and your chosen background. All these aspects could result in signals being misread even before you start to speak which doesn’t begin to take into consideration technology issues, lack of personal interaction, and the difficulty of being able to read people without social in person cues. Don’t just pitch up; prepare, practice and dress the part.

4. Upskilling and Reskilling – Acknowledging Development Needs

The world of work is changing more rapidly than ever. The skills sought by employers are evolving with it. An astounding 133 million global jobs are at risk of automation by 2030, and more than 10 million of those are in the UK alone. Companies are facing the challenge of not only hiring to enhance their teams but also finding candidates who have these newly in-demand skills. Successful executives are always iterating and adapting, and continuously learning. We have listed some areas to focus on, so if you find you are lacking in any of these areas, we recommend taking the time to invest in upskilling or reskilling. In our work with senior executives, we are finding that approximately 80% need to invest in personal development in order to increase their market value. You might consider a higher education course, short professional education programmes, masterclasses, or membership of professional initiatives such as the Rialto AI Leaders Programme. Whatever path you choose to pursue, you are very unlikely to ever regret investing in your own professional development and knowledge.

Making a career transition, especially amidst such a challenging economic climate and increasingly competitive executive-level marketplace, can be daunting and intimidating. Desirable roles are hard to come by and usually competed for by a large pool of qualified candidates. The data from Q1 provides some optimistic outlooks for the remainder of the year and suggests that there will be uplift in the job market. Executives in transition should take the time to assess their capabilities, strengths, and skills to best position themselves in the marketplace and prepare for future success.

To find out more about enhancing your value or to transition to a new executive role, do contact our team of professional career transition coaches. The Rialto Consultancy offers a range of career strategy services including Executive Outplacement, Executive Coaching, and Personal Branding.

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

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

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

The ‘Best’ Best Practices

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

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

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

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

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

Creating Alignment and Clearing Communication Hurdles

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

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

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

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

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

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

Easing the Transition

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

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

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

In this short video, Sarah Prichard, UK Managing Director of BuroHappold, talks to Lesley Lindberg about some of the leadership challenges she has observed through the UK lockdown.

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

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

CEO Snapshot

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

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

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

Top Market Challenges impacting CEO’S

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

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

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

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

Top CEO Priorities

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

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

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

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

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

People Priorities

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

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

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

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

Personal Development

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

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

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

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

We recently discussed some of the strategic priorities regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology that leaders will need to keep in mind for the future. Whilst deciding on the best plan of action, there are many factors to consider. What is the current vs future 2–5-year climate likely to be? What will this mean for workforce reskilling and day-to-day practices? What ethical and governance issues need to be considered? These are just some of the crucial questions to consider when undertaking any digital or change programme.

The State of AI

One core message relayed in the previous blog is well worth reiterating here: artificial intelligence is no longer a distant ‘maybe.’ The time has arrived to either sink or swim, adapt or get left behind. AI is guiding decisions from crop harvesting, to bank loans, to medical and pharmaceutical testing.

The gravity of the situation is evidenced strongly in the various tech-focused initiatives included in the UK Government’s latest budget plans. Their aim is to support businesses, enabling them to come to terms with an increasingly digital climate. Two initiatives worth mentioning are a new fast-tracked visa to draw in top tech talent from around the world, as well as the £520 million Help to Grow scheme which is aimed at aiding SMEs to be more competitive while enhancing digital skills. The scheme will allow up to 130,000 SMEs to have subsidised access to university-level training, 50 hours of tuition, and one-to-one business mentoring. In order to further support digital transformation in enterprise, the scheme also includes a 50% government contribution towards productivity software up to £5,000 and delivered in vouchers.

According to a report released at the end of 2020, the UK is ranked third out of the G20 countries in terms of total implementation, innovation, and investment in AI. Britain is ranked first overall in ‘Operating Environment,’ which encompasses the regulatory context and public opinion surrounding artificial intelligence.

The UK government has been taking strides for years to secure this position, most notably through the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (APPG AI), of which Rialto is a permanent board member. The group meets regularly for evidence sessions and discussions of the major issues and innovations in AI, all with the intention of supporting the adoption of the technology in enterprise. Membership of this community and access to these sessions is one of the benefits of our AI Leaders Programme, designed to help leaders stay up to date with key developments.

The Human Cost of Automation

The Help to Grow scheme itself is an acknowledgement of the government’s understanding of the necessary role which AI and other technology will play in this next chapter. The pandemic was a ‘trial by fire’ lesson in the importance of digital transformation, as even the most resistant organisations and individuals were left with no choice but to rely on technology to function. The difference now is that while most of the technology we turned to during the pandemic helped us simply stay connected and stay afloat, the technology we turn to next will be strategically focused on creating impactful and long-term change.

Much has been written about the numerous benefits that AI and automation can provide to organisations, especially in terms of productivity and cost savings. Normally, when business leaders are thinking about their AI adoption plans and their objectives, it is these benefits that they tend to focus on. But opportunity has its costs, and the change in practices that AI brings about raises some very serious questions about the impact on human staff.

The major focus we should take from the Help to Grow scheme is the emphasis on skill building, which is both intentional and necessary. It is crucial that any organisation looking at digital transformation, no matter how big or small, ensure that human staff understand the technology they are adopting as well as its uses and implications. A common misconception surrounding AI is that it is here to replace the human workforce. The reality is that AI has not yet reached a level of human intelligence that would allow it to be fully self-sufficient. Most tools that businesses will be looking to adopt tend to rely on a partnership between human and machine. Teams will be needed to oversee the technology, but more importantly they will be required to make sense of any insights and transform them into actions for the business.

That said, there will be certain cases where technology does displace human staff. In AI’s current phase, this is more likely to occur in tasks or roles that are heavily routinised, potentially dangerous, or methodical. There are many examples of this already occurring in manufacturing, agricultural, and distribution functions, amongst others.

When beginning a transformation project, it is essential that the organisation’s leadership look beyond the benefits to the business and examine the potential impacts on staff. On one hand, effort is required to ensure that the staff you have on hand are well prepared to deal with any changes. This is where upskilling initiatives such as those included in the Help to Grow scheme become crucial in terms of involving staff in the next phase of development.

On the other hand, what action is required to assist those left behind by AI? One option is reskilling and helping leaders and staff to develop skills and capabilities that differ from those required by their current role so that they may serve the business in another area. This reskilling may also focus on the human capabilities that technology (currently) cannot replicate, such as empathy, understanding, or strategy. However, if redundancies are deemed necessary, how can you provide support? It might be worth investing in executive outplacement services to help these individuals transition to a new role. Regardless of the approach you select, it is essential that you factor in the human and reputational costs when adopting AI.

Bias and Ethics

Apart from the displacement and critical reskilling needs of the human workforce, additional concerns with AI tend to focus on macros issues such as privacy, bias, and ethics. Customers are wary about the amount of personal data collected and how it is used. In Europe and the UK there are certain policies in place such as GDPR which partially govern this, but at present, AI remains largely unregulated.

Several professional bodies have begun developing their own codes of practice, and governments around the world are working to do this on both a national and global level. The work of the APPG AI community is helping to contribute to these efforts in the UK, and these issues are often discussed in the group’s evidence meetings. But until there are a set of standards or guiding principles that businesses can refer to and adhere to, how can you ensure your AI project avoids violating any ethical rules?

The past year raised some very pertinent ethical discussions, especially in regard to diversity and equality. The leadership team will need to deeply examine and make decisions about potential issues that may affect the outputs of the new technology. This will require answering some very important questions. Who do you have overseeing these systems? How do you plan to use the data you collect? What steps do you intend to take to protect this data and the customers it belongs to? What potential biases may arise from the data or how it is treated? Having answers to the tough questions will help to develop a set of standards or practices for the entire organisation to abide by to ensure any major breaches are avoided.

When adopting AI or other disruptive technologies, it is easy to become blinded by the potential benefits for the business. As we enter the next ‘normal’, it is essential that leaders deepen their understanding of what is happening with technology on a macro level, what impacts might be felt within the business, and how they can ensure that their new endeavour has both internal and external benefits. Membership of the Rialto AI Leaders Programme is a great way to accomplish this, which enabled members to take part in thought-provoking high-level evidence sessions, hearing discussions of the major macro issues first-hand. Furthermore, members are kept up to date with the latest developments, trends, innovations, ROI case studies, and investments on AI.

In the first instalment of our Personal Digital Branding series, we introduced the foundations to creating a representative ‘personal’ profile. In the second blog of the series, we delved into the ‘digital’ side of personal digital branding and provided our top tips for selecting the right social medium and using it to your advantage.

This article continues the series, exploring the ways in which you can bring your brand to life through thought leadership and the creation and curation of quality content. The right thought leadership can make the difference in positioning you as an aligned and relevant leader in the future world of work, thus ensuring you are better known and sought after in target areas.

What is Thought Leadership?

Every industry has its key players, the individuals that others turn to for insights or expertise on selected topics. These individuals are considered thought leaders and have earned that distinction through the active and strategic building of their profile within their designated space.

If executed properly, thought leadership can be a hugely beneficial tool for differentiating oneself in an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace. This may prove helpful in an executive career transition, with securing new business, or attracting other opportunities for networking, NED roles, or further reputation-boosting publicity. Implicitly, people want to work with someone they can trust; an individual who they believe is best suited for the job. Thought leadership helps build that trust, authority, and credibility.

Thought leaders actively connect with others in their industry and attract valuable connections from outside of their immediate network, too. They are up to date with the latest developments and engaged in discussion about the issues, trends, and news impacting their space. They may be frequent commentators in the media, or active on the global keynote circuit (virtual or face-to-face). Alternatively, these individuals benefit from having a really strong and active social media presence or a great content strategy.

Our previous blog provided guidance for developing this strategy, but a key question is what should you actually be sharing in order to build your credibility? What separates good thought leadership content from average material?

What Do Thought Leaders Share?

We work very closely with our Personal Digital Branding clients, helping each Executive to perfect their thought leadership. In doing so, we help them to stand out from the crowd. Typically, once a client reaches this point in the process, they have already completed the essential work of clarifying their objective – for example, identifying the top organisations for whom they would particularly like to work and clarifying the compelling value proposition they have to share. They will understand their personal digital brand and areas of expertise. Our experts will also have helped them research the best ways to reach their target audiences and helped them to articulate key messages through different communication channels. Strong digital content is the next step for bringing those elements together to create results.

The types of content you should share as a thought leader will and should vary. Here are just a few examples:

• Blogs/Articles: The long format of this type of content allows you the space and freedom to go into depth about your key topics. You may choose to publish these directly on your personal website or your company’s site, if allowed, and share a link to the article via your chosen social platforms. Alternatively, LinkedIn allows its users to publish ‘Articles’ directly on the platform. These articles function exactly the same way a blog would and are an excellent option for executives who lack a platform for posting elsewhere.
• Personal updates: These posts provide your network with glimpses into your professional life. This may include news of any nominations or awards won, initiatives you have taken part in, promotions or new roles you have taken on, and attendance of or participation in any relevant industry events. However, do not confuse the definition of ‘personal’ here. Any updates you share about yourself should pertain to your professional developments or achievements.
• Company updates: If allowed and appropriate, you should share the projects your company is working on, relevant news or updates from your organisation, any mentions of your company in the news, case studies, or awards won.
• Third-party resources: Sharing news, articles, blogs, or other content from credible third-party sources about relevant topics is a great way of showing that you are tuned into what’s happening in your industry and the wider world around you. That said, when you share this type of content, you should always ensure that there is some sort of value add. Do not simply share a link and go. Always try to add a bit of insight, commentary, or critical thought.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, a great way to get a feel for what this content looks like in practice is to examine the profiles of the thought leaders you admire. Visit their social profiles, read their blogs, and note the things you feel that they are doing right. Take those lessons back with you and adapt them to suit your style, goals, and strategy.

Thought Leadership Content Tips:

Thought leadership takes time to cultivate. To become a thought leader, you need to remain vigilant and stay on top of your posting. Here are a few final pieces of advice to build your personal digital brand:

• Tag to build your network: Tag in posts wherever you can in order to draw more eyes to your content. Tag anyone directly related to the content, or you can even tag individuals who you think might be interested in what you have shared. Actively interacting with peers is a great way to continue growing your network and raising your name recognition in the industry.
• Add value: Reiterating our earlier point, thought leadership content should always come with a value add, no matter what the style of content. When sharing third-party content, avoid presenting it without any type of commentary or simply recapping what is there. A few brief lines of analysis will help to establish your position as a thought leader in that particular topic or area. When writing a blog, share any advice or insight you can with your readers. Do not be afraid to inject your own professional experiences in order to provide real-world context.
• Let your brand shine through: After all of the hard work you have put in up to this point, you should have a very clear idea of what your personal digital brand identity is. This should hopefully make it very easy to shape the content you create and select the topics you discuss. The time has come to let your brand shine through. Be your own champion. Do not be afraid to voice your opinions or share your insights and expertise on the topics you are experienced in and passionate about.
• Stay active: This will play into the strategy you previously devised, but in order to become a thought leader and stay that way, you do need to engage with your audience regularly. Our previous blog provided tips for determining the frequency of your activity. But a mistake that many professionals tend to make is pursuing thought leadership to achieve a specific goal, and then dropping their activity once that goal has been met. Maintain it if you can. If your thought leadership activity helped you to secure a new role, it is likely that your new employer was drawn to the idea of having a respected expert on their team. If thought leadership brought in some new connections or opportunities for you before, it will continue to do so if you maintain momentum.

Personal digital branding and thought leadership can be hard work but can also bring about some incredible and valuable opportunities for your career including internal promotion or external appointments. Once you have found your stride and determined which content works for you and your audience, keeping up with thought leadership should become a natural and effortless part of your normal professional activity. Make it part of your daily routine. Be patient, as it will take time to build trust and credibility. But with time, you are likely to find that putting in the work to pursue thought leadership was a worthwhile investment in your career and professional development.

In this short video, Nigel Clarke, Chairman of the General Pharmaceutical Council, talks to Lesley Lindberg about some of the leadership challenges he has observed through the UK lockdown.