Five Strategies for Increasing Leadership Influence

While authority and formal titles may dictate a certain level of control or gravitas, true leadership is not about your ability to command others but rather your ability to inspire voluntary action. Influence is a delicate fusion of empathy, communication prowess, and vision. It requires an understanding of the unique motivations and aspirations of individuals and involves leveraging that understanding to guide teams toward shared objectives. A leader’s ability to influence reflects their ability to connect with people on a personal level, to build trust, and foster a sense of belonging and purpose.

Whether you’re championing a strategic initiative, leading restructuring efforts, advocating for new technology, strengthening  customer commitment or motivating your teams towards agility and higher performance, your ability to generate buy-in, inspire confidence, and shape outcomes hinges upon whether you are able to effectively gain support from your key stakeholders, many of whom will not necessarily be I the same room as you too regularly.

Our expert Rialto Executive Career Coaches have shared the following five essential strategies for senior executives to consider when seeking to enhance their leadership influence.

1. Master the Art of Persuasion: To influence effectively, it’s vital to master the art of persuasion. This involves appealing to both reason and emotion. Look to substantiate your position with data and facts, but also attune yourself to your audience’s feelings. Demonstrate how your vision and objectives align with their values and aspirations. Look to also clarify how their support and/or contribution support the broader outlook. A common error which many leaders often make is not focussing on multiple stakeholder benefits, even though they know that not everyone shares the same level of commitment to a particular cause or direction. To be truly influential, you need to be realistic about the various drivers for your different audiences and persuade them from that vantage point.  Segment your audience to customise your approach and consider their different interests and priorities.  Emphasise positive impact and what success looks like but equally anticipate and openly address challenges and risks, inviting feedback and creating space for dialogue.  Remember, mastering the art of persuasion is an ongoing process requiring self-awareness, practice, and a genuine commitment to understanding and connecting with others.
2. Build a Compelling Personal Brand: Your personal brand is a powerful tool for influence, both online and offline. A strong personal brand can make your message more compelling and trustworthy, especially where you have shared your expertise and values and proven yourself as a trusted contributor in your field or on key topics. Consistently align your actions and communication with these attributes is essential, both within and outside your organisation. Those that have established credibility among peers, team members, and stakeholders are much more likely to have their voice heard and be followed. Many senior leaders use LinkedIn as a preferred thought leadership platform to raise personal digital brand awareness, given its professional reputation compared to other social networking platforms. Build a strong profile on the site that accurately outlines your background, experience, and professional identity. Ensure that the information you include creates the desired perception you would like others to glean. Then, use the platform to build your influence through your posting and activity. Share relevant research, comment on trends affecting your industry or business, and actively engage in conversations about your topics of expertise. Leverage your brand to build your network and get in front of key members of your audience. Name recognition goes a long way in creating credibility and trustworthiness. Having a well-structured and active profile can help to position you well as a leader in your industry or job function, which in turn will support your ability to influence others.
3. Leverage Technology Wisely: Using technology to build your influence is a must in today’s digital age but ensure that you are doing so wisely. Utilise it to your advantage but be mindful of its limitations. Video conferences, webinars, and social media can extend your reach, but they still don’t create the same impact as face-to-face interactions Be mindful of how and why you use technology in your communications efforts and ask yourself if this is the right platform or appropriate messaging for your audience and brand. With the rise of generative AI, employing a platform like ChatGPT to draft thought leadership and persuasive messages is being seen as a valuable time saver for busy executives. However, generating content this way without your own perspective does little to portray your unique voice, match your tone and can occasionally generate inaccurate or misrepresentative information. To be truly influential, you need to own your narrative and your messaging instead of handing over to AI. Generative AI is an incredible technology, but again has its limitations. Use it as an assistant to your efforts rather than letting technology take full control.
4. Develop a Community and Open Communication: Both online and offline, you should be listening as often as you speak and empowering others to share their thoughts as well. Do not just share or ‘publish your own thoughts and expect that to be enough to position you as ‘influential.’ The most successful influencers are those who build communities of trust first. Spark valuable and thought-provoking conversations with others. Invite your audience to share their opinions and respond to them. Comment on what others have to say be that in your organisation, in your industry or on a wider platform. Influential leaders do not exist in isolation.

As a leader, take the initiative  to create a culture that encourages and supports open communication and collaboration. Encourage feedback, welcome diverse perspectives, and ensure that information flows freely. A transparent, open culture fosters trust, honesty and creates alignment. It also makes it easier to generate buy-in for initiatives or strengthen decision-making through collaborative input.

5. Continuously Learn and Improve: Building your influence will not happen overnight, and effective communication is not a static skill. You should always strive to learn and improve your messaging and your method of delivery. Seek feedback, stay updated on trends, and adapt accordingly. A commitment to ongoing self awareness and growth will help you to become influential long term, which will prove valuable in times of both prosperity and turmoil.

When leaders lead by example, showcasing values and behaviours that align with the bigger picture and a shared purpose, they set the tone for those around them. This sparks a ripple effect that in an organisation creates greater workforce cohesion, fosters innovation, and improves agility and resilience in the face of challenges. In an era characterised by rapid change and complexity, influence becomes even more valuable. Leaders who can adapt and communicate effectively in diverse and cross-functional teams are better equipped to guide their organisations through tumult, bridge gaps, resolve conflicts, and navigate uncertainty with grace.

If asked to summarise 2020 in a word, the list would surely include answers such as uncertain, disruptive, chaotic, transformative, unsettling, and challenging.

At the start of this year, we never could have predicted the situation we currently find ourselves in. Up until March 2020, it was business as usual. There was optimism that initial decisions on Brexit had been made, and business leaders felt that they could spend the rest of the year focusing on business transformation and growth strategies. But then COVID-19 rapidly spread across the world and we were all forced to quickly shift the way we work, interact, network, and lead.

To help leaders better understand the business challenges of this year and equip them to thrive in the aftermath, Rialto has continued to embark on our research project in which we invite participants to discuss the future capabilities and skillsets they think will be important based on their experiences of current and future trends. The research feeds into the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI), which enables leaders to benchmark their capabilities and skillsets. Approximately 350 leaders have contributed to this year’s research update.

Many businesses moved their staff from the office to remote working formats, some for the very first time. Business leaders needed to quickly adapt their approaches to accommodate the change in both their team’s and customers’ circumstances. Whether facing a downturn or growth, the new remote working situation highlighted the need for empathetic, authentic leaders with the customer and employee experience holding equal focus and sitting at the heart of everything.

Many leaders saw the importance of putting people first this year, especially their employees. In fact, the treatment of staff during this time soon defined what type of employer these organisations are. Widely, we saw employee loyalty and motivation maintained. Customers behaved similarly, remaining loyal to their favourite brands and returning as repeat customers.

The common themes arising from this year’s findings is the need for all leaders to be more collaborative, flexible and agile. It has also been suggested that leaders will need to become an exemplar requiring a range of capabilities and skillsets that can be switched on and off, enabling them to react to what is happening around them.

What follows are five of the key leadership capabilities that are being sought after to ensure leaders—and their organisations—are fully fit for the future. Rialto will continue to feedback findings on a regular basis as we continue to see changes in these predictions across our projects and many dialogues.

1. Adapt to Overcome Any and All Challenges

Our 2019 report identified the importance of developing the three As of agility,

adaptability and acumen. The challenges of this year made this an even more essential task for business leaders, especially the first A: agility.

No one could have predicted the massive amount of change and the obstacles this year would present. Many business leaders were forced to think on their feet and quickly adapt their mindset, management style, work practices, and plans in order to lead through these circumstances. Doing so effectively required agility in every possible area.

Working from home, lockdown restrictions, and widespread illness compromised the mental health and wellbeing of employees throughout 2020, and their leaders had to become more emotionally agile as a result. Leaders had to help their teams overcome these heavy burdens while also navigating these emotional challenges themselves. Customer relationships needed to be managed with additional care, consideration, and delicacy. The most effective leaders led with empathy, sensitivity, openness, and compassion this year and will need to keep this same level of emotional intelligence and agility moving forward.

Tough decisions also needed to be made, causing many organisations to change course and quickly adapt. It was a true test in risk, operational and decision-making agility as some leaders may have needed to navigate their team through new working conditions, cutbacks, difficult market conditions and an increasingly urgent need for digital transformation.

After this year’s tests of agility, leaders will need to think critically about which business and operating models will bring success moving forward and feel confident enough to shift focus to these areas. This will require adaptability and a lack of complacency. It is important to seek out continuous learning opportunities in order to stay current and allow for quick pivots to new models or technologies that may help advance the business.

2. Start an Open Dialogue

Communication and engagement challenges are presenting themselves and the two are becoming intermixed as traditional hierarchical structures break down and we see leadership positions shifting hands to Generation X and millennials. These younger leaders are bringing in fresh ideas and different approaches, with the latter of the two groups more heavily focused on experience than some of their predecessors. Additionally, the older members of Generation Z are beginning to enter the workforce and bringing their own set of expectations to internal operations.

Externally, leaders must also navigate communications with some of the most socially conscious consumers seen in decades. Today’s consumers care about the causes the businesses they buy from support, how they treat their staff, their environmental impacts, the fairness of their supply chains, and more. Clearly communicating stances can prove massively beneficial for building or improving customer loyalty, whereas vagueness or dishonesty can put customers off for life. Today’s consumers are also the most tech savvy we have ever seen and have come to expect a certain level of personalisation or ‘wow factor’ in their experiences. Engaging these customers both in person and online has become a critically important challenge for many business leaders to navigate.

Communication and engagement proved especially difficult this year as business operations shifted virtually, as did buying and servicing in many cases. Leaders will need to work hard to unite teams working remotely long term in order to maintain morale and productivity, while also encouraging impact on the team and individual levels. It is likely that many businesses will face tough market conditions well into the new year. Generating customer loyalty through strong engagement and experiences will be key.

Leaders need to show clarity of thought, honesty, and humility when communicating to engage both their staff and their customers. Creating an open dialogue between staff of all levels allows employees to feel more involved and engaged with their teammates, role, and leadership. Leaders who are able to communicate and engage successfully will possess strong storytelling abilities while also being able to provide clear, succinct, and relatable messages for all of their audiences.

3. Become a Digital Champion

This year was a pivotal moment for business 4.0 and digital transformation. Leaders and organisations who had been resisting change or slow to transform were forced to adapt suddenly and quickly in order to continue conducting business amid the lockdowns. Instead of regressing backwards, businesses and their leaders are more likely to continue on the path that they have started down towards digital transformation.

It should have become clear by now that technology is the way forward for all businesses, regardless of size or industry. Leaders should work to understand the impacts of converging technologies on their sector, clients, organisation, and job function, as well as the increasing rate at which they are going to be used. This does not require the leader to become a tech expert but may require some upskilling in order to build up confidence, understanding, and relevant capabilities. This will help leaders to make more informed decisions when selecting tools or methodologies, as well as helping to generate buy-in within the organisation.

Leaders who act confidently inspire confidence, and this will help to quell the fears of any resistant staff. Instead of resisting, leaders should embrace the idea of transformation to become advocates and champions of change within their organisation.

4. Deliver on Promises Efficiently

Since we first began conducting research for RALI, the ability to deliver results quickly has always featured in our findings. However, what we found this year is that the speed in which leaders must execute strategies, projects, and results has changed. It has become a matter of how leaders are able to organise and lead change initiatives across the organisation, and how quickly they can deliver on any promises made.

This acceleration towards even more rapid results could be attributed to a number of sources. As we previously mentioned, this year’s pandemic has required a high level of adaptability and quick thinking, all without a lot of time to work with. It could also be attributed to the increasingly digital world we live in, where everything is available at our fingertips with a few clicks. Whatever the source of this shift, it has meant that leaders need to be able to align strategic business initiatives and people to deliver results at speed.

It can be difficult to get a team on the same page, and staying on the same page in the fast-paced business world is even more of a challenge. Leaders have to respond to rapid changes in economic, market and customer demand.  Having a formula to keep the team aligned and projects on track is more important than ever before.

The best leaders are recognising that the barriers to boldness and speed are less about technical limits and more about mindsets toward what is possible, what people are willing to do, the degree to which implicit or explicit policies that slow things down can be challenged, and bureaucratic chains of command. Heading into the new year, it will be essential for leaders to get clear on these roadblocks and work collaboratively with their teams in order to overcome them. That way, unnecessary delays and setbacks can be avoided and projects can progress quicker, allowing for that highly desired speed of results.

5. Become an Out-of-the-Box Thinker

Pandemics, wars, and other social crises often create new attitudes, needs, and behaviours in the workplace, the market, and society at large. We can anticipate these events to an extent but can rarely predict their impacts. For example, in February none of us would have anticipated the longevity, reach, or damage of the coronavirus pandemic. In these cases, leaders typically have to think on their feet to come up with solutions to unexpected problems.

These influential events highlight a need for greater imagination. When these circumstances arise, the most successful leaders are those with the capacity to create, evolve, and exploit mental models of things or situations that don’t yet exist. Imagination and creativity are key factors for seizing and shaping new futures for work. This creativity needs to be channelled for purpose and not executed on a whim. Strategic creativity requires time for reflection, curiosity, inquisition, experimentation, and optimism.

Imagination is arguably one of the hardest things to keep alive under pressure, yet it can bring about some excellent benefits for business leaders and their organisations. In recessions and downturns, 14% of companies outperform both historically and competitively because they invest in new growth areas. We found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations who were able to imagine came up with new business models that helped their businesses stay afloat or even excel, and they saw significant value as a result. For example, when the restaurants shut, many small restauranteurs and fruit and veg distributors reallocated the stock that would have supplied these eateries into meal boxes that were then delivered to households.

Individuals at all levels who are able to see creative ways around the problem when backed into a corner are the most effectively poised to thrive when future pandemics or disruptions occur.

Conclusion

Undoubtably, the skillsets highlighted here, especially agility and innovation, will continue to prove essential for years to come as businesses strive to overcome any long-term impacts of the pandemic and new challenges presented by Brexit.

The leaders who will be most successful at navigating the so-called ‘new normal’ in 2021 will have the ability to quickly pivot when unexpected obstacles arise but will still be able to maintain empathy and compassion in all of their dealings with staff and customers. These leaders will see challenges as opportunities to do things differently and will become champions for change in their organisation. 2020 has rapidly accelerated the wheels of widespread digital transformation, so leaders will need to seek out opportunities to better understand the impacts and benefits that new tech can bring their organisation. Communication will be key for these leaders when working to create buy in for new initiatives, maintaining morale, continuing to make an impact, and building customer loyalty.

Despite everything, it is still essential for leaders to continue investing in their own professionalism, development, and personal digital brand. Networking in the traditional sense was halted this past year and it is unclear when it might resume. There are still many opportunities for executives to connect with and expand their network virtually. The successful leader in 2021 will be entrepreneurial and take initiative to continue forging new relationships.

Continuous learning will also be key for advancement. Business as we know it has changed, and the skillsets required have evolved alongside it. Successful leaders will understand this and refuse to become complacent, seeking out opportunities to stay current while keeping their eyes focused on the future.

We at Rialto look forward to sharing further insights and trends with you.

If you are interested in taking part in events such as our leadership dialogues and surveys, please contact press@rialtoconsultancy.com  To find out more about the RALI, please visit www.ralionline.com

Investing in yourself and developing a career strategy might not be top of everyone’s agenda at the moment but, nevertheless, is an extremely valuable way for senior executives to spend any downtime during the unprecedented events we face because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Day-to-day operations often leave little time to take a step back and consider where you are in your career, where you want to be and the impact of rapid change on industries and skillset requirements. But now is the time to consider these issues or risk being left behind.

Even if you feel secure and fulfilled in your current role and organisation, it is still a worthwhile exercise to evaluate current skillsets and assess how up-to-date and relevant they are. This is especially true for today’s fast-moving and ever-changing market requirements, which will undoubtedly see even more rapid change as we come through the aftermath of COVID-19. It will also help to ensure you are equipped with the essential skills to progress to your next role, whether it is moving up internally or to another organisation.

Some of the areas to focus on include:

Build your personal digital brand: whether we are aware of it or not, we all have a personal brand. Use the online environment to raise your profile and bolster your reputation in your sector or industry. Move towards becoming a thought leader or expert by writing relevant blogs for your Linkedin account and relevant business publication websites. Share expertise, knowledge and creative thinking and ideas with others. Also find out whether there is scope to post bylined articles on your organisation’s site?

Networking: it is a good time to connect with people to see how they are faring including useful contacts that you might not have had time to hook up with. Also, work out your target ecosystems and key individuals with whom you can share valuable insights. Be mindful that networking is a two-way street and the benefits need to be reciprocal: remember to give first before you expect to receive.

Skills development: identify any skills gaps you have as a leader and put a development plan in place to address these to stay relevant. Tools such as the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI) can help you benchmark your leadership capabilities against your peers across a range of sectors. This is an ideal time to invest in your knowledge of technology and digital initiatives that might impact your industry/function. Learn about and brainstorm what your industry/function will look like post COVID-19. Where can you and will you be expected to provide value? 

Improving mental toughness and resilience: the COVID-19 operating environment is going to require us to work in different ways with our peers and teams and deal with further unpredictability and volatility. Leaders will find themselves under pressure on both a business and personal level and will need to able to deal with individual, team, family and market stresses. It is crucial to understand your own trigger points when dealing with these multiple areas. Put in place the right sounding boards such as trusted individuals with whom you can share views and responsibilities on all fronts.

Practice positive thinking: consider how you deal with negative situations and failure and how your reactions could be reframed and learn to keep things in perspective. While much of a leader’s work will be about acting in the moment, it is important to project forward to when the crisis is over and what yet another new normal might look like and what part you and other teams members may wish to play.  It will get tougher before it gets better so strong, authentic leadership is required as employees will be feeling vulnerable on a number of levels. It is also important for leaders to show they are part of the team as this really is a case where everyone is in it together.

If you need help creating a strategic plan to implement any of the above or feel you might benefit from having a neutral sounding board to discuss your career strategy during the challenges arising from COVID 19, call to speak to a member of the executive career strategy team.

The phrase digital disruption is no longer new and some of the first generation of disrupters who created new business models and markets now have fierce competition from others who have muscled in on their patch. The pace of technological change and level of innovation is such that no business can afford to stand still. The vast majority of companies – even those not directly in the tech sector – are already or will be impacted by the digital economy but some leaders are still putting their heads in the sand and absolving themselves of responsibility for it. But they have an ever-decreasing window of opportunity to act before they are outpaced by their competitors. Here are five solid business reasons why all leaders must embrace digital transformation.

Faster, better working

Automation and technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are central to increasing efficiencies and upping productivity. Companies that want to compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution must explore how digital technology can be used to modernise, if not reinvent, processes and ways of working. According to customer experience firm GeneSys, three fifths of organisations forsee having AI or advanced automation tools in place within the next three years. Meanwhile, one third of them say AI tools will let their company speed up outcomes, improve efficiency and lower costs.

Data drives the business world

While leaders still need to possess a good instinct for what might equal business success, data analytics mean that far less needs to be left to chance. Decision-making is increasingly data-driven and strategies are backed up and supported by hard evidence. With the right systems and reporting tools in place, it is possible to have all-round visibility of how the company is performing in key areas which means any obstacles and issues impeding performance can be addressed far more quickly and effectively. Leaders must ensure that organisations have the tools and culture in place to become part of the data-driven business world.

Outstanding customer experience

Customer experience (CX) will continue to be a key battleground in the years ahead. Watermark Consulting has monitored customer experience for 11 years. In an analysis of stock performance of customer experience leaders versus laggards, the former outperformed the broader market, generating a total return that was 45 points higher than the S&P 500 Index. Laggards trailed 76 points behind the broader market. Technology is a key differentiator in customer experience. Social media channels, machine learning and advanced algorithms allows organisations to get closer to the customer than ever before. They can inform them of their preferences and likes, help them better understand what, when and where their products and services are  bought and consumed, and allow customers to send feedback. They can also help to highlight weaknesses and any pain points that exist in the customer journey that can then be eradicated.

Winning new customers

Expanding the organisation’s online footprint and visibility is all part of the digital transformation process and is extremely valuable when it comes to lead generation and finding new customers. Recent years has seen the rise in activities such as growth hacking and employee advocacy which both exploit the use of digital channels such as social media to increase exposure to potential new customers with considerably less outlay than traditional marketing techniques.  A digital culture and mindset will help organisations maximise the benefit of activities such as these which will ultimately lead to new customers and continued growth.

Expectations of future talent

The use of leading edge technology helps to bolster the employer brand as a modern and forward-thinking company, which in turn helps to attract top talent. Many companies are also recognising the importance of providing a high quality employee experience and technology can be a key differentiator of this just as it can be for customer experience. For instance, future generations will expect their working life to be made easier by technology and they expect to use the same technology at work as they do at home. According to a Gartner study, seven in 10 workplaces will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of chatbots and virtual personal assistants (VPAs) by 2021 to assist employees’ productivity.

Employee advocacy is one of the most powerful ways to tap into new networks that could be brimming with new business opportunities. It works best when organisations support individuals to develop and promote their personal brand. This can be achieved by helping them to keep their social and professional profiles up-to-date, creating and amplifying relevant and though-provoking content. Employers should also be encouraging these individuals to put themselves forward for speaking at and chairing events.

Here are five reasons why instituting advocacy programmes makes good business sense – enhancing organisational reputation alongside increasing employee engagement and retention.

 1 Unprecedented reach

Consider the reach of platforms such as Linkedin with 630 million members in more than 200 countries. Facebook on the other hand has more than 1.5 billion daily active users while Instagram has notched up one billion active users monthly and 500 million daily story actives. Social and professional networks give unprecedented access to millions of untapped business leads if exploited. Employee advocacy is one of the most effective ways of achieving this and involves minimal outlay.

 2 A voice customers will trust

Customers are more likely to believe – and be more interested in – what employees say about an organisation than the marketing department. According to Social Media Today, a piece of content shared by employees receives eight times the engagement of that shared in an organisation’s brand channels. Customers want to hear and are more likely to trust an authentic voice rather than marketing-speak and, when executed well, employee advocacy programmes can help to disseminate positive word-of-mouth messages about the organisation.

 3 High sales conversion and retention rates

Employee advocacy aligns with the shift towards social selling in the era of influencers and all-powerful bloggers and YouTubers. Employees can have the same impact as external influencers and the more powerful their own personal brand, the more power they can wield for the organisation and its products and services. An IBM study shows leads developed through employee social marketing convert seven times more frequently than other leads. Meanwhile, Deloitte reports that customers referred by advocates are 37 per cent more likely to be retained.

 4 Seek out and connect with top talent

Top, difficult-to-find talent could be lurking in your employee’s professional and social networks. They may never have heard of your organisation but advocacy programmes can be used to pique their interest in a role via employees’ networks. This can be equally effective for passive as well as active jobseekers. Many companies have referral programmes in place instigated by the recruitment or resourcing function and advocacy programme can provide an additional mechanism for finding great new hires, again with little outlay.

 5 Increasing engagement and retention

Employee advocacy is about more than lead and sales generation. Supporting employees to develop and promote their personal brand shows a high level of commitment and is likely to improve engagement and motivate them to perform to their best ability. It also deepens their connection to the organisation and therefore improves retention. Employee advocacy is also another outward sign to potential future recruits that the company is modern and forward-thinking which helps to bolster employer brand.

Rialto has a strong track record in helping individuals to position themselves as thought leaders and experts in their sector or industry. To learn more about how we can help build powerful employee advocacy programmes, contact us today.

No-one is immune from the rapid changes taking place in the world of business. The relentless pace of automation and rise of artificial intelligence mean we could all experience a radical altering of roles over the coming years, even those in senior leadership positions.

Added to this, many businesses around the world will continue to operate in a period of political and economic uncertainty. Resilient leaders have shown that they can adapt and react to the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and unpredictable) environment but it will continue to pose a major challenge. While it may be a rather tired acronym these days, VUCA still remains relevant.

The key to ensuring employability as a senior leader is much to do with self-awareness and continually evaluating skillsets to ensure you have plenty to offer your existing or other organisations. Leaders who remain in their comfort zone and shy away from new challenges risk letting their skills stagnate and will quickly lose market value.

Here are five ways to help remain in-demand at senior level:

Continual focus on skillsets
Senior leaders typically have little time to step back and consider whether their skillset is still relevant to the current market. Arrogance can also seep in when you’ve been a senior leader for some time which can lead individuals to wrongly assume they have the required skills and capabilities to ensure they are still in demand. But the changing business landscape means that leadership skillsets are evolving.

A study carried out by Rialto Consultancy found that almost two thirds (64 per cent) of leaders in large organisations said they do not have a sense of how their capabilities and experience compare to leaders of a similar level outside their organisation. This compares with less than three-fifths (57 per cent) of leaders in small organisations. It is important, therefore, to regularly carry out a skills and capabilities benchmarking exercise using tools such as the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (ralionline.com) to discover how you compare with others. Also assess how you fare in terms of capabilities such as agility, resilience, critical thinking and managing business transformation which are currently in-demand. Leaders need to be acutely aware at all times of how aligned their skills are to current and future markets.

Reinvest in yourself
Any leader worth their salt would never leave the organisation to stagnate without investment but some can be accused of doing this with their own careers. While the on-the-job experience you’ve gained as a leader over the past five years is invaluable, it may not have equipped you with all of the capabilities required to remain employable as a leader for the remainder of your career. Armed with the findings from the above assessment, explore which training and development intervention might help you to address any skills gaps or shortcomings. This could be coaching, hooking up with a mentor or enrolling on a formal training programme. The important thing is to adopt a continuous learning mindset no matter what stage of your career you are at. Such a mindset is even more important because of the pace of technology and the impact it is having on organisations.

Broaden your experience
Being an effective leader today isn’t only about undertaking the day-to-day but having in-depth market awareness and knowledge of current trends, technological and other developments. Take every opportunity to broaden your horizons and thinking and expose yourself to new experiences. This could be by getting out more to briefings, seminars and other events or even speaking at them, undertaking site visits and going on fact-finding missions. And keep up-to- date with developments in your sector or the world of leadership through magazines, journals, newspapers and online resources. It demands effort and time which can be a juggle with daily commitments. But it will help you to identify the leadership challenges of your sector/industry and help spot both threats and opportunities to the organisation and your own career. This will not only make you a better leader but make you more marketable.

Get on the radar
A rock-solid reputation and a strong personal brand will ensure you remain on a headhunter’s radar. Assess how you are perceived and put together a plan to raise your standing in the market if you feel it needs improving. For instance, when did you last consider what your unique selling points are? What skills, capabilities and behaviours mark you out from the pack? Build your brand by putting yourself forward for speaking engagements and offer thought leadership and opinion pieces for publications relevant to your sector to build your personal brand. These don’t have to be major events but even small-scale workshops, seminars or breakfast briefings will help to establish you in your sector.

Be open to bold moves
One of the keys to remaining employable is having a mind open to new experiences and positions. It may not be possible to remain in the sector you’ve always worked in or, maybe after years after working for a major corporate, heading up a SME could prove to be a rewarding move. For instance, there are a large number of technology start-ups that would benefit from an injection of senior leadership experience. Such a move would also enable you to gain valuable experience in the growing tech sector and expose you to new business models and ways of working that are changing how organisations of all sizes operate. Also, don’t rule out a cross-functional or sideways move at senior level that might widen your skillset and better position you for a managing director or chief executive position in a year’s time. It may also be the right time to take up a non-executive director position that would broaden your experience and add to your market value.

Rialto Consultancy delivers a range of career transition, leadership development and coaching programmes for executives and senior leaders. For more information, please call 020 3043 8645 or go to https://www.rialtoconsultancy.com/contact/ to fill out the contact form.

Career transition services are an effective way of ensuring life-long preparedness for career change or advancement. While it is easy to remain in a comfort zone especially if you enjoy your role, have a high level of responsibility and receive a good salary, it can prove a fine line between being comfortable and stagnating. The downside of staying in a position too long is that it makes the next move more difficult. Your career may have hit a plateau, skills may be out-of-date and out of sync with market demands.

Even if it is not time to move, talking to a executive career transition expert who can advise and help prepare you for the next move can be extremely beneficial. This means that, when a suitable opening does position, you are already equipped with the skills and experience required to be considered for the role.

By taking this proactive rather than reactive approach to executive career management, you can transition more smoothly and comfortable into a future role.

Areas to consider when going through your executive career transition:

1 Gain market insight

Maybe you want to remain in your current sector all career long or perhaps you are interested in finding what opportunities might exist to diversify? Either way, it is important to obtain solid market insight and intelligence on what is happening in those executive job markets. Who are the major players? How healthy is the sector? Is it likely to be hit by digital disruption? How competitive are the salaries? What skills are in demand? Working with a career transition expert can help provide access to this knowledge far more easily and help you reach informed and data-driven decisions about your next and future career moves. At Rialto, we also look at the “third horizon” by carrying out a market scan to understand what skills might be needed in three years’ time or more.

2 Leadership profiling and benchmarking

It is essential to have a clear picture of how your skills, knowledge and experience rate in the market. How relevant are they to the current challenges faced by organisations? Benchmarking yourself against those in similar positions is one of the most effective ways of doing this but it can be time-consuming. Tools such as the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI) take the legwork out of the exercise though as it uses real-time data to profile and assess the alignment of a leader’s current capability and experience to future market needs and to those of their competitors.

3 Positioning your personal brand

You must think strategically about personal brand if you are to realistically position yourself in the market. This can be difficult to do in isolation as it involves taking a 360-degree assessment of yourself and how you are perceive by others. And remember that as well as face-to-face interactions, your brand and reputation is also shaped by your digital footprint left on networks such as Linkedin, blogs and YouTube videos. The touchpoints that digital media has opened up offer huge scope to enhance a brand. Positioning personal brand involves applying the same strategic thinking to yourself as you would the business. What are your unique selling points? How are you seen in the market? Who are your chief competitors and what do they offer that you don’t? A career transition adviser can act as a sounding board to answer these questions as well as provide executive coaching to help develop and polish your personal brand.

4 Access to networks

Love it or loath it, networking is one of the most powerful ways to hear about potential opportunities or connect with people who can play an instrumental role in your next move. Online networking is important but there is far more to the art of networking than just having a profile on Linkedin and reaching out to contacts in the hope of being noticed. It does occur, but this is only one strand of a networking strategy. A good career transition expert can help with high-level face-to-face networking, connecting you to the right networks and provide advice on the type of people with whom you should be connecting.

5 Broaden your horizons

Career journeys no longer need to be linear and can take sideways and different directions depending on your aspirations and what else is happening in your life at that time. It can be difficult to identify what options might be available but also what impact such a move may have on your overall career aspirations. For example, Rialto has often advised individuals wishing to change career direction to address work-life balance issues. Similarly, you may have entrepreneurial aspirations and are unlikely to get the experience required to launch a business venture in your current organisation. Career transition services can also help individuals to develop portfolio careers when the time is right such as securing non-executive director roles.

Rialto Consultancy delivers a range of career transition, leadership development and coaching programmes for executives and senior leaders. For more information, please call 020 3746 2960 or go to https://www.rialtoconsultancy.com/contact/ to fill out the contact form.

To benchmark your leadership profile for free, visit https://ralionline.com/

The business world and the demands it places on its leaders are rapidly changing. The arrival of increased automation and technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing how companies work and what they do.

While your skillset may have been relevant for your role five years ago, it may no longer be the case. It can become easy to stagnate in a role, especially if you haven’t left your comfort zone for several years. The pace of change and technological development means you could be left behind by your peers and potential competitors for future roles.

Career progression has also changed. It is no longer a linear process and you cannot assume the skills and knowledge required to be a modern leader will be acquired in your current role. Indeed, the route to the top can involve sideways moves as well as secondments and project assignments to gain the experience required for future leadership roles.

Here are five steps to set you on the path of future-proofing your career:

Anticipate and manage your career risk

Assess the risk factors to your future career. Examine what could go wrong and there are a number of indicators to look for: how well is the organisation and sector or industry performing? Has there been a downturn? Are there disruptors entering your market? What is the level of merger and acquisition activity taking place? What is the organisation’s attitude to technology and digital transformation – is it moving with the times or being left behind and what is the attitude of the executive board to change? These won’t necessarily be within your control but being alert to them will help to inform your career plans.

How do you stack up in the market?

It is essential to know how your skills, knowledge and experience compare to potential rivals for internal promotions or external roles. Make use of tools such as the Rialto Accelerated Leadership Index (RALI), which profiles and assesses the alignment of current leadership capabilities and experience to future market needs and competitors by using real-time data. The comparisons are based on function, leadership level, size of organisation, geographical region and sector, providing a broad base for analysis.

Formulate an action plan

Once you have an informed picture of how you stand compared to others, put together a plan for how you will address any weak areas or skills gaps. Look at the range of development interventions available to you including coaching and mentoring. It may be that experience of a specific project or even a secondment will be the most effective way of gaining the skills and experience you lack by exposing you to new opportunities and responsibilities. Regardless of what stage of your career you are, adopt a lifelong learning mindset. Factor in the career risk factors identified in step one and assess which of them you may be able to exert some control over in areas like business strategy, digital transformation and innovation.

Think and act digitally

Leaders must not only ensure they have the required skillsets but also adopt the right attitude and behaviours required to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “We are all technology companies now,” has already become a well-worn phrase in the business world – and in many instances it is true with organisations shifting their business models and processes online (computer engineers now make up a quarter of Goldman Sach’s entire workforce). Develop a digital mindset and look at how new technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation and the Internet of Things could influence the business and its strategy in the future. Make sure you are making the most of data analytics tools to help support the shift towards data-based decision-making. Become a technology champion: as well as focusing on your own capabilities, ensure your team is skilled up for the digital era.

Put in place a support structure

Build strong internal and external networks. These can act as a welcome support if something goes wrong career-wise but are also invaluable for finding new openings as well as to keep abreast of what is happening in other sectors and organisations which might inform your career plan.

Rialto Consultancy delivers a range of career transition, leadership development and coaching programmes for executives and senior leaders. For more information, please call 020 3043 8645 or go to https://www.rialtoconsultancy.com/contact/ to fill out the contact form.

To benchmark your leadership profile for free, visit https://ralionline.com/

Personal brand was first talked about by management guru Tom Peters back in the 1990s. Declaring in an article for Fast Company magazine that “we are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc”, Peters urged individuals who wanted to prosper in the world of work to take lessons from the major brands.

A great deal has been written and talked about this subject since and those who have grasped the importance of “brand me” have seen it pay dividends. A strong personal brand is vital for those wishing to move up the leadership ladder. It marks you out, makes sure you are spotted by headhunters and resourcing professionals and places you in the frame for your next great career move.

The day-to-day pressures of senior management and leadership mean it is easy to neglect your personal brand but it is important to allocate time to nurture and manage it. Here are five tips to get you started.

Who are you and what do you stand for?

It is important to have a clear picture of who you are and how you are perceived by others, and that includes by subordinates, peers, colleagues, superiors as well as customers. Take some time to jot down a few words and short sentences that sum you up. What are your unique selling points? What marks you out compared to others? What attributes have you got to offer? Also list your strengths and weaknesses and what is important to you.

What do others think?

Test what you find by seeking feedback from friends and colleagues about how they perceive you. It is a good sign if there is concurrence about what you stand for as it suggests the brand has some value. Identify any disconnects between your self-perceptions and what others think and consider why these exist. Chances are your external behaviour and actions isn’t always consistent with the image you have of yourself and you need to address this.

Ensure you are the real deal

Brand building and management will be more straightforward if it comes from the heart and is truly representative of you. Build your personal brand on genuine and authentic foundations and don’t try to be something you aren’t. Consider your behaviours and actions at all times and whether they reflect yourself and the brand. Being authentic can remove a lot of the hard work of brand-building because it happens naturally.

Court the media

Forge relationships with journalists at the magazines, publications and websites in your sector and offer to contribute blogs or thought leadership pieces for free. Make yourself the go-to person for comment in your specialist field when issues in your sector arise or there is a major development. Avoid using such opportunities to merely promote yourself or your company. Anything you write or comment on must be relevant and worthy of being included.

Network online and offline

Online networking plays a huge part in building personal brand. Make sure your profiles are up-to-date and consistent and be sure to link to any articles, blogs or thought leadership pieces you’ve authored. Use the networks to react and comment on developments in your sector and, when appropriate lead discussion. When connecting with people, remember networking is a two-way street and be prepared to help and give advice to others. Don’t confine your efforts to an online bubble though. Set aside time to get out to events such as conferences and seminar to do some face-to-face networking. Rialto’s #LeadershipLunches are among the events that can provide good networking opportunities.