3-minute read
When a board reviews a material asset, it asks a familiar set of questions: what value the asset currently delivers, whether it is being used effectively, whether it is becoming more or less valuable, what investment it needs, what risks could erode it and where it could be deployed to generate a greater return. Senior executives apply that discipline routinely to the businesses they lead, yet many only turn it on their own careers when a restructure, a new owner or an unexpected call from a search firm forces the question.
A career is a portfolio of assets built over many years: skills and experience, a track record of delivering results, relationships, reputation and brand, market positioning and future potential, none of which have a fixed value. An executive’s real worth lies in the particular combination they bring in a particular context. Experience that was highly prized five years ago may be less differentiated today while individual skills carry no inherent market value in the wrong space. What they are worth depends on how they are combined, where they are applied, the business problems they solve and the strategic priorities of the organisation employing them.
A senior job title tells the market where you sit but very little about the results or capabilities behind it. Salary, too, can be a poor indicator of current market value: it reflects the deal struck when you joined and subsequent increments, whereas your market value depends on how many organisations need what you offer now, and how many credible alternatives they have. The two can drift apart for years without anyone noticing.
Executives should measure each asset in their portfolio against evidence the market would recognise and against what organisations will need in the future – then check whether the market can actually see it. Relationships, reputation and a strong commercial record can be easily undervalued when networks lapse during a long tenure or when a leader has never set out a clear leadership narrative.
Capabilities can lose market value much as equipment does, as business requirements change and AI is accelerating that process. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimated that, on average, 39% of the average worker’s existing skill sets would transform or become outdated by 2030. We are already seeing that happening – the figure has come down from 57% in 2020.
Rialto research into the leadership profiles boards will value by 2030 puts the AI-enabled Growth Strategist at the top, with a quarter of responses, a profile that did not exist in the wider market only two or three years ago.
Leaders should identify which of their assets are gaining value, which are holding steady and which are fading, what investment would restore or increase their value and which risks could erode it further. Those risks might include over-reliance on one sector, a target market where demand is changing, or an inaccurate understanding of how their profile is perceived externally.
Because skills have no fixed value, the same portfolio can be worth considerably more in a different setting, whether a broader remit, a move from functional leadership into general management, a new industry or a different type of organisation, including a private equity-backed business.
As AI alters the relative value of individual tasks, the distinctive combination of skills, experience, judgement and business understanding that an executive brings may become an increasingly important source of differentiation. Routine analysis, for example, may become easier to automate, while the ability to interpret uncertain information, make commercial decisions, allocate resources and lead organisational change may become more important.
For executives considering a transition, the questions are not simply which roles are available, but which are realistic, which would represent a meaningful step forward and which organisations could have a compelling reason to hire someone with their particular combination of skills and achievements. The objective is to identify the opportunities where your experience offers the strongest competitive advantage, rather than pursuing a broad range of roles. Focus on a new north star made up of the roles, industries and organisations most worth pursuing, and an understanding of what it would take to secure them.
Timing matters, too. A move planned from a position of strength offers more choice over the sector, organisation and moment. An enforced move following a restructure or change of ownership can leave an executive accepting what the market offers in the time available.
For those seeking to strengthen and secure their existing position or progress internally, the need to maintain relevance and update skillsets to meet changing market dynamics is no less important. If AI is going to automate some of the defining tasks of your role, you must use the time it releases effectively to maintain your value, which means anticipating and developing the skills that technology cannot replicate, such as managing relationships, ethical oversight of AI use and building human-centred processes that help create stable workforces and stakeholder trust.
Understanding your market value is only the beginning. The next step is to translate that assessment into a practical plan: which opportunities to prioritise, which organisations to approach, how to position your experience and what to do over the coming months to improve your prospects. This should be reviewed regularly, ideally once or twice a year and always before a major career decision.
Rialto Executive Career Intelligence is designed to help executives understand where their particular combination of capabilities creates the greatest value through an evidence-based assessment of their market proposition and demand profile, a gap analysis against what boards are looking for now and, for those seeking executive transition, a target list of the organisations and roles where their profile is strongest. Paired with executive coaching, it turns that analysis into a practical strategy, with regular reviews and an independent perspective to challenge assumptions and keep plans on track.
Your career is one of your most important assets. Download the full insight to find out how to give it the strategic attention you would give any significant business decision.
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