5 black leaders you should know about

In 2021, something unusual happened  – a fact made the news! This fact was one that most people in the headhunting world could have told you: there were at the time precisely zero black CEOs, CFOs or chairs of FTSE 100 companies. Progress has been made, according to the recent Parker Review, with 96% of FTSE 100 […]

3 characteristics of inclusive leaders

The Black Lives Matter protests that reignited after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 belatedly made these business issues too. Many firms have since ventured into the somewhat uncomfortable political territory of standing up for a cause, if for no other reason than because consumers and employees expect it. Sometimes, they get into hot […]

Lessons for a new leader from King Charles

Unlike ambitious executives, the then-Prince of Wales was dreading the moment of his accession, but there are some similarities. Most importantly, new CEOs and new Kings alike will quickly discover that no matter how much thought and planning they’ve put into what they will do, they can never fully prepare. Partly, this is because you […]

Is it your job to make your employees happy?

The more self-aware among us will know how important it is to keep ourselves motivated and inspired too. But does that sentiment extend to happiness? The old adage ‘a happy worker is a productive worker’ may seem to come from another, more paternalistic age, but the idea has hardly gone out of fashion. Silicon Valley […]

Liz Truss: Turnaround leader or growth CEO?

The old leader leaves in good time and on good terms, with the organisation in good stead. It doesn’t need them to survive because they developed leadership capabilities in depth throughout their time there. The new leader is a perfect fit for the demands of the role and what the company needs to take its […]

Why growth matters

Environmental and social activists have rightly called into question the desirability of pursuing economic growth at all costs, while others have pointed out that raising GDP is a poor policy objective, because it fails to account for social quality or quality of life. Individual businesses face a concurrent critique over claims that rapid scaling frequently […]

Dealing with disengagement

Unfortunately, it’s not something you’re going to be able to avoid. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report, the proportion of workers who are engaged – who thrive at work – is only 21%. Six in ten are emotionally detached (i.e. not engaged), while the remaining 19% are miserable, or actively disengaged. […]

Does working your way up the ranks make you a better leader?

New recruits couldn’t go anywhere near head office without serving time in the trenches as shop floor trainees. “There’s no substitute for that in retail,” Whiteside said, making a point to spend time in stores before starting subsequent CEO roles. It’s an approach to leadership development that became less popular over the following decades, coinciding […]

Which sectors grew during Covid?

The Covid pandemic affected everyone, but in different ways, with much depending on how exposed an individual business was to lockdown disruption and how able it was to pivot to the new digital reality. Some sectors were nonetheless clearly hit harder than others. Travel and Leisure & Hospitality were both decimated by lockdowns and struggled […]

When will we see levelling up?

Growth Index 2022, revealed just how stark these regional differences are. Of the UK’s 100 most dynamic, rapidly expanding firms, 47 are based in London, with a further 22 in the South East and East of England, between them representing 81% of total sales*. This is despite these areas containing just 35% of the UK […]

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We demystify challenges by fresh thinking and seeking continual improvement. Browse our content here.