What is it like to be on the receiving end of you?
Last week, The Oval Partnership brought together 14 senior leaders from across UK food manufacturing for our first invitation-only Future of Leadership lunch with Claire Brumby at Hotel du Vin, Birmingham.
Our aim was to create an opportunity for senior leaders to step away from the day-to-day pressures of running their businesses, share experiences openly, challenge established thinking and explore what leadership needs to look like in an increasingly demanding environment.
Before the event, we asked everyone to reflect on three questions:
The responses varied, but some familiar themes emerged: continual change, commercial pressure, skills shortages, succession, changing workforce expectations, hybrid working, AI, resilience and the challenge of developing high-performing teams when leadership teams themselves are stretched.
One leader described the current environment as a "constant barrage of change".
That sentiment resonated around the table.
What happens when the leader doesn't know the answer?
For many experienced leaders, careers have been built around setting the strategy, making decisions, creating plans and providing direction.
But what happens when circumstances change faster than the plan?
Technology is developing at extraordinary speed. Consumer behaviour is changing. Supply chains remain vulnerable to disruption. Costs and commercial pressures continue to challenge businesses across food manufacturing.
Increasingly, leaders are being asked to make decisions without the certainty or information they might previously have expected.
The conversation raised an interesting question: has leadership itself fundamentally changed, or have the principles remained largely the same while the environment has become significantly more complex?
There was no universal agreement, and that made the discussion all the more valuable.
Have we become so busy delivering that we've stopped leading?
Another particularly relevant challenge was the tension between delivering commercial results and finding the time to genuinely lead.
How do you build culture, motivate people, develop future leaders and create high-performing teams when so much of your time is consumed by operational pressures?
Within UK food manufacturing, where margins are tight and the ability to absorb further shocks is limited, this is a very real challenge.
The group discussed the distinction between managing a business and leading one, and whether organisations always give their leaders the time, space and freedom to operate at their best.
We also explored the changing workplace and the implications for developing the next generation of leaders.
Many established leaders learnt through observation, spending time alongside experienced colleagues, watching how they handled difficult conversations, commercial challenges, customers and people.
Hybrid working and digital communication have brought considerable benefits, but how do we ensure future leaders still have opportunities to develop those less tangible skills that were once absorbed through everyday interaction?
Leadership is also about the impact we have on others.
Claire introduced her M.A.G.I.C. framework, exploring Mindset, Awakening, Gumption, Intuition and Charisma, and encouraged everyone to reflect on their own leadership behaviours.
One question in particular has stayed with us:
"What is it like to be on the receiving end of me?"
It's a simple question, but an important one.
We often judge our leadership by our intentions, while others experience it through our actions, our reactions under pressure, the conversations we have and the way we make them feel.
Leadership isn't simply about what we do. It's about how we do it and the impact we have on the people around us.
It was encouraging to see this reflected in the feedback following the event, with one delegate commenting that the question was a useful reminder of the importance of good leadership. Another said Claire's M.A.G.I.C. framework had prompted them to think more carefully about how they are perceived by others.
Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes was the conversation itself.
The feedback we've received has reinforced just how important it is to create opportunities for senior leaders to exchange perspectives in an open and trusted environment.
Delegates particularly valued the chance to discuss current industry and leadership challenges with like-minded people.
One commented that, while the discussion hadn't necessarily changed their thinking, it was reassuring to recognise that they weren't alone, with many around the table facing similar challenges.
That observation says a great deal about the value of bringing people together.
Leadership can be isolating, particularly when you're expected to provide the answers, maintain confidence and continue delivering results regardless of the pressures around you.
Sometimes the opportunity to hear how somebody else is approaching a familiar challenge can be just as valuable as hearing an entirely new idea.
And that is something we want to build on at The Oval Partnership.
As a specialist executive search and recruitment partner to the food and drink industry, we spend our working lives engaging with leaders, understanding the challenges facing their businesses and identifying the people who can help them move forward.
We believe that gives us an opportunity to contribute beyond recruitment.
One particularly thoughtful piece of feedback suggested that Oval could use its industry knowledge and relationships to make valuable introductions between businesses and leaders facing similar challenges, even where there is no immediate commercial opportunity.
That really reflects what we hoped to achieve with this event.
Creating connections. Encouraging collaboration. Sharing experiences. Challenging established thinking. And providing space for conversations that can make a positive difference to leadership across our industry.
Our first Future of Leadership lunch has given us plenty to reflect on, and some interesting ideas about where these conversations could go next.
A huge thank you to Claire Brumby for leading such an engaging and thought-provoking session, and to everyone who joined us and contributed so openly.
We hope this will be the first of many opportunities to bring senior leaders from across our industry together.
And perhaps the question we should all take away is still the simplest one:
What is it like to be on the receiving end of me?
