Nicola: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Women at the Top of Telecoms and Tech, and I am your host. I am Nicola goco, and I am a coach working with. Tech and telco organizations to help them to recruit, to retain and develop women at the top of their organization and that future talent to create much more diverse and inclusive cultures.

Nicola: So big, big welcome to today’s show. I’m really, really excited that you’re here to join me. And today we are just, Gonna be, I could be sharing some thoughts and ideas that I’ve had just around what I see as the big leadership challenges going into 2023 . It’s hard to believe, I’ve just sat here just at the middle of December, just before I’m going on honeymoon and we’re nearly into 2023 and it’s felt like a year that’s [00:01:00] gone very.

Nicola: But in some ways really slow. And yeah, so I hope whatever your, whatever you’ve done for Christmas, you’ve had a good break. My intention for today is to really help you as a leader. Just really think about what challenges to really focus on and what trends really, or must dos for 2023, just so that you are leading your organization.

Nicola: You are leading it. In a way where you are current, you are leading it in a way where you’re relevant and you’re leading it in a way that you’re doing the best for your employees. And I worked from a leadership research agency for a long time, and as part of that, we would look at the impact that employee satisfaction had on customer satisfaction that then had profitability.

Nicola: And essentially at the heart of that, we created a model was created called. Profit, profit supply chain model, and out of that it just really, really simple. Simply at its heart, the happier your employees are, the [00:02:00] more loyal that they feel, the more they feel appreciated and recognized and all those good things, the more that you are going to, they’re going to look after and support your customers, the more they’re gonna go the extra mile, the more they’re gonna give a lot to their work and really work hard to meet their goals and.

Nicola: Work with you on changes when changes data often are at the moment, um, and changes in strategy. And as part of that, that leads on to then increased profitability. So essentially at the heart of this is the more you focus on your employees, the more profitable you’re gonna be as an organization. So today is really my intention is for you to have some key trends to think about to really move into 2023 with being a leader that really pits employees, annual teams, and your divisions at the heart of what you do.

Nicola: Because the more you do that, yes, there’s gonna be strategy changes. Yes, there’s gonna be huge projects to deliver. Yes, it’s gonna be new clients and [00:03:00] tenders that have been one to onboard. There’s always that going on. But just your focus on your employees is going to be transformational moving into 2023, because if you think about the last few years, the world of work has just changed so dramatically, and we’ve had unexpected ups and downs for leaders all over the world.

Nicola: So 2023 is likely to continue that trend, and we’ve had these huge shifts and changes in the world of work. It’s been faster than ever before. It’s been more impactful than ever before. and it’s left such a different world. We’ve obviously lockdown drove a huge shift to remote working, which has left this world of hybrid working or flexible working.

Nicola: That has also meant a lot of people have kind of rethought their priorities and we’ve had the great resignation, which has led to a war on talent. And also we have the younger generations. Really voting with their feet. If they don’t feel that they’re working for an ethical company, if they don’t feel [00:04:00] like they’re valued, they don’t feel like there’s opportunity to grow.

Nicola: So it’s almost, for me, it feels like the balance of power has shifted away from the organization and it’s shifted to employees really having a lot more power now because there is, there is a lack of talent. There is a lack. New people coming into telco and tech with a range of diversity from minority groups.

Nicola: So therefore, just really the focus on your employees is just gonna pay dividends and it’s really going to have an impact on your profitability. So I’m gonna take you through what I see as the. Noted out five top trends to focus on in 2023 as a leader to really, really help you just to fly into the year.

Nicola: And something to think about as you’re taking a break over Christmas as well, just to consider some of these, um, and what feels relevant to you, what feels relevant to your organization, what do you think your team need? And for so many of my clients, Done some incredible work. They’ve made [00:05:00] brilliant progress, but we’re just stopping to pause over Christmas.

Nicola: We’re stopping to take a break. We’re stopping. Stopping to collect our breath and look up and see where we are and what’s next. So this is gonna feed in brilliantly well to all of that. So just due to the ever-changing work landscape due to the pandemic, like I said, the pass you’ve seen a sudden shift to remote.

Nicola: It’s led on to the Great Regs nation. Also, we’ve had economic uncertainty. We are in a recession, um, political changes, war in the Ukraine, this year we even had monkeypox in the world. So it’s really down to leaders more than ever, to rise above these challenges and to really stay ahead of the next challenge coming up.

Nicola: Just to really make sure their employees are supported through changes in strategy and new developments, but also to remain competitive in the market. And these key trends have had a really significant impact on how organizations operate and how they adapt to disruption and change. So [00:06:00] obviously, Huge things like flexible work arrangements.

Nicola: So what is that for your organization? Is it working? How does that impact on you and your team? Um, diversity and inclusion is becoming much more of a, rather than paid something that’s paid lip service to, I’m seeing it embedded more and more into organizations. So for example, looking at strategies to attracting minority groups, for example, to have more diverse advertising for girls coming.

Nicola: Having a clear disclosure of salary on job adverts as well, and also a real focus on employee wellbeing, just given the last few years and how much strain there’s been for anyone, how much change it has been for everyone, and that focus on employee wellbeing and putting employees at the heart of your leadership strategy is only going to continue.

Nicola: Just to help you kind of stay ahead of the curve and prepare for what’s succumb. I’m just just gonna share [00:07:00] these top trends as I see them. So the first trend is really focused. On just creating a very employee focused approach in 2023. So as a leader, just really thinking about what do your employees really need?

Nicola: And leadership really now must take that very focused. Employee focused approach to attract and retain, attract and retain top talent. So that is looking at recruitment, initially, bringing people into the organization, the advertising, the job roles, the job specs, the onboarding process, the interview process, and then into retention.

Nicola: So how do you keep that very top talent? How do you develop them? Where are the opportunities for growth And. Really that employee experience is more important than ever and almost think of it as a journey. So from the first impression from when someone sees a job advert or they learn about your organization through to the [00:08:00] interview process, through to the communication, through the interview process, to the moment they join your organization, to the moment when they start being onboarded, and then during their employees, so they’re in career develop.

Nicola: Their reviews through the year, the one-to-ones that they have, the training that they have on the job, and uh, specifically for them. Developing, um, a development plans just for them, and then ultimately a decision if they decide to leave the organization. So it’s almost thinking about all of those touchpoints, thinking about what is the values, what are the values that you wanna demonstrate?

Nicola: What is the culture? What do you want, what do you want employees. To experience through all of those different touchpoints, and how do you make sure that there’s consistency? So if diversity inclusion is increasingly important for you, how do you demonstrate it through all of those different touchpoints?

Nicola: How do you show that actually you won’t be the only person in the room like you? How do you demonstrate that there is already [00:09:00] diversity in the organization? So those people feel that they’re gonna be welcome, that they’re gonna be safe, um, and they’re gonna feel part of something. So that employee focus, all those different touchpoints and being consistent, we also need to focus on.

Nicola: Flexible working. So flexible working obviously is a huge, hugely important part of just meeting the requirements of employees now. Um, and with society contingent evolve, organizations need to continue to evolve as well to meet those, um, Expectations in this CH world, this much change world, but what are employees looking for?

Nicola: If we talk about this employee focused approach, uh, what are they actually looking for? Well, they’re looking for what I’ve just mentioned around flexible work arrangements. So employees change their lives so that they could work remotely. During the pandemic, they adapted, they evolved, and they set up family structures to support that.

Nicola: So [00:10:00] that now needs to be honored. in terms of helping people just to keep some of that flexibility, to keep some of that ability to RO work remotely and not just demand that people are gonna have to be in the office. So, for example, I had an employee, a very senior in an organization, and she worked from home two days a week and then she’d be in the office two days a week.

Nicola: So she set up her family with her three children, her husband, to be able to do that, and that was working well for her. So when she was in the office, incredibly focused when she wasn’t at home, children in nursery, um, but pick up times, arranged everything organized around just so she could have the freedom to really focus on her role.

Nicola: And then she was just, With no reason in terms of there was no impact on what she was delivering. There’s no impact on what, um, how she was doing her job. She hadn’t missed any, uh, deliverables. But her boss just said, her manager just said, I want you in the office four days a week cuz I want to eyeball you.

Nicola: And that was actually directly contradicting what [00:11:00] the steer from HR was, which is make it work. Be very clear on your days in the office, be very clear on the days of working at home, and also as much as possible, don’t have the disruptions at home. So those flexible work arrangements and ordering what changes your employees went through to work remotely.

Nicola: Um, and they still want to have the flex those, some of that flexibility. Employees also work looking for diversity inclu inclusion. So they’re looking for organizations that promote diversity inclusion, so in their recruitment processes in their workplace, just so they’re not worried that they’re gonna be the only person that joins.

Nicola: Looks like them. That feels like them. Um, and they want to have that site safety. They want to have that understanding that this is the organization that focuses, doesn’t just pay liper diverse inclusion, but it’s important employees also looking for equality. So more and more, again, if you don’t get this right or you are not doing this, um, your employees will vote with their.

Nicola: And they will leave the [00:12:00] organization, but employees want to feel they’re being treated equally. They don’t want to feel like there’s any hidden agenda. Don’t want to feel like there’s something that there’s, they don’t have control over that is actually detrimental to their career. So want to be treated equally regardless of gender, regardless of race, religion, background, the skin color, anything.

Nicola: Just want to be treated equally and everyone deserves that. Employee wellbeing. Employees also looking for organizations. That really want to support them in looking after their mental and physical health. So employers really need to, as a leader, you need to think about providing wellbeing initiatives to that promote self-care, that promotes setting boundaries as set good habits so they have longevity of working for you, that they have the energy to deliver, um, that they have the focus to.

Nicola: Really support you as a leader. So you get everything that you can from them and they continue to develop. So things like health insurance, things [00:13:00] like mental health support services, things like setting up groups around mental, uh, health and wellbeing just to, for people to talk. And I’m, I’m finding more and more that organizations are setting up specific.

Nicola: Coaching, re support groups around specific audiences. So for example, I work with one organization for a support coaching group where we pick a subject each month and then we have some time to talk about it, and we just bring together people that are going through that same experience and the same with a another organization.

Nicola: Where it was maternity returners, it’s now been expanded out to returners of all kinds. So how to come back into the organization, how to start to feel confident again and again, have a coaching session. Each month we pick a particular subject to focus on. Share a couple of tools and then it’s a very open conversation.

Nicola: So that de develops these informal communities that develops networking across the organization. That develops a sense that I’m understood because [00:14:00] there is this, this bit of extra support for me as I’m going through a life stage. Um, a huge life stage change. Employees are also looking for growth opportunities.

Nicola: So they’re looking for opportunities to challenge themselves and develop their skills, um, and know that there’s an opportunity to grow within the organization. Know that there’s an opportunity for career development. Know that this is the next step for them and that isn’t always about moving upwards.

Nicola: And I’m looking, uh, a couple of organization I’ve got. Proposals in for a career strategy frameworks, a training that outs to train the trainer that focuses more on rather than just always moving upwards. and the next step being a promotion, but actually looking at sideways moves, looking at moves into different areas, looking at developing your skills on the job in a different way, so more of a squiggly careers approach.

Nicola: And I love that approach, that idea of what is suc, what does success look like to you? And then the organization is helping you and supporting you to do that. And then employees also look into meaningful work, so especially the [00:15:00] younger generations. Want to feel connected to their work, want to feel that they’re making a difference.

Nicola: Want to feel that this has a greater purpose than just being a job. So those are some of the things to think about as a leader around creating that, that really powerful employee experience and just how to really put in place some key milestones and some key frameworks to really, really support your employees and make it a real focus.

Nicola: So that’s number one. Number two, number two is all about humanizing leadership. So what do I mean by that? Just through the last couple of years, I feel like leadership has been, and how we view leadership and what leadership is, has been cracked wide open. So I’m seeing with the companies I work with, a real shift away from that old autocratic do, as I say, styler leadership and I’m seeing much more of a shift [00:16:00] to.

Nicola: A more human style leadership where there’s more focus on creating connection. There’s more focus on being a bit vulnerable, having empathy with your team. Understanding your team, uh, more as a person rather than just as someone who’s delivering for you. And actually, there’s a really good start here. A report from Good Hire found that 82% of workers would consider quitting their job because of a bad manager.

Nicola: So in this war of talent, just if you don’t have in place, just that shift to human. Your leadership style, you’re going to alienate, you’re going to lose some of your best people. You’re gonna lose those people that just don’t want to work. For managers that don’t understand them, that don’t show any empathy or care or connection, that don’t ask how they are.

Nicola: And obviously that’s even more challenging ever with hybrid work arrangements. And how do you, how do you lead your team, your division? When some of them are remote working or they’re in offices, um, in [00:17:00] the office for different days. And really just within that to create a structure that works for you.

Nicola: Create a structure that works for your team and create some really consistent touchpoints. Um, create some really, some real opportunities for your team to share how they’re feeling, what’s going on for them, um, and also create some opportunities for your team to really understand each other. So for example, in the new year, I’ve just been booked for training.

Nicola: For a re a relatively new marketing director, and I’m gonna work for a team on just really helping them understand each other. So we’re gonna, each individual is gonna do a disc report, then we’re gonna feedback on what those, what that actually means. And then in the afternoon we’re gonna have discussion on how their best work together.

Nicola: So what are their real strengths? What are the things they can rely on each other for? Where might someone need some more support? How do we, how do the roles overlap potentially, um, how can they. As a team, make sure that they’re really hitting their goals and deliverables whilst there’s hybrid working while they’re not all [00:18:00] in the same room, um, every day together.

Nicola: So it’s about that reconnecting with existing employees to strengthen relationships. It’s about creating consistency of team meetings. It’s about. Being consistent with your one-to-ones, not just picking them out your diary. Cause there’s so much to do. And it’s also about giving your employees that opportunity to share how they’re feeling and what’s going on for them.

Nicola: And when employees want and need managers and leaders who treat them like people, not just employees who are gonna deliver, not just employees who are there to do the work, not just employees that take your strategy and they implement it. They want managers who have empathy, who have understanding, who are authentic, who want to connect with them, and leaders really need to role model and demonstrate that by being more vulnerable, by having more empathy, and by being more open.

Nicola: And really upskill some of those skills through additional training, such as by, that’s exactly what my Final Fire Leadership program does. Helps you to move more [00:19:00] into that understanding of yourself in a really deep way. To then show up as a leader in a way that is it’s, it’s who you are. So that is gonna be your most impactful, influential leaders leadership style.

Nicola: And just the final thing on that, that humanizing of leadership and also just creating that safe culture, so that safe culture so that people can share what they’re thinking, share what they’re feeling so they feel heard, they feel. That they can speak up and challenge the direction, or, uh, check their clarity, freedom to fail.

Nicola: So if they make a mistake, they can learn and share the lesson and move forward, have those regularity of check-ins and really know that they’re safe. So just some things to consider to just develop those human relationships. So really building trust, so keeping those promises as much as possible.

Nicola: Sharing what you do know when you know it, and as much as you can, creating that real safety. Help employ your team. Feel [00:20:00] safe to voice their opinions, to give feedback, to make mistakes and learn from them without fear of being of retribution. Um, also providing public recognition. So, Acknowledging your team for their work and giving credit when it’s due.

Nicola: Or for individuals really advocating for them and really speaking up for them. And people that maybe are in the background quietly doing the work, but they just don’t get that recognition. So you taking that on and you becoming the voice of that recognition for them and a point of consistently just when they’ve done a great job, just recognizing that.

Nicola: and voicing that and sharing accountability. So you as a leader, sharing responsibility and accountability of reaching goals with the team. Then not just handing out tasks, not just telling them what to do, but collectively as a team. This is a strategy. This is the way that we’re going. This is how I think we get there, but this is for all of us to own.

Nicola: So what do you think? And then I said those regular check-ins, so catch ups with team [00:21:00] members, like we used to listen to them to understand and just really give them the support that they need to meet their deliverables and just any roadblocks that are coming up. Just helping them just to move those outta the way and that more human approach can really help increase morale.

Nicola: Reduces employee turnover and create a really productive, positive working environment that employees enjoy coming into work. They enjoy starting their day at work. And again, as you mentioned at the very beginning, that’s only gonna help improve the organization’s bottom line. The next trend. So on trend number three, I just really wanted to focus in on this one and just really moving on of building on, we’ve talked about the employee focus, talking about humanizing le humanizing leadership, and I think moving, pulling on from this as well, building from this just a real focus.

Nicola: It feels like there’s gonna be a real focus in 2023. Mental health and wellbeing. So it’s kind of building on that employee focus. It’s, it’s building on that humanizing of leadership, [00:22:00] but specifically focusing on mental health and wellness. So, Just the World Health Organization, just a stat that I found around this, it was really kind of hit home for me, but the World Health Organization estimates that anxiety and depression costs the global economy upwards of 1 trillion annually, 1 trillion annually.

Nicola: So that given the last two years, There’s going, there’s an increasing amount of burnout. There’s increasing amount of workplace stress. If you imagine the last two years, and we’ve been living off just that fight or flight in the nervous system that actually has led into this year. Then we’ve wanted to catch up with everything, wanted to catch up with work and our careers.

Nicola: Wanted to catch up with going away and traveling. Wanted to catch up with getting our health and fitness in place. Wanted to catch up with all our family and our friends, cuz we’ve had two years of not doing that. So. Just to really think about how you can open those conversations around mental health, how you can make it safe for people [00:23:00] to share that they’re not feeling okay.

Nicola: How you can make it safe for someone to share that they’re, they’re just really struggling at the moment and they’re feeling under pressure. and just really to watch out for the people that are maybe having more sick days. Some of them might be, um, showing some symptoms of quiet quitting, for example.

Nicola: They might be more reserved, they might be less available, they might be less responsive. And just really opening a culture where it’s safe to talk about how you’re feeling and that is something as a leader, that you can role model. You don’t need to share everything to everyone, but just really thinking about opening.

Nicola: Ways of people just being able to highlight that they’re just, they’re struggling a little bit and they need some help when they need some space or they need some time. And if you think about it, just to help someone recognize that earlier, they’re gonna take some time and then they’re gonna be back into work and they’re gonna be back into being that that great employee again, rather than if it’s left and left and left.

Nicola: Needed to take a lot of time being away from work and then that kind of [00:24:00] gradual coming back into work that doesn’t serve them, it doesn’t serve you. So really just have a think about ways that you can create that focus on mental health and wellness. So that could be something as simple as whenever I’m running, um, sessions now in organizations, so within my leadership programs, when we are looking at, um, when we’re doing running the live workshops, When we, before we even start getting into the content, we spend 10, 15 minutes just with what I call a sharing spot.

Nicola: So the sharing spot is where any of the attendees can just share what’s going on with them, share how they’re feeling, share how their energy is, share a challenge that they might have and just talk, and just that really helps to create that connection. It helps people to realize they’re not alone. It helps ’em to realize they’re not the only.

Nicola: Feeling the way that they do, and we’ve seen the last two years have taken a real toll on mental health. We’ve seen. An increase in burnout. We’ve seen an increase in workplace stress because we’re already at the [00:25:00] point our bodies are tired, , our nervous systems are shot. And to just take that time to really support your team.

Nicola: And that could be things like training in, um, diversity inclusion, could be training unconscious bias, conflict management, or simply, Active listening or just spending some time on your team asking them and checking in with them how they’re feeling. Um, and I know some teams of on their communication within their com communications channels that might be Slack for example, that you not just, you don’t just.

Nicola: It’s not just about pitting on a out of office, but you can actually share there not having the best day or having a wobble or feeling a bit poorly today. Um, and you have that as your status. So your whole, whole team recognize it immediately. So there’s that support for you there. There’s that check in without needing to tell everyone.

Nicola: It’s just there. Um, and people have that understanding. So the next trend that I want to talk about was just really the talent shortage. What we’re calling the war and talent, which I really don’t [00:26:00] like because it sounds really aggressive. It sounds very, very masculine, but it’s essentially that there is a reduction.

Nicola: So we have the baby boomers that are leaving in larger numbers than ever before. We have a slower, uh, number of joiners to the telcos, telco and tech ma industry. So what that means is that as a shortfall in talent, there is a gap in just the really talented people that we want, um, in organizations that are the future.

Nicola: So with that war and talent, just as a leader, just really start to think about how you as a leader, there’s three stages to this. We’ve already talked about this, but think about again, those touchpoints through an employee journey with you. So how are you gonna track that very top talent? and what do you, who do you want ’em to be?

Nicola: What skills do you want ’em to have? Really, really think about it. And then how are you gonna retain them? So how are you gonna support them? How are you gonna help their development? How are you going to succession plan? What’s your, how are you gonna create those really, really strong talent pipelines?

Nicola: And how are you [00:27:00] gonna differentiate your organization from other organizations? Because employees are really looking for organizations that are going to make a. Positive social impact that have a purpose that are making the world a better place. And this is not just, this is not a nice to have anymore.

Nicola: This is a need to have. Again, younger generations will vote with their feet. They will be gone and out the door because they don’t have that sense of purpose. They don’t feel part of something bigger. They don’t feel like. They’re making a difference. So just really to think from a leadership perspective, how do you share the culture?

Nicola: How do you share your values? How do you share that sense of purpose within the organization and the difference, a positive difference that you are making in the world. These are, I know these are really big questions, but just to think from your perspective as a leader, how do you, how do you create those consistent touchpoints?

Nicola: How do you. Really draw out that culture and that sense of value. So just a real challenge, but something is a real opportunity as well. So [00:28:00] trend number five is that hybrid working. So this has obviously gone through a huge revolution from when we were all in the office. To remote working. Um, and that all happened incredibly quickly and so many organizations stepped up and made it work, made things, made it quite a positive experience for employees to say they could spend the time supporting them with how they’re feeling and not feeling connected.

Nicola: But now we’re in this. Different scenario where organizations, some are calling employees back to work. If you ask Alan , Alan Sugar, if you’re not in the office five days a week, you are lazy, which is kind of shocking, but probably a, an older mentality and just really how to make hybrid working work so, If you look at just some stats, 87% of people want to work from home at least one day a week.

Nicola: Um, and only 8% of remote employees are willing to return to in-person work full-time. So really balancing the needs of the business with [00:29:00] workers’ preferences has created those new approaches to leadership, have created new approaches to remote working versus hybrid working. Um, and 2023, that evolution will continue.

Nicola: As managers and leaders are really have to develop those new ways to create that engagement with teams that might be remotely or hybrid working. Build teams as new people join again when they’re remote or hybrid working and really improve the productivity in that hybrid workplace. So how can you start to do that?

Nicola: You can start to have the really close structures of days that teams are in the office. You can have regular touchpoints and think about it like this because there’s been that lack of prediction and response. So from a brain perspective, the brain loves prediction and response. So set in place, those one-to-ones set in place, those team meetings, set in place opportunities for people to share how they’re feeling, what’s going on.

Nicola: And also some informal ways of getting together that it’s just about connection. It’s just about spending time together, getting to know each other. [00:30:00] That then leads into those better working relationships. And final trend that I want to talk about was really just about growth and development as a focus for you as a leader.

Nicola: So given the, the, the corporate world and the context of the moment of budgets being cut, Lack of opex spending. Travel bans. Also headcount freezes. So people that leave, there’s no replacement. So teams are shrinking. Um, also means that your high performers don’t have the opportunities they’ve maybe been promised cuz of those headcount freezes.

Nicola: So thinking about for your team and your division, what are the other ways that you’re gonna support their growth and develop? So this could be through informal mentoring. This could be through some on the job training. This could be through supporting someone with a qualification and giving them some time to get that done.

Nicola: This could be through giving them experience of a new area. This could be through giving them a really visible project. So just challenge yourself on thinking. It [00:31:00] always has to be about moving upwards. Have a look at the squiggly careers concept that I love, which is about what does success look like for your team?

Nicola: Where do they feel that they shine? What are their skills? What’s their magic? Therefore, what opportunities could you give them to. Really support their growth and their development and not the, just the traditional next step up, next step up, next step up. What are the sideways opportunities? What the indu, what the opportunities in new areas or to lead a different project or to have more visibility across the organization with the very senior leaders.

Nicola: Um, are there more things that you could delegate as a leader to help their visibility, um, and take more responsibility and have that collective sense of being accountable as a team, being responsible as a. So really to think about growth and development and as part of that, the ways of, I’ve talked about this a couple of times now, but the ways of creating those more informal communities.

Nicola: So for example, creating communities around, um, people that are [00:32:00] returning to work, creating communities around people that are going through the menopause, creating communities around people that are very early in their career. and just setting up those groups that don’t always need to be a continual investment and having a coach or someone, a facilitator there, but can be, once those groups are established, there’s that connection, there’s that depth of connection.

Nicola: So the informal ways then of is that that group meeting independently once a month or every quarter, or having a half day together every quarter, to kind of set in place, you know, discuss what’s going on for them, how they’re feeling and feedback to the business, and really own that community. Just support each other.

Nicola: So that’s everything that I wanted to talk about today. But I think the key message here is that the leadership focus and the trends for 2023 are really all about that employee focus, all about creating that, that really inclusive culture. Supporting with hybrid working. So it works for individuals that focus on mental health and wellbeing, [00:33:00] making hybrid working work for everyone in a way that fits with their life, the focus on growth and development, and then that humanizing of leadership and all of these trends linked to the things that I do best.

Nicola: So if there’s anything here that you aren’t sure about, if there’s anything that you feel that you need some support investigating what’s going on for. Do drop me a message. All of my contact details are in the show notes, and I think 2023 is gonna be another year of. But another year of opportunity to just really evolve the leadership style, um, to develop leaders that are very focused on their employees, not just as people who deliver, but as humans.

Nicola: And also role modeling that for themselves. Showing up with empathy, showing up with vulnerability, showing up with courage, and just really supporting and nurturing talent through the organization at all those different touchpoints and demonstrating there’s a real social, social cause and connect and connect.

Nicola: [00:34:00] So that’s it for today. If there’s anything here that you need help with, do drop me a message. All my contact details are in the show notes. I would love to know if you think there’s any other trends, any other things that you think of of focus in your organization. Do drop me an email. And we can have a be Just great to know from your perspective, and I will speak to you on the next podcast.

Nicola: Thanks. Bye.

Nicola: Hello, it’s Nick here. So I just want to say a huge thank you for listening to the podcast today. I hugely, hugely appreciate it. When I’m sat at my desk in Coolmore recording the podcast and thinking of ideas, it’s brilliant to think this out in the world, all over the world. Thousands of downloads a month.

Nicola: So a huge thank you from me if what I have to say resonates with you. If you are listening to episodes, nodding away, just a quick reminder of what I do and how you can work with me. So I work with organizations really focused on empowering their female employees, so their current leaders, just making [00:35:00] sure they have the impact and influence.

Nicola: To really reach the top and also for future talent. So that means I work with them on delivering my final fire leadership program. So that is a six month program, working with a group at time and taking ’em through five different modules to really help them find their fire as a leader. And again, to have that most.

Nicola: And influencing the organization where they’re likely to be one of the only, or one of the very few women in the room. I also run workshops. So workshops, focus on things like confidence, focus on career strategy, uh, focusing on imposter syndrome, focusing on setting boundaries. So really thinking if it’s a specific group that needs some help.

Nicola: We can create and develop a bespoke workshop just for you. And I also work in organizations, group coaching, so that can be coaching specific groups such as people going through the menopause, such as people returning to work after a long absence through paternity, maternity, [00:36:00] or sickness. Supporting specific groups, but also coaching one to one where you sponsor someone in the organization to have coaching with me to really fulfill their potential and have the impact that they need in their role.

Nicola: I also work with a few clients individually, one-to-one. So that can be through my shorter focus coaching program or my longest term v i p coaching program. So if any of those fit with where you are and if you are looking to start 2023 with a clear plan, with a real focus, and with the skills. And the tools to get to where you want to be and have that real impact and influence as one of the only women in the room thriving rather than just surviving.

Nicola: Do drop me a message, all my contact details from the show notes, and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Nicola: Hi, I’m Nick and you are listening to my podcast, women at the Top of Telecoms and Tech. This podcast is produced by the podcast boutique, and the [00:37:00] podcast boutique have been absolutely invaluable for me in helping take my fuzzy headed concept. Develop the plan of what it was gonna be, what the podcast was gonna be, create a launch plan that then put us in the top 10 charts on launch week, in launch week, and for the first few months.

Nicola: And then also they just put together the editing. They get it ready to launch. Uh, so it means each week you get to listen to a new, very well edited, put together episode, and they are the experts and they help you to really develop your podcast so that you can have more downloads, you can reach more people and serve your audience by really creating relevant subjects for right now.

Nicola: So I really, really recommend them. It’s great to have someone on your side, and they’re absolute experts in this. So you can contact them at www.thepodcastboutique.com, and that’s also in the show notes. Thanks for listening.