At Starfish Search we change the world through Human Talent. Our Masterclass programme for 2024 is an opportunity for us to share our market insight, professional experience, and real time guidance on topics of current interest to our clients and also candidates seeking the next move in their executive and portfolio career.
Our Masterclass programme is delivered in partnership with City CV, a client-focused business that empowers job seekers and helps companies to protect their most important resource – their people.
17th May 12noon – Leading through tough Talks: Redundancy Resilience for HR Professionals
Held in partnership with PPMA, this webinar explores the nuanced dynamics of delivering tough news while preserving your wellbeing. Discover actionable insights and proven strategies to confidently lead through difficult conversations, cultivating empathy and trust within your team and organisation.
Link to follow
20th June 12:30 – Incredible Interviews
Held in partnership with Starfish and City CV this webinar looks at how your interview technique can benefit from a review and refresh. Building on interview tips and strategies from industry experts who have coached clients at all levels, from a range of sectors, learn more about how to prepare effectively for those tricky questions and approach your next interview with confidence.
Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_avTzenBgQCiyisIH54zQVg#/registration
(PPMA) 4th October 12noon – Embrace your Imposter
Held in partnership with PPMA this inspiring session addresses all forms of Imposter Syndrome. Its not just about self-doubt.Imposter syndrome can affect anyone of any gender, at any age and stage of their careers. It’s also been identified as a key symptom during perimenopause.
You’ll leave this inspiring session with an understanding of your own imposter, what type of imposter you are, and a toolkit to help you love your imposter as a friend not a foe.
Link to follow
17th October 1pm – Menopause for Leaders: Held in partnership with Starfish and City CV
According to the Guardian “almost a million women in the UK have left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms”. Yet, women aged 40-55 are often at the peak of their careers and have so much value, experience, and knowledge to give. It’s time that more companies put support structures in place for women and create a culture where everyone feels comfortable talking about the menopause.
Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PWHxKBr5RoGgJonEEZTNlw
10th December 1pm – Elevate your NED LinkedIn: Held in partnership with Starfish and City CV
With over 1 billion users in 200 countries, LinkedIn is the #1 social media site for hiring professionals. An incredible 97% of head-hunters use LinkedIn as their primary candidate source, even more so for senior hires. However you may feel about social media, you cannot afford to neglect your LinkedIn profile.
Making it on to the shortlist for a top Non-Executive Director (NED) role is a demanding process. Your LinkedIn profile, along with your CV, will be one of the make-or-break components. In this Masterclass we will show you how to use your LinkedIn profile to refine your non-executive brand, elevate your gravitas, move up the rankings, prove your ROI, showcase your expertise, and expand your network in a competitive market.
Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DM5J5tIGRveNRwX_ksun9w
Delivering difficult news, like redundancies, is an inevitable part of the HR professional’s role. That’s why it’s crucial to empower HR leaders with the resilience and confidence required to navigate these challenging discussions with compassion and effectiveness.
Led by careers expert Victoria McLean, Founder & CEO of Hanover | City CV, you’ll explore the nuanced dynamics of delivering tough news while preserving your wellbeing. Discover actionable insights and proven strategies to confidently lead through difficult conversations, cultivating empathy and trust within your team and organisation.
During this interactive workshop, we’ll cover:
Understanding the psychological impact of delivering difficult news
Recognising and maintaining healthy boundaries in the workplace
Practical techniques for effective communication and empathy
Strategies for self-care and resilience amidst challenging situations
Walk away from this session with the tools and confidence to navigate tough talks with resilience and compassion, ensuring the well-being of both yourself and your team.
Register here – https://tinyurl.com/starfishmay
On our most recent edition of Starfish Sessions, Tim Farr spoke with Eileen Milner, an experienced non-executive who has worked across both the public and private sectors. Eileen spoke candidly about her career history, reflections on her transition from executive to non-executive and managing a busy portfolio.
Please do introduce yourself, who you are, recent career history and organisations you’ve worked with recently?
It’s actually quite hard to neatly summarise my career as I don’t have a linear career trajectory in the way that others might. I’ll say I’m a former Chief Executive who has worked across higher education, the commercial sector as well as in the public sector and I have always gravitated towards health and education.
an you tell us a bit more about the work you’re doing currently?
I’m working with several organisations in a non-executive capacity at the moment. I Chair the Bradford Children and Families Trust, an organisation I’ve worked with for two years now since before their inception and it is possibly one of the most challenging roles I’ve done.
I also Chair a Mental Health and Community Trust close to my home and my heart, Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation NHS Foundation Trust. During COVID I was very alive to the likely impacts the pandemic might have on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and I felt strongly about seeking to make a commitment and contribution to our mental health services.
Finally, I sit on the board at Ofqual. I have a passion for the transformative abilities of education and skills acquisition, I firmly believe that the way that education and skills interact can only serve to impact positively on productivity and greater equity in the economy and wider society. I’m really trying to bring focus onto apprenticeships and vocational education so we treat those with the same weight of importance as traditional qualifications like GCSEs and A Levels.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to transfer their skills to other sectors or do something a bit different in their career?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet at all on this topic and it’s something I’m frequently asked about. I did work in different sectors myself and I’m a real champion for bringing people in from different backgrounds; I was very fortunate in my career that I had people who championed me as a candidate, and I’ve tried to repay this in terms of the way that I support people to traverse sectors. I urge those recruiting to positions to reflect rather less on where candidates come from and to be more willing to look at CVs which might be slightly different, to see what benefits different skillsets and backgrounds can bring. For candidates, you must be prepared to talk clearly about what your motivations are and to make sure you’re well prepared with a strong application -some of the public service recruitment processes can feel very alien to those whose careers have been in the commercial sector.
We’re often asked about making the move from executive to non-executive work, how did you secure your portfolio of work?
Personal connections and networks play an important role here. You can’t work for a long time without knowing people and building a good network and it is important to nurture and maintain that network. I’ve always felt a profound sense of duty that if something is really hard and needs doing that you should be willing to walk towards these roles. Someone once told me you can have a mindset that allows you to run towards bullets or a strong preference to run away from them and I’ve always tried to be willing to walk towards them. Some people think having a portfolio career is in some ways easier but it’s not, if you want a portfolio career you shouldn’t shy away from the hardest jobs – they need and deserve the best people.
Did you find the transition from executive to non-executive a challenge?
I did face some withdrawal symptoms initially but I was fortunate in my role with Bradford Children and Families Trust that it felt very much like being an executive Chair of a start-up. The realisation that there’s nothing in your direct gift that you can do or get done in isolation is a brilliant gift as a Chair, instead you are fully focused on bringing in the right people to move things along at pace. I looked forward to new people joining the organisation and populating the executive team to allow me to reposition my role into far more of non-executive chair space.
Another observation about moving into a portfolio career was that the “wrapper” that exists around you when working as an executive in an organisation disappears – I still miss this. As Chair you must realise the limitations and focus of your role because you aren’t there as Chief Executive or a Director. You must focus on the right things, create the conditions for the leadership team to succeed, for organisational purpose and ambition to be defined and delivered and you have to recalibrate your role constantly. You are there to make sure good governance and assurance is in place, you are driving improvements and focusing on relationships with key partners.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about moving into non-executive work themselves?
There are very practical things to do moving from an executive to non-executive career, you must work out what your new work/life balance looks like. I actually thought I might build some downtime into my working week but I’ve found that the ‘always on’ mentality of CEO doesn’t go away when you become a Chair. You will still feel acutely responsible for the success of an organisation, you will still be supporting people within it and managing relationships with stakeholders. There is an equal level of intensity but in a different way – it’s been a reality check and a reminder that public service roles remain hard and you must go in with eyes wide open.
I also think it’s important to view these roles as continuous learning experiences. We have all worked with some excellent role models and some less-than-good role models in our careers and it’s important to constantly learn from what you observe and experience in terms of how to operate effectively as a Chair or NED, the things you see that work well and the things that irk you while still remaining true to yourself.
How do you manage the balance of working with multiple organisations?
It’s a big challenge but also one of the great joys working in this way if you enjoy working in organisations with complexity and challenge. You need to have real mental agility to zoom out of one organisation and helicopter into another, it’s something I get real enjoyment out of though it may not always feel like it. Working in this way requires innate flexibility too, you can’t compartmentalise your day or your week. You can never mandate when an organisation is going to need you and you always need to give them time despite how much difficulty it might cause you. I was proud of some recent feedback from one of the Chief Executives I work with who said, “I always forget you work with other organisations”. Every organisation you work with should feel like they have your undivided attention and therein lies the juggling act.
What do you look for when recruiting for NEDs?
It might sound obvious but deep domain knowledge about a particular subject area and the ability for that candidate to be able to clearly demonstrate from their work experience that they can provide assurance, scrutiny and support to the Board and Executive team. I don’t necessarily look for people who have been NEDs before, I’m passionate about developing new NEDs, but we do need people to come in with expertise and know how to challenge effectively to make sure we ask the right questions. It’s important you’re able to demonstrate this as part of a formal interview process too which can be hard for people who haven’t grown up in that tradition of recruitment to effectively showcase your skills.
For senior leaders it can be difficult to know whether to step away from executive work into either non-executive or consultancy/project-based/advisory work, some people enjoy a mix of both. What led you to choosing a portfolio career?
I had recently come out of a difficult role and I could feel that my energy to do another CEX role had diminished slightly but my desire and passion for public service had not. I spoke with people in my network for advice and guidance about what to do next which led me to pursue a portfolio career and I’ve found doing several things that I felt passionately about allowed for a different type of contribution to the sectors I feel so strongly about.
What advice would you give to people who have been through similar hardships with work?
Anyone working at senior level will have faced challenges at some point in their career. You must have a strong core and belief system; I would ask myself what do I believe in? What is my duty? How can I always demonstrate that I will act with integrity and fulfil my duties? That’s what I’ve always drawn upon. My core has been tested throughout my career, both in non-executive and executive work and it’s something you must never take for granted – you have to work at it constantly to challenge and test yourself. Ask yourself honestly, am I ready for a particular role or assignment? And don’t be afraid to take soundings or advice from your network, from people you respect but also from those who might not necessarily think you’re the best thing since sliced bread!
Any advice you’d give your younger self?
Don’t get despondent. Lots of people approach me who think I’ve led a charmed career, and whilst I have been blessed and privileged in many ways, the reality is that I have had my challenges. I’ve been despondent at times about what to do next with my career and I remember advice my mother used to give me and I now give to my daughter – things will always work out for the best, you just don’t realise it in that moment.
I would also say stop apologising for the things I’ve not done before and focus on the things I’ve learned. As people we tend to focus on our deficits rather than the assets we bring.
What would you say is the single proudest moment of your career?
It’s very difficult to pick just one. I am extremely proud of the Children’s Trust in Bradford and the difference it’s making for children and young people in the area with the incredible staff who work in the organisation. As an executive, without doubt I would say that my greatest pride was in the entire staff of the ESFA and the way in which they responded to the challenges of the pandemic – they were simply exceptional.
How will you know when it’s the right time to retire?
I aspire to slowly phase myself out of work, that’s what the logical part of my brain tells me will happen. At the moment my desire to work with public services to solve problems remains undiminished and I am not ready to start the phasing out any time soon. It does demand an enormous amount of time and energy from you, so it is wise to consider how to retreat from this as there are so many other things in life to enjoy.
We held our first webinar of 2024 with our partners City CV in March. At Starfish we believe you are never too young to be a non-executive and it is an opportunity available to people at all stages of their leadership journey and from all walks of life. Over the last few years we have seen that the market is becoming more fluid as people begin to blend their executive and non-executive roles and move away from a traditional, linear career path. The whole process is more creative as leaders adopt their own routes to achieving what feels right for them. Accessing opportunities and getting started is often the hardest part however, and with an application to interview rate of 27/1 for most non-executive roles, this webinar was the opportunity for an audience of around 100 people to share in the insight, reflections and recommendations from the experts.
Planning your career success as a board member is as important as any other aspect of your career development. It can be a highly competitive recruitment process, even though the majority of trustee roles are voluntary, and many NED roles offer a relatively modest reward. Even so, the requirement for particular skills, experience and attributes as well as demonstrating a deep commitment to the mission and cause of the organisation are vital. Board roles can be a heavy commitment, but they also offer opportunities to discover a new sector, engaging with a new team of fellow board members and making an impact in another organisation as a leader.
Demonstrating your ability to think strategically and impartially, offering maturity of judgement whilst being a team player and engaging with the business can be very empowering and you learn to quickly recognise the difference between non-executive and executive leadership. It is important to convey this understanding within your application. The focus of your CV is less on delivery and more on strategic vision, oversight and impact.
Our advice for anyone getting board ready is to have a strategy. Consider where and how you would like to work as a NED or Trustee. How can this add value to your executive career or build out your portfolio coherently and with meaning. Be proactive and select your opportunities with care, bringing the entirety of your personal brand and collateral together , ensuring that your LinkedIn and social media profiles all support your application and demonstrate consistency and personal integrity as a leader . The experience of being a NED can enrich your personal and professional life in many ways and equally, broadening the talent pool of NEDs and Trustees brings diverse perspectives and attributes into the board room.
If you’re interested in a board career, our newly launched Board Practice will be a great place to start browsing opportunities – https://starfishsearch.com/board-practice/
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Starfish is committed to supporting organisations that want to improve their diversity. One of the most effective ways to deliver positive change is to address the diversity of non-executive Boards. Having inclusive board recruitment practices and being prepared to recognise and value the contributions offered by a broader range of backgrounds holds the key.
After many years of supporting candidates who have been through board recruitment processes, we thought it was time that we made better use of the insights we’ve gained. We decided to create the 50NEDs initiative that would encourage and support would-be non-executives from all walks of life who want to join boards, but simply don’t know how to access opportunities and get started. Our aim was to inspire and help prepare 50 ‘boardroom ready’ first time non-executives to organisations we work with within two years and we’re very proud to have reached this remarkable milestone.
We’ve placed brilliant people at an early stage of their leadership journey from many different backgrounds: from entrepreneurs, medical doctors and campaigners, to artists, surveyors and conservationists. And we’ve placed those who’ve had successful executive careers into organisations as diverse as Girlguiding, Wilf Ward Family Trust, the Solicitors’ Charity, the Co-op Foundation, Drinkaware, World Vision UK, Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation, Cambridge House, Lampton 360 Group, St John’s Foundation, the Richmond Fellowship and the Young Foundation.
Having spoken with the group of non-executives we’ve placed over the last two years, some key themes and insights as well as some brilliant pieces of advice have emerged. Many had assumed at the start that board members are all either professionals at the end of their careers, or at top C suite level, but realised this wasn’t the case. Instead there is a shared set of skills and attributes that boards are looking for.
These include things like having the ability to think strategically and impartially, being a true team player, using emotional intelligence and having the capacity to be self-reflective, to keep learning and self-regulate. Non-executives also tend to offer a maturity of judgement, which means they can land their views with impact and credibility. This group brings a broader set of experiences with them into the board room and is willing to contribute beyond their professional area of expertise. None are attributes that are confined to one demographic within our society.
Motivations tended to fall into fairly broad themes – from the obvious but vital wanting to ‘give back’, be that helping and supporting others on their own leadership journey, or having a deep connection or alignment with the cause; to wanting to gain professional experience and networks, or having some level of lived experience that gives a board a deeper insight into the communities they serve. In return this group has been able to gain a huge amount in return, by working as part of highly diverse, motivated and interesting teams. This experience has helped them to enrich their own professional or personal lives. And they’ve also had a lot of fun.
And there are some top tips. At the head of the list, and perhaps no surprise to anyone who has held a board role before, is the amount of time you have to realistically commit, whilst understanding what a ‘time commitment’ means – from reading and reflecting on board papers and preparing for meetings (the complexity of good governance and the legal side of the role can be overwhelming at first); ad hoc meetings and events that happen in evenings or at weekends; perhaps learning about a completely new sector whilst still doing your day job, and getting to know your fellow board members and how they like to engage… The top piece of advice that everyone we spoke to shared was the importance of taking the time to get to know your fellow board members outside of the boardroom, and ideally before you even attend your first meeting, which makes the journey much easier.
Thank you to everyone who gave their time to help others think about what they wished they’d known before they started out. And, of course, our own journey hasn’t stopped just because 50NEDs has achieved its aim. If you’re interested in a board career, our newly launched specialist Board Practice will be a great place to start browsing opportunities https://starfishsearch.com/starfish-search-launches-its-new-dedicated-board-practice/
Watch this space for articles and insight pieces throughout 2024 and beyond. See you there.
Led by our CEO, Juliet Taylor, our new dedicated Board Practice at Starfish will ensure that the right technical capability and expertise is available to all clients for their non-executive recruitment and board development assignments. Over 35% of appointments we’re commissioned to handle now involve non-executive search. Our new practice will continue to evolve throughout 2024, matching expert consultant skill and experience to the level of complexity, nuance and partnership often required for a successful outcome. Despite challenging market conditions, particularly for pro bono Chair appointments, Starfish continues to hold a placement rate of 98% on over 250 Chair, NED, Trustee, Committee Chair and President appointments. We are proud to have built a compelling track record of projects where our work has facilitated a genuine shift in authentic board diversity, or board capability, reach and culture. Meeting the high expectations our clients necessarily bring to their Board requirements, given the pressures they themselves face, requires clear advice grounded in insight, a pragmatic and tenacious approach, and a team that can be trusted to deliver results. As we approach our fifth anniversary, we remain focused on listening to our markets and responding to what we hear through the active development of our services, and attention to customer care. We are now growing our team of knowledgeable, committed board enthusiasts to rise to new challenges as the world around us all continues to change.
For more information about the Board Practice and our services, please contact juliet.taylor@starfishsearch.com
At Starfish we are committed to diversity and inclusion and we are pleased to announce that we are now certified as Disability Confident Committed.
By signing up to be Disability Confident Committed we will continue to enhance our knowledge, skills and confidence required to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled colleagues in our workplace.
Every colleague here at Starfish has gone through training on what it means to be Disability Confident, with each of us making an individual pledge as to what steps we can take as individuals to improve our understanding of disabilities and be supportive of colleagues who may have disabilities.
We are looking forward to offering work shadowing opportunities for those with disabilities in the Spring of 2024.
We want to ensure that disabled colleagues have opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.