Director of Quality Recruitment for a FTSE 100 Telecommunications Business
23 April 2026
Form the West Wing to The Board Room
9 May 2026
Originally Published in Leadership Observations
When transformation fails, organisations often look first to the top but was the strategy wrong, did the CEO communicate it badly, was the Executive team aligned, and did the Transformation Director have enough authority?
Sometimes the problem does sit there, but often, the real barrier is somewhere else. The middle.
Right now, businesses are expected to maintain a cautious stance. Growth plans are more considered. Budgets are tight. And when it comes to leadership, the pressure is on to get it right and first time.
Companies are prioritising roles that build resilience and drive operational efficiency. It’s not the moment for risky appointments or ‘wait and see’ hires. If your leadership strategy isn’t landing, it’s costing you.
But when we talk about leadership change, where do we look first?
Most people instinctively point to the top, the CEO, COO, Chief People Officer. And yes, the C-suite are rightly held to account. But is this really where the biggest barrier to transformation lies?
In many cases, no.
I was listening recently to Ladies Who Launch with Vanessa Kingori, OBE, in conversation with host Rochelle Humes. If you don’t know Vanessa, she’s currently Managing Director at Google (Tech, Media and Telecoms) and formerly Chief Business Officer of British Vogue. She’s led transformation across creative and corporate landscapes, and as someone who’s broken multiple barriers; as a woman, a Black woman, and a working-class leader, her reflections on leadership hit differently.
One thing that I heard and the reason for this post, was not so much the ‘firsts’, although these are hugely important, it was what she said about leadership resistance, and where it really comes from.
Vanessa shared that the greatest resistance to her leadership didn’t come from the top, she explained that the C-suite were all in, fully behind her appointment, they knew the reason they needed to make her appointment and bring her into the business, the need to think and do things differently. Nor did it come from the front-line, they were on board. The real challenge? The middle.
That middle tier of leaders, often overlooked, can feel the most threatened by change. Their identity, influence, and security are tied up in ‘how things have always been done.’ This is where many transformation efforts quietly stall, and this is why senior leadership and appointing the right senior leader matters all the more.
In our work at Douglas Jackson, we’ve seen that unless their Directors and Heads of functions bring these mid-level leaders on the journey, build trust, involve them, and give them the confidence to lead differently, the best strategies fall flat.
In her own journey, Vanessa described how some of the challenges were not down to her race, or gender, it was more about what people expected “authority” to look and sound like, they were used to a certain way. Often older. Often male. Often upper class. More command and control. Her collaborative style, curiosity, the human elements; admitting she didn’t have all the answers, didn’t match that mental model. This was exactly the kind of leadership organisations say they want: authentic, empowering, future-focused. So why the disconnect?
Because we’ve been conditioned to see leadership through a narrow lens. And shifting that view requires more than just a new hire, it needs a leadership reset.
Vanessa shared about how she finds space to connect personally, even in a fast paced, high stakes environment. Despite what is an extremely full schedule of 25 minute meetings at Google, she makes time for real conversations with the stakeholders and finds those involved in the process who are the change makers, or the influencers. Outside of these more formal meetings she gets to know the person and what really matters, because that’s where the real cut through happens.
In this era of digital overload, where leaders are constantly ‘on’, with back to back meetings, the ones who pause, ask, and really listen? They’re the ones who move people and drive meaningful impact.
So what does this mean for organisations hiring now?
When businesses are being cautious, every leadership hire needs to land. That means:
- Appointing leaders who can collaborate, not command.
- Hiring Directors and senior leaders who can support mid-tier managers to adapt and lead through change.
- Prioritising human connection in a hybrid, fast-paced world.
- Understanding the real power dynamics in an organisation, not just the org chart.
This isn’t just about filling roles. It’s about building teams that perform under pressure, adapt with confidence, and deliver lasting impact.
Leadership today isn’t about being the loudest in the room. It’s about knowing when to speak, when to listen, and who’s really holding the mic.
If you’re considering a key strategic or confidential hire and would like to discuss your unique challenges and how to hire more impactful leaders, that drive performance and efficiencies, engage your people, I help CEOs, COOs, HRDs, and business leaders improve the diversity, success, and retention of their new leadership hires, providing recruitment consultancy and Executive Search services. Helping you deliver a much improved performance and ROI.
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