Rae Evans
30th November 2021
On Thursday 25th November, we hosted our first northern leadership event of the season ‘What the Tech is Next?!” at our Leeds HQ. In collaboration with Sarah Tulip, co-founder of WILD, ‘What the Tech is Next?’ Focuses on thought- leaders within the northern tech region, who want to provide insight, tips, network and share their experiences, and knowledge.
Cleveland Henry Delivery & Deployment Director at EMIS Health, Lianne Potter, Information Security Transformation Manager at Covéa Insurance and Nigel Wilson, Director and Advisor, were along the guest leaders invited to lead to discussion.
We saw an array of northern business leaders from within the tech sector attend the event along with some familiar faces, technical leads, business analysts, product owners, sales managers, engineers, and graduates, all eager to hear thought-leadership, network and share their own experiences.
The first half of the talk began with a reflection on 2021. When asked about his biggest leadership lesson of 2021, Cleveland replied, “Re-learning my leadership style, after being a visible leader for so long”. Cleveland has been in the tech industry for over 30 years and has led a team of 240 through the global pandemic. “I missed physically connecting and collaborating. I had to learn how to make informal connections virtually and adapt my style to a new model of learning.” “It’s great to see people in the flesh”, he joked! While Lianne, who was recently nominated for Security Leader of the Year and Women of the Year at the women in tech excellence awards of 2021, said her biggest leadership lesson was leading by example – “we are all humans at the end of the day, it is about putting that first.”
After being in the hot seat, the leaders took a break and were joined by the audience to enjoy refreshments and pizza. The event presented an excellent opportunity for those new and old to the industry to network, meet new people and learn.
The second half of the talk focused on predictions for the northern tech landscape and the future for onboarding and retaining talent. Nigel Wilson, who recently became a strategic advisor for Zedosh, said, “destroying the words’ work-life balance'” he added, “Life doesn’t stop at 9 am and resume at 5 pm, and it’s about offering flexible working. For people to be productive autonomously.” He also added, “Innovation is what organisations will need to retain high-calibre talent.”
The audience were enticed the whole way through, with one commenting, “I have never nodded my head so much throughout an hour and a half session”, and another commenting, “I just related to everything they were saying.”
If you missed the leadership event, don’t worry! We have plenty more coming in 2022 #watchthisspace