In this opening episode of the second series, Jane Ide, chief executive of ACEVO, sits down with Irene Sobowale, former chief executive of Brainkind, for a conversation about what leadership looks like when you have the chance to step away from the day job and look back in.
After 13 years at Brainkind, first as finance director and then as chief executive, Irene is taking a sabbatical year and considering what might come next: a return to executive leadership or a move towards a non-executive portfolio. Six months into that break, she reflects on what it means to give yourself permission to step away, and on the different perspective that comes from no longer being immersed in the immediate pressures of running an organisation.
Looking back over her years as a chief executive, Irene describes how the leadership landscape has changed. When she first took on the role, much of her focus was on the organisation itself: its services, the people it supported, compliance and modernisation. Leaders still have all of that to contend with, she argues, but external pressures now occupy far more space. Climate change, political change, shifting demographics, technology and AI are all shaping organisations and the communities they serve. Irene describes this as a period of transition: the “messy bit in the middle” between the world we knew and whatever comes next.
The conversation turns to whether leaders and organisations are equipped for that environment. Irene talks candidly about trying to keep pace with rapid technological change and why leaders need to recognise the expertise they do not have. Leadership, she argues, cannot simply reside in the senior levels of an organisation: people with the right knowledge and skills need to be given a voice, wherever they sit.
That leads Jane and Irene into a wider discussion about collaboration. The sector has talked about working collaboratively for years, but Irene questions whether organisations create enough time for genuine collective strategic thinking. Leaders can easily be pulled back towards operational pressures and the needs of their own organisations. She argues for more opportunities to think and learn together, including across the charity and commercial sectors, rather than every organisation going through the same processes and pain points alone.
Boards are part of that conversation too. Irene reflects on the relationship between boards, chief executives and organisations, and asks whether a focus on organisational priorities can sometimes make it harder for CEOs to create the bandwidth for wider collaboration and systemic thinking. As the environment changes, she argues, boards also need to think about the mix of skills and experience they need and how they can help organisations look beyond what is immediately in front of them.
Looking ahead, Irene sees agility, collaboration, connection and a willingness to experiment as increasingly important. Leaders will need to accept that they will not always get things right first time and be prepared to innovate and work differently. One thought in particular stays with Jane: Irene’s observation that we may no longer have the past to fall back on when deciding how to do things in the future.
Finally, they return to the importance of creating space. Irene encourages leaders to find the bandwidth to think beyond the immediate here and now, and to have those conversations collectively rather than trying to work everything out alone. She also reflects on the need to look after ourselves and each other when so many people are navigating significant change and pressure.
And, as the baton passes on, Irene introduces the leader she’ll be interviewing next: Lee Webster, deputy chief executive at Respect.