As a coach working with senior leaders, I often find myself in conversations about career transitions - especially around how to leave a job well. Whether you're contemplating a move or in the midst of one, the way you exit can have a lasting impact on your colleagues, your employer, and, perhaps most importantly, on how you feel about the experience. Here are a few reflections on what you might want to consider to make sure you leave your role in the best way possible. 1. Tidy up your professional spaceBefore you go, put your house in order - both literally and metaphorically – if you can. Whilst it can be tempting to leave the files you haven’t touched for years (yes that’s been me in the past!) for someone else to sort, it’s worth taking the time to clear out your digital and physical files, ensuring everything that needs to be handed over is properly organised. Resolve any outstanding issues that only you can address. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, in Designing Your Work Life liken this to the responsible camper’s motto: "Leave the campsite better than you found it." By making things better before you leave, you set your team up for future success. 2. Finish strongIt’s tempting to mentally check out once your resignation is confirmed, but staying engaged until you leave is key. It shows your ongoing faith and interest in the organisation and the teams around you and helps maintain your professionalism and credibility. That doesn’t mean you have to work at 100 miles an hour though! You’ll find that your workload changes in the run up to your departure, particularly if you’re in one of the top roles. So also make the most of having a slightly slower pace that gives you some time to reflect on what you’re taking away from your time there. 3. Mark the momentFrom my experience of coaching many leaders as they leave their role, I know firsthand that lots of us feel uncomfortable with the idea of farewell parties, especially if you’re not one for the limelight. But endings are important – both for you and for your colleagues. They give all of you a chance to acknowledge the end of an era. If you’re in a senior leadership role, it’s unlikely you’re universally popular (no-one ever is!) but there will be many people who will have appreciated the way you’ve gone about your role and the impact you’ve had on them. So try not to shy away from celebrating your contributions and allowing others to express their appreciation. You might be surprised at how valued you are. When I’ve left organisations, I’ve often been really touched by the messages I’ve received. I’ve always kept those messages and always suggest to others that they keep them too. 4. Keep in touch - mindfullyLeave your contact details with those you genuinely want to keep in touch with, but be thoughtful about what kind of relationships you want to maintain after your departure. Whether you’re moving on to an exciting new opportunity or taking time out to reflect, relationships from your past job may still play a role in your future. 5. Embrace mixed emotionsEven if you’re eagerly anticipating your next move, leaving a job - especially after a long tenure - can stir up a range of emotions. You’re making an important transition – moving away from an identity you’ve held potentially for some time. It’s natural to feel unsettled by the move. Stay with the feelings if you can; you’ll emerge before too long with new energy and perspectives. If you’re thinking about changing jobs and would like to talk further, book a free 30 minute call with me or sign up to my regular newsletter to receive more hints and tips on business challenges.     

With the overwhelming number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) options out there, combined with the constant time and budget pressures we face, it’s easy to let your own growth as a leader fall to the bottom of the pile. Here are my top tips for making leadership development accessible and impactful:  The DIY retreat Taking yourself away for a day or – even better - overnight to reflect can be one of the best ways to gain clarity and perspective. I’ve found a DIY retreat (ideally somewhere in nature where you’re well taken care of) much more rewarding than more formal (and expensive) retreats. Consider bringing a trusted colleague or peer for part of it, so you can mix solo reflection time with ideas-sharing. If you’ve done your own DIY retreat, I’d love to hear where you went and how you found it. You can read more about my DIY retreat earlier this year here. Online courses If you’ve spoken to me recently, you’ve probably heard me rave about 'Erica Wolfe-Murray’s Domestika course on 'Intellectual Property for Creative Entrepreneurs'.  I know, intellectual property sounds dull, but Erica makes it incredibly engaging, accessible and relevant to you, whatever your role. And at £0.99, it’s a total bargain! I’ve also been doing the ‘Time Management with Oliver Burkeman’ course on BBC Maestro – progress has stalled sadly… of course due to lack of time 😉.  The value of books With a 25 year career spent surrounded by books, it’s probably no surprise that they remain my go-to for fresh ideas and new perspectives.   More often than not, I’ve found that investing £20 in a leadership book provides better long-term value than a course or conference that can easily cost ten times that. Some of the titles high on my wish list right now include:   Owen Eastwood: Belonging Bonnie Cheng: The Return on Kindness Terry Szuzplat: Say It WellRobin Dunbar: The Social Brain Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Anti-Fragile  I know from my own experience that it’s often hard to find the headspace to read so it’s worth giving audiobooks or podcasts a go too. (Pro tip: I always try to source my books from independent shops or libraries, Bookshop.org is a great option).  If you would like a book recommendation on a personal or leadership development topic, drop me an email. I’d genuinely love to share my own recommendations as well as add to my ever-growing To Be Read list so please send me your recommendations too!  Reflection Taking time for regular self-reflection can be a powerful yet often overlooked form of CPD. It helps you stay in tune with your goals, recognise patterns, and develop greater self-awareness - critical for senior leaders facing complex challenges. It’s a practice that I actively invest in – my Friday afternoon reviews of the week are welcome opportunities to reflect on a week that’s typically whizzed by!  My top tip? Buy yourself a beautiful notebook that’s totally separate from your work notebook and put time regularly in your diary to make it happen. Aim to make it a joy rather than a chore. If this feels too much, find a peer you like and trust and create a monthly or quarterly check in with them.  Next steps There’s so much you can do to develop yourself. You’ve probably heard me talk before about other CPD options, including action learning and coaching – two very effective leadership development tools to add to the list above.  Don’t let time, budget constraints or overwhelm stop you from investing in your development. If you’re finding it tough to prioritise your own development, you can now book a free half hour with me to do a mini-audit of your own learning and development. It might be just what you need to kickstart your leadership development, ready for 2025!    

This year, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating transformative action learning sets with leaders across different industries. One set, hosted by Plymouth Culture with funding from Arts Council England, brought together five creative leaders committed to leading with empathy and care. Another, at the University of Exeter, engaged nine department managers exploring leadership across diverse teams. These sessions reminded me of the profound impact action learning has on leadership development. It’s one of the most effective tools for fostering self-discovery and collaborative problem-solving. Participants leave with fresh insights, actionable strategies, and stronger leadership skills. Whether you’re a senior leader in a charity, business, or creative enterprise, action learning can result in significant transformations for you and your team.  Here’s what recent participants had to say: "The action learning set has connected me with other peer leaders interested in placing care, kindness, and empathy at the centre of their practice. We have considered how care and empathy can be forefronted both in how we work with our teams, and in how we look after ourselves."  Anneliese Kesteven "I really liked the small group environment, sense of shared endeavour and ethos of safety and security.”   Tim Pithers “I have learned to be more rigorous when it comes to looking at how I am leading, to support my team in a much better way, and it has also helped me to tackle a bit of imposter syndrome”.  Francesca Hawkesworth And as a facilitator: “ I thought Ciara was a superb facilitator. She was calm, compassionate, and led by example. Although she was ever present, it never felt that she was intrusive and she allowed us the freedom to talk and listen."   Steve Bassett "Thank you, Ciara—it's been an inspiration! I found you to be gracious, compassionate, thoughtful, flexible... you created a container which held us and allowed us to be, and so much more."  Cathy Potter Plymouth Culture are in the process of evaluating the whole Creative Leadership programme so there will be more feedback in due course but, for now, here’s what they said: “Action Learning sets have been key to the success of our recent Creative Leadership programme. Ciara facilitated one set, as well as offering valuable advice and strategic input into the programme as a whole. Participants highlighted the action-oriented approach as a major boost to their confidence and development as creative leaders”.Hannah Harris, CEO, Plymouth Culture If you’re curious about action learning, this Training Journal article has more insights on how effective it can be as an impactful, but affordable, leadership development tool.  If you’d like to explore action learning for your team, feel free to book a call with me.    

In ‘normal’ times, the autumn is often the time for having your Board or Management Team Away Day. It’s typically a time to take stock of progress in the current financial year and to consider your strategy for the year ahead. It’s a time to bring your team or Board together to strengthen and bolster team dynamics away from the day to day demands of the office. Of course, this year is very different. There can be no ‘away’ day in the traditional sense; for many, there is little chance of being physically together and having any kind of certainty to ‘plan’ for a new financial year seems ludicrous. But, having an ‘away day’ is still worthwhile even if it’s delivered differently than usual. Done well, it can help build team morale and give everyone the time and space to consider how to cope with the months ahead. Here are my top tips for planning this year’s away day: Use an online environment you all feel comfortable with. Most Boards and Management teams have now become fairly proficient in Microsoft Teams or Zoom so stick with one of those so you get a good level of engagement.Make sure your away day doesn’t last longer than three hours. We all now know about ‘Zoom fatigue’ so keep your away day to a half day at most.Consider using an external facilitator to make sure you get the most of everyone’s precious time. A facilitator can free you up as CEO or Board chair to fully engage as a participant and can make sure that everyone participates. Your facilitator can also be briefed if you have particular strategic priorities you’re keen to explore as part of the away day. They may also able to note key actions from the discussions.Many organisations are rightly considering the wellbeing of their teams. Make sure you give some time at your away day to reflect on wellbeing and identify what more you could be doing to support one another in the winter months that lie ahead.Plan your away day carefully to get maximum engagement from everyone involved. There are many tools out there to help you: MURAL, for example, is great for capturing collaborative discussions. Use the breakout rooms feature in platforms like Zoom to get small group discussion and good quality collaborative thinking.Consider getting an external speaker for your away day. They can stimulate your Board or Management team with new perspectives or provocative ideas. The beauty of a remote away day is that you can reach out to a speaker on the other side of the world, bringing new ideas and innovation that you probably wouldn’t have been able to secure if you were having a ‘normal’ away day.Have real clarity about what you want and need to get out of the away day. Ask the rest of your Board or Management team what outcomes they would like to see from the session and be clear from the outset what you’re hoping to achieve. It’s likely you will want time to consider the big strategic issues facing your organisation as well as a chance to reflect on the past six months and what you’ve learned.On the day itself, make sure you agree clear ground rules. Do you want everyone with their cameras on and microphones off (unless they’re speaking)? Is everyone comfortable with using the technology? If not, perhaps organise a short run through beforehand so everyone feels supported and able to fully participate. Be alert to any additional needs your colleagues or trustees may have in terms of an inclusive experience.Build in some time for social engagement at some point during your away day. We are all beginning to feel like we’re missing the informal chats we had at the beginning of meetings or over coffee. Perhaps add an informal catch up either before or after your away day.Similarly build in time to celebrate what you have achieved as a team over the past 6 months. It’s been an incredibly tough time for everyone but almost all businesses and organisations have risen to the considerable challenges. Make sure to recognise that incredible contribution as part of your away day.Think about how you share what’s emerged from your away day with your wider teams. All employees will want to know latest strategic thinking and it pays – particularly in these uncertain times – to be as open and transparent with your wider staff teams as you can. Please contact me if you would like to discuss my away day facilitation package for Boards and Management teams or if you would like me to be the guest speaker at your forthcoming away day.    

So many Chief Executives are having to lead their teams through profound and difficult change at the moment.  It’s an incredibly lonely place to be.  Arts organisations, charities and businesses that started the year with bounce and energy for the year ahead have found themselves – through no fault of their own – in a very different place, having to make big changes to staffing structures and business models to have any chance of surviving in the coming year. Leadership can be lonely at the best of times but now that loneliness is amplified – through the difficult decisions that CEOs are having to take against an uncertain backdrop and typically working remotely from their teams.  There are a myriad of challenges:  How can you best support your team when you’re still largely working remotely and when you’re really concerned about the mental health of your team members? How can you forge the right kind of relationship with your Board when they’re understandably twitchy about the future of the organisation? And crucially how can you, as CEO, keep yourself energised and cared for so you can lead your team and organisation confidently through this next period?   I’ve been coaching leaders throughout the pandemic and have found that they have really appreciated having a trusted space to talk through – in confidence – the issues and challenges they are facing.  Having a coach gives you that trusted space.  The coach’s focus is only on you and on giving you the confidential space and time you need to discuss and work through your issues.  Coaching is future focused – whether that future is how you can get through the next 3 months or what you might want from your life and career over the next 5 years and on developing and committing to goals that will give you the shape and direction you need to make it through. I’m offering a free hour’s Trusted Space session throughout October and November to any leader who would benefit from the time and space to talk through their challenges and to begin to formulate actions and goals that will support them.  If you feel like you need that Trusted Space, please email to arrange your free session. Please contact me to arrange your free session.    

So many CEOs and senior leaders don’t know enough about technology and what it can deliver for their organisations.  I know from my own time as CEO of Libraries Unlimited, I felt like I knew just about enough to shimmy through and give a good impression of someone who knew about technology!  But scratch the surface and there was so much I didn’t know – about automation, AI, data analytics.  You name it, there’s so much for leaders to know and so little time to gain that insight. Through my Automation Fellowship with the South West Creative Technology Network, I’ve been exploring what leaders of our arts, cultural and civic organisations know about technology and automation and what support they need to help them lead their organisations confidently around technology.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, what I’ve found reflected my own experience:  most CEOs and senior leaders feel they should know more and would like to know more but lack relevant opportunities to engage on the topic.  As we move increasingly into an online world where, for the foreseeable future at least, being a confident and informed digital leader is absolutely essential, it’s important that we find the opportunities for senior leaders to engage and develop their skills. There are some great initiatives out there.  Arts Council England’s Digital Culture Network recently launched their new website  which contains a fantastic selection of online tools and resources for arts organisations.  And within the South West region, the Digital Skills Partnership has been offering some brilliant Bounce Back Digital events for start ups and SMEs over the past 6 months . Cosmic, too, based here in Devon also offer some first class training programmes in digital leadership. Through my Lessons from Now commission from the South West Creative Technology Network, I’m working with James Jameson, a tech entrepreneur to explore the potential to adapt a range of existing tools and approaches to support CEOs and senior leaders to explore automation: Coaching: Coaching is a flexible approach that enables individuals to consider how they want their future to be and the goals they want to develop. We’re building a model that combines coaching with mentoring and elements of thought leadership to provide a creative and thoughtful space for CEOs to explore digital leadership and automation within their organisations Action learning: Action learning sets help colleagues and peers share and learn together, building trust and facilitating sharing of knowledge and ideas for solutions.  We’re considering how action learning sets could be used in this context to support senior leaders to develop, share and collaborate. Self-help books/resources: Self-help books can be powerful platforms to inspire change.  We’re exploring whether an engaging, creative approach could be taken to develop a book or resources that give leaders the insights and inspiration they need to lead well around digital. Our Lessons from Now commission is exploratory and creative – we don’t yet know whether any of these tools could help senior leaders but we’re keen to experiment and learn. James and I would love to hear from you if you’re interested in getting involved with Lessons from Now.  If you’re a senior leader who is keen to explore the potential for technology and automation in your organisation, please contact us for an initial free coaching session or if you have thoughts on any of the tools outlined above and would like to share your insight, please contact us at [email protected].