Leadership Stories Unveiled: Nicola Critchley
We sat down with Nicola Critchley, Head of Leadership Development at Hidden Hearing UK, for the latest instalment of our Leadership Stories Unveiled series.
Your career spans various leadership roles across 3 different industries. What inspired your transition into leadership development, and how has your previous experience shaped your approach in this field?
It was the summer of 1995; I had graduated from university with a first-class honour’s degree in business. One of my lecturers had been a local businessperson who regularly worked with our business school. It was ‘real life business’ and I was inspired. His passion to teach & coach wasn’t about a job or money, it was self-fulfilment, futuristic. I pledged that one day I would do the same. For 30 years my career path & choices have, in some way, navigated towards this end goal.
My experiences have shaped who I am. I began my career within the banking sector on an accelerated development programme, essentially a fast-track programme. The training was rigorous yet exceptional, it ingrained essential people leadership practices and laid down foundations that have remained constant throughout my career. From banking I moved into a role as Head of Retail & Business Development within the third sector. The role required strong strategic thinking alongside strong interpersonal skills and compassion. After 5 years I moved into private Healthcare, where I am today.
Leadership is often shaped by key turning points. Was there a pivotal moment in your career that solidified your passion for leadership development?
Working with volunteers within the third sector required a very different style of leadership. With no budget for training, I started looking for support in books/online leadership forums. I discovered tools such as tetra mapping & Insights Discovery, which took me into a whole new world. I was hooked.
It was during this time that I came across a book by Don Clifton. I took a strengths assessment, and the results suggested I am at my best learning and achieving, not only this but collecting learnings to share with others. This alongside some other key relationship strengths just confirmed what I already knew and reaffirmed my longer-term goal to return to a lecture hall one day.
What differentiates a great leader from a good one, and how do you mentor emerging leaders to reach that next level?
I work with two foundation questions for emerging leaders. Firstly ‘What is the best manager you’ve ever had and why?’ and secondly ‘Why do you want to be a leader?’
I love listening to the responses. Repeatedly people don’t remember what their best managers did or why they did it, but they always remember how they made them feel. I have met so many people that say they aspire to be leaders and reference someone they want to be like but when probed deeper (what’s your why) it’s for the status, for power. Of course, over time, this will always show up and from my experience this is the difference between good & great leaders.
I encourage people to never underestimate what you convey emotionally. Leadership is not a title or an add on to a role. Leadership is a role and one that is not defined by authority alone. It is a role that is not about you; it’s about the people around you.
What role does emotional intelligence play in leadership, and how do you cultivate it in future leaders?
Emotionally intelligent leaders are better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern leadership. Understanding others’ perspectives is key to building strong relationships across varying generational cohorts, inspiring and motivating teams by connecting with them on a personal level and understanding individual drivers.
Several years ago, I trained in NLP with Richard Bandler and gained a much deeper understanding into the importance of this. It’s not just the words that we use but non-verbal cues/emotional states, tuning in to these can build higher engagement as a leader but more importantly respond appropriately.
At Hidden Hearing we cultivate this with our leaders through short, monthly online sessions called ‘the mindful leader’. These were introduced 18months ago and cover topics such as identifying stress through the lens of colour (Insights); fostering psychological safety through the lens of colour (Insights), Building Resilience; Leveraging AI technology, Leaning into your talents (Strength’s profiling). All of these are founded on our company values.
What are the biggest challenges leaders face when transitioning from operational management to strategic leadership, and how do you help them navigate this shift?
The most common challenge that I observe is the shifting of mindsets. I help leaders navigate this through their strengths (what they are naturally drawn to and perform best with), we explore how this can translate across the business and in partnership with colleagues linked to adaptability.
The second most common challenge I observe is time. I wish I had £1 for every time someone said they don’t have enough time!! It always comes back to mindset and delegation. A mindset of ‘I’ll try’ is a great challenge for me. Do or do not, there is no try. As for delegation, trust sits at the heart of it, so conversations always start with ‘Who do you trust in your teams?’
What leadership capabilities will be most critical for organisations looking to stay competitive over the next decade?
Good leaders achieve results. Great leaders will bring out the best in their teams and inspire them to do their best work and grow as individuals. Trust and Support are vital foundations for this. Leadership has changed significantly over the past five years and will continue to as we enter a new era of technological advancement/AI.
I’ve recently read an article by Gallup – What do people need from leaders in a world of rapidly changing technological advancement by Jon Clifton & Benedict Vigers. It’s a great read for anyone interested in this topic.
How do you ensure that leadership development initiatives not only shape individual careers but also align with broader business objectives?
Leadership Development programmes are designed to directly support the company’s strategic priorities. This ensures that the skills and competencies developed are relevant to achieving business objectives. They can be online, face to face, group sessions or one to ones.
Mentor programmes: Foster cross-business working with a practical approach, we use insights profiling to match styles for maximum learning.
Continuous Measurement and Adaptation: I regularly assess the effectiveness of leadership development initiatives through surveys, promoting two-way feedback, and through a learning and development steering group.
Creative thinking: AI advancements and how tools can be used to enhance productivity is a recent lunch & learn session that we have delivered at our head office, in partnership with The Specialist Works, one of our marketing services partners.
Fostering Peer Accountability: Encourage leaders to hold each other accountable for applying their learning to challenges, creating a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement.
Personalised Development Plans: Tailored to individual career paths while ensuring these plans contribute to broader business goals. Any training needs to have a purpose and a route to allow application.
If you could give one piece of leadership advice to other executives aiming for an award-winning workplace culture, what would it be?
Authenticity; Trust; Support
Don’t just measure results of engagement surveys. Have meaningful conversations every week – pull out the best version of someone, know them, know what makes them tick and above all, actively listen to them. Be curious!
Leadership is about those you lead, not about the leader themselves. If it is about you (status) then you’re in the wrong job.
What has been the most defining leadership lesson of your career, and how does it continue to shape your work today?
Moving to the third sector. As I look back, I hadn’t fully understood the cultural or generational cohort difference. I’d had 15 years of great training yet when it came to people management in a new sector, I fell short. I learnt that leading volunteers is different: diverse needs, different engagement drivers. It’s founded on a psychological contract. I learnt to never assume that I understand someone else’s motivation (their why). I learnt the importance of differing needs across generational cohorts.
These days I understand on a far deeper level how performance is driven by engagement, and it shapes everything I do with teams or individuals. 70% of engagement sits with a line manager and it remains at the heart of performance, productivity, wellbeing, and retention.
Outside of Hidden Hearing, I have mentored across two universities, engagement is a key driver to performance. My knowledge & experience is being put to use inspiring and guiding the bright, future generation of work, just as I was once inspired back in the 1990s.
Nicola Critchley FCMI
Head of Leadership Development, Hidden Hearing UK
Certified Strengths Coach | Insights Practitioner | Mentor
Hidden Hearing is part of the Demant group, a Danish multinational company founded in 1904, involved with hearing care, hearing aids, audiometric equipment and personal communication devices.
