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The Compass Journal: Navigating Careers & Leadership

Fresh thinking for forward-focused organisations

Explore practical insights, thought leadership, and real-world stories on career development, leadership, and the evolving world of work. Each article is designed to spark ideas and support you in creating a culture where people and performance thrive.

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Blog: Career Conversations

Five panellists sit on stage in conversation at a conference celebrating IWD. Four women of different ethnicities and ages, including Antoinette Oglethorpe who is hosting the panel, and one man are seated on sofas, with microphones and water glasses in front of them. A purple backdrop displays event branding.

Accelerating Action: Key Takeaways from the IWD Conference & Expo 2025

The International Women’s Day Conference & Expo 2025 took place at Millennium Point, Birmingham on 25 February 2025, a couple of weeks earlier than International Women’s Day itself for reasons I will explain later. Its aim was to be a powerful catalyst for change, bringing together business leaders, DE&I advocates, and industry pioneers to discuss

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Four people sit and one stands around a table covered in notebooks, folders, and sticky notes, collaborating and discussing work. Laptops and pens are visible, showing their dedication to group study or team projects focused on operational excellence.

Realise the Potential of Your Workforce: Balancing Career Development with Operational Excellence

Running lean has become the norm for many large organisations, particularly in the current challenging economic climate. While this operational efficiency brings cost benefits, it can also pose a significant challenge. As one of our readers recently asked: how do you balance the need for career development with the relentless demands of day-to-day operations? The

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Top 10 Blogs of 2024

Top 10 Blogs of 2024: Career Development and Mentoring Insights

As 2025 kicks off with gusto, we’re reflecting on the top 10 blogs of 2024 that inspired and informed our thousands of readers. From embracing growth mindsets to learning career lessons from Ted Lasso, these posts clearly resonated with people across the globe. They sparked conversations, inspired growth, and helped professionals across industries navigate career

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A hand-drawn infographic shows a timeline of embracing new technologies in workplaces, with colourful cartoon icons and text about resilience, empathy, digital tools, learning, and collaboration. Illustration by Simon Heath.

Embracing New Technologies and the Evolving Workplace: LearnFest 2024

Today’s digital landscape is continually evolving and that means that staying ahead of the curve is not just an advantage – it’s essential. On 3 December 2024, Essex County Council invited me to deliver a 60-minute webinar titled “Embracing New Technologies and the Evolving Workplace”, as part of LearnFest 2024. My aim was that this

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A giant pencil draws a bridge between two cliffs as five businesspeople run across, symbolising creativity and problem-solving to overcome the Career Management Gap.

Survey Insights: Bridging the Career Management Gap in Organisations

A recent survey conducted by Right Management highlights a critical disconnect between leaders and employees regarding career growth and support within organisations. As companies strive to foster environments where employees can thrive, the findings indicate that many workers feel lost and stranded in their careers, suggesting a need for urgent reassessment of career management strategies,

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Two people sit at a desk and video chat with a smiling woman on a computer screen, discussing Managing Careers in a Hybrid Workforce. Papers, keyboard, and office supplies are visible on the desk in this modern office setting.

What Companies Can Learn About Managing Careers in a Hybrid Workforce

The pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift in how we work, and the ripple effects are being felt globally. While some countries and organisations have been pushing for a return to the traditional office setup, many others are embracing a hybrid or remote-first approach. Ted Ladd’s article “Employee Retention and Career Growth in a

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A smiling man in glasses and a checked shirt stands against a blue background, touching virtual icons related to planning and Employee Ownership. The word

Strategies to Encourage Employee Ownership to Engage in and Take Responsibility of Their Career Development

Continuing our series of blog posts responding to questions from our participants, this blog is designed to answer the question “What strategies have proven effective to encourage employee ownership to actively engage in and take responsibility of their career?” The other blog posts in the series are: Trends in career development and how organisations can

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Integration of Career Development into Organisational Culture: 10 Strategies for Success

This is the fourth blog post in our series to address some questions that a participant asked at our webinar on “Career Development in Organisations: What Role Does It Play?” One question that was asked was “How do you recommend organisations integrate career development into their existing culture without causing disruption?” So, that’s what I’ll

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A group of five young adults stand in an office by large windows, smiling and high-fiving to celebrate teamwork and measuring the success of career development. Sunlight streams in, with a flipchart full of sticky notes visible nearby.

How to Measure Career Development Success: Engagement, Retention & Growth Metrics that Matter

“We’ve rolled out the programme, but how do we know it’s working?”That’s one of the most common questions I hear from HR and L&D leaders. And it was raised recently by a participant on a webinar along with some other very pertinent questions. So, this is the third blog post in our series to address

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