The Shortlist – A Personal Perspective, from Rhiannon Harfoot

As Director of Damhurst’s Leadership practice, Rhiannon Harfoot supports clients and candidates to develop their potential through onboarding coaching, team development and leadership interventions. She started her career at Barclays, where she worked for 15 years leading operational and commercial teams and has since built a wealth of experience in all things culture and leadership.

Rhiannon is highly regarded for her ability to translate leadership and cultural theory into practice, and for crafting solutions that deliver real impact. In this month’s edition of The Shortlist, we spoke to Rhiannon about her passion for organisational culture, the importance of asking great questions, and what she considers to be the most important quality for insurance leaders today.

My interest in organisational culture began at Barclays. I’d worked in operational leadership roles for 15 years and was asked to implement a big regulatory programme. It quickly became clear that the key to making the change wasn’t lots of processes and policy – although those were important. We needed to really change the culture of the organisation.

I started my independent practice after coming back after maternity leave with my third child. It was focused on organisational culture, but very quickly started to build to include leadership. Because if you’re looking to change culture, it starts with leadership behaviour.

Balancing my career with being present as a mum has been my biggest professional challenge. I have absolutely wanted to keep my career running while also being around for my three children. I set up my own practice because I wanted to continue doing something really challenging but also something that could be flexible, and that has played out.

I joined Damhurst to deliver onboarding coaching, and my role has evolved from there. We support leaders in many different ways as teams and individuals, through coaching, work on team dynamics and leadership development. We also support organisations on culture and succession planning.

Onboarding coaching plays a huge role in helping leaders land effectively into their new organisation. Our coaching helps candidates to think about the impact they want to have in their new role and their vision for their new team or company. We consider the stakeholders they want to meet in advance, and their 90-day plan as they arrive into the role.

Emotional intelligence is absolutely critical for leaders today. The ability to deliver through authority alone has changed; you have to be someone who can gain traction and motivate people, not just because you’re in charge and you’ve told them to do something. Leaders need to have a genuine understanding of people – who they are and what’s important to them – managing not in a one-dimensional way but flexing their leadership style depending on who they’re trying to influence.

There is a challenge around demonstrating the human, caring side of leadership and also having a really strong edge, particularly at very senior levels. How do you marry those two things, particularly when you step into a new role, and still be you?

As a leader, you are effectively trading on your reputation when you delegate to someone else. That empowerment challenge is one we often talk about – how do you ensure people feel able to decide on their own approach while still delivering on your organisational objectives?

Empowerment relies on taking an “ask” approach rather than a “tell” approach. Leaders need to shift from feeling like they have to have all the answers to asking lots of great questions and providing support when needed.

Leaders need to have a very clear vision of where they’re taking the organisation or team and to articulate that in a way that inspires. They need to be able to tell a story and engage people on an emotional level.

I wouldn’t be working at Damhurst if the culture here wasn’t fantastic. There’s an incredibly welcoming feeling in the office – it’s really collaborative and very high-energy.

The team here are hugely collaborative, both within the organisation and with our clients. I see that coming through in the relationships and rapport we have developed with people across the market. There is a genuine belief in the importance of shaping our approach for each client – rather than delivering something off the shelf.

Aside from spending time one-to-one with my children, my favourite thing is going for a walk with my dog. It’s my absolute pleasure – the fresh air, the headspace and the ability to disconnect. I’m also an avid reader. I Iove to switch off with a really good book.

Setting up my own business was my proudest professional achievement. Prior to that, I wouldn’t have said I was a big risk-taker, so going out solo when my husband was also running his own business felt like a big step. Carving out a career where I really love what I do has been pretty incredible really.