As we step into the new year, leaders around the world are grappling with a very different set of challenges to those they faced at the start of 2025.
However, one thing has stayed the same: JLA is here to provide expert perspectives and advice, helping businesses to take change by the reins and use it as a means to thrive.
We sat down with Jessica Mears, Senior Account Manager at JLA, to explore trends in client expectations around leadership content, and delve into what makes an impactful leadership speaker.
1. How have client expectations around leadership content changed over the last few years?
Our clients’ expectations change alongside the challenges that they face – whether that’s in their day-to-day professional lives, or company-wide.
It’s been a turbulent few years for leaders. Businesses had to manage uncertainty surrounding COVID, particularly the impact this had on their workforce, with the sudden increase of people working from home. Since then, the focus has shifted towards the challenges posed by hybrid models – of having people return to the office, but in a different way to before. On any given day, the balance of people in the office or working from home could tip one way or another. Managing this transition successfully relies on both establishing and nurturing a solid company culture.
Over the past year, we’ve received an influx of briefs surrounding AI – particularly focused on the uncertainty the technology has introduced – raising questions about how it will impact us, and our jobs, without anyone being left behind. This leads to the related matter of company restructuring – many businesses are choosing to rebuild and shift their workforces, taking AI and other surrounding pressures (geopolitical, economic, etc.) into account.
To intensify things further – these developments are all taking place very quickly. The pressures leaders are tackling day-to-day are higher than they’ve been in a long, long time.
How has this changing landscape impacted what clients are looking for in a speaker?
When it comes to leadership sessions, we’re finding that our clients prioritise speakers who offer tangible takeaways and learnings. Regardless of the audience, mid-level or C-level, practical insights that can be immediately put into practice are favoured above all, to help businesses build resilient teams and lead them through uncertainty and change.
Whether these takeaways are delivered through a ‘psychology of leadership’ angle – Simon Sinek and Matthew Syed are great thought leaders in this space – a business speaker who has credibly led through change, or someone who currently leads businesses and teams, actionable insights are more important than ever.
More and more, clients want something that goes beyond just an interesting keynote, or ‘food for thought’. They want a session that will make a real, enduring impact.
2. Which themes or issues are organisations asking leadership speakers to address most often right now?
1. RESILIENCE AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT
One brilliant speaker on these topics is Baroness Manningham-Buller. As the Former Head of MI5, she led the organisation through significant times of change, and can reflect on how she managed teams effectively within this context. She also shares lessons learned around authentic leadership – from having empathy for others, and the significance of offering praise, to the importance of championing open communication as a leader, and inviting criticism from your team.
2. HIGH-PERFORMANCE LEADERSHIP
We’ve also seen continued interest in high-performance leadership, and how teams can be united towards a joint purpose, as a topic of discussion – given the competitive, fast-paced landscape and financial pressures our clients’ businesses face.
Guenther Steiner, Marc Priestly and Claire Williams are all great speakers on high-performance. All three cover their experience operating in high-pressure, technical teams, from their own perspectives – there are lots of pertinent crossovers between the inner workings of F1 and the ways that traditional businesses operate.
3. CULTURE AND GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCE
“Culture” – specifically team culture and company culture – is another strong talking point for our clients.
We spoke earlier about hybrid patterns of work, and how important it is to nurture a strong working culture to ensure a company remains united and grounded. This has been a real challenge for leaders across the board.
Linked to this theme is the idea of generational difference – specifically, how companies can navigate this effectively as Gen Z begins entering the workforce. There are still big sticking points between generations, driven by social, cultural and technological divides, so managing a space shared by people from all ages can be challenging.
Paul Redmond is a fantastic speaker on this topic. He not only outlines the differences between the generations and their expectations, but also offers tangible advice on how best to manage them. Karen Blackett also speaks excellently about leading team culture – emphasising the power of earning trust through empathy, and leading by focusing on others rather than yourself.
3. What makes a leadership talk genuinely impactful for an audience, beyond just temporary inspiration?
Leadership speakers that really get to know a client, take their time to understand their challenges and tailor their presentations to resonate accordingly, are those that deliver sessions that really stick with audiences.
There are multiple ways of doing this – whether that’s through a very thorough, in-depth briefing call discussion, or the speaker conducting additional research in their own time.
Increasingly, clients are also asking to rebook speakers for follow-up sessions – whether that’s with the same audience, or with different teams within their businesses. This is a great way of maximising impact.
Can you name a leadership speaker who exceeded client expectations?
Significantly, Kate created a safe space for the group to openly discuss and challenge what matters to them as a company – asking them to pin down what behaviours they should be championing and striving for. She encouraged a level of open communication that welcomed perspectives from everyone in the group, regardless of their professional level.
Kate’s session went beyond a simple keynote – it was interactive, personalised, practical, and won’t be forgotten any time soon.
4. How do you match the right leadership speaker with the needs and culture of a particular client?
When JLA’s account managers receive a leadership brief, it’s important for us to understand the audience, including who they are, and what level they’re at professionally (e.g mid-level, board level, or C-level).
We then need a firm grasp of any surrounding context – whether that’s successes the client’s recently celebrated, or challenges they’re working through – and the key themes and messaging they want to communicate through a speaking session.
Lastly, it’s always useful to know who they’ve booked in the past – not only to identify patterns in what has worked before, but also to spot opportunities to try something new. For example, if a company has only booked speakers from within their industry, it might be impactful to look at someone outside the box to offer a completely new perspective
If you would like more information on these or any other speakers, or would like to discuss a leadership event more generally, please contact your JLA Agent or call 020 7907 2800.