5 Questions with Deborah Barleggs

The team at Catalysis Advisory is made up of specialist advisors that have worked in diverse roles and industries. Together, they have worked in almost every sector and bring decades of senior experience to helping ambitious companies and their investors navigate the growth transition.

In this series, we sit down with each of the Catalysis Advisory team to learn a bit more about their background, professional experience, and personal interests.

This month we spoke to Deborah Barleggs, who by profession is a chartered psychologist and through experience a leader of consultancy and media businesses. For more than two decades she has advised clients on the optimal processes to attract, select, develop, and retain talented individuals; and how to create and maintain working environments and processes that support high performance, effective team working and inspiring leadership.

Tell us a little about your career and key transition points.

I went to a quirky school for girls run by an eccentric headmistress before the anticipated secretarial career. Through this I honed a talent for being highly organised.

Next was more than a decade working within publishing and events, culminating in a UK Management Executive position for an international publisher. This era certainly informs my current work. I can personally identify with the challenging and rewarding experiences of being a manager and then leader within a corporate structure.

The business grew from a boutique feel, to stock exchange listing, to global media organisation. For much of this time it was a female-dominated business. I was fortunate not to experience prejudices about my potential and progress. I was given responsibility at a young age, freedom to take business risks and a full remit of operational management accountabilities. Reflecting on this experience in International Women’s month, I give thanks to the many strong women in my life for inspiring me to work hard, play to my strengths and have the courage to try something new.

And on that note; I jumped off my corporate executive career path and went to study undergraduate psychology in my mid-30s. This was the springboard to launch my third career in business advisory and a career leading consultancy firms.

What attracts you to working on team and organisational strategy (TOS)?

I am fundamentally a commercial person. I like to see value generated. In the TOR arena you are very close to this: working in parallel to financial and legal due diligence teams to look under the bonnet of a company to understand what (and who) has helped it be successful and how much more mileage there is.

I enjoy studying individuals and how they contribute to high performing or dysfunctional teams and organisational success.

At the point Catalysis is invited in, the business is on the cusp of, or already in, a transition phase, which may mean changes to the strategy, scale and pace of growth, team, and ownership. It is a time of possibilities, but also anxieties. I like to bring my curiosity and an evidence-based approach to support others to make sense of where they are right now and be equipped to deal with future challenge.

It is rewarding when my work enables a more informed investment decision: whether a strategic hire or an internal promotion; commitment to enhancing leadership structures and skills; or PE backing.

Can you tell me about a significant professional achievement so far?

The most recent would be becoming a Chartered Coaching Psychologist. This involved a review of my coaching practice by a peer group and British Psychological Society Assessor. I was already a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, so now I am double or dual chartered, or perhaps, chartered squared!?

What would you say are the three most important attributes for success?

If a client wanted to predict someone’s ability to perform well in a role, there are three attributes that we could focus on:

1. Conscientiousness. A measurable personality trait that tends to lead to being hard working, having self-control, being goal focussed and aware of and respectful for commitments. ?It remains a strong predictor of academic performance and job success.
2. Cognitive ability or intelligence, again measurable through testing, though not always chosen to be measured by employers. IQ remains a critical attribute for success. In senior roles, how a person cognitively processes complex or uncertain situations is of relevance.
3. Finally, passion, by which I mean intrinsic motivation. We are much more likely to be successful in a role if we really want to do it.

I would also add a fourth, it is important to find the right place, where you align with the culture and purpose. Then you are more likely to flourish. If I can sneak in a fifth: it would be levels of personal resilience. The capability to face into unknown challenges and to recover well after setbacks.

Could you recommend something that you have read or watched recently?

I absolutely love the TV show The Great British Menu. You see expert chefs operating outside the familiarity of their own kitchen, competing against a talented peer group. You witness creativity, skill, resilience…you see who adapts when things go wrong.

I find the feedback, very skillful. To the point and focused on how to improve or why something did not meet the brief. This year the theme is Olympics and Paralympics, with many stories about high performance athletes.

And while I do not usually watch TV with my psychologist hat on, this show has me asking why are some individuals more successful than others, given all have an abundance of talent as chefs? Often, I believe it boils down to understanding the “exam question” that you have been set.? If you do not deliver on this, then you will not progress in the competition. Many parallels with advisory and coaching conversations: what are the expectations of you from all stakeholders and how are you set to meet them? ?