Purpose-Driven Leadership: What It Means
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerPurpose-driven leadership means leading a business around a genuine purpose beyond profit — a clear sense of why the business exists and the difference it seeks to make — and aligning strategy, culture, and decisions with it. Done authentically, it can motivate people, guide decisions, […]
Influencing Without Authority: A Key Leadership Skill
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerInfluencing without authority means getting things done through people you do not directly control — peers, other functions, partners, or a board — by building relationships and trust, understanding others’ interests, communicating persuasively, and creating genuine buy-in rather than relying on power. It is increasingly […]
How to Hire a Subscription Business Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire subscription business leaders who deeply understand the model’s economics — recurring revenue, retention, churn, and lifetime value — and can build the customer relationship and experience that keep subscribers. The best combine command of the metrics and mechanics of subscription with genuine customer focus, […]
How to Hire a Nutraceuticals & Supplements Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire nutraceuticals and supplements leaders who combine consumer and brand-building strength with genuine credibility on the science, health, and regulatory dimensions the category demands. Because these products make health-related promises to increasingly discerning consumers, the best leaders pair commercial and brand capability with real substance […]
How to Hire a Grocery & Food Retail Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire grocery and food retail leaders who combine operational and commercial rigour at scale with a genuine understanding of the customer and the sector’s razor-thin margins — and increasingly the ability to lead through digital and omnichannel change. The best pair disciplined execution across complex, […]
What Is Talent Pipelining?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerTalent pipelining is the ongoing practice of identifying and building relationships with potential future leaders in advance of a specific need — so that when a role opens, a business already knows strong candidates and has begun engaging them. It shifts leadership hiring from reactive […]
The Role of Psychometrics in Executive Assessment
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerPsychometric assessments — structured measures of personality, ability, and behavioural preferences — can add a useful, objective dimension to executive assessment, offering insight into how a leader thinks, works, and leads. But they are one input among several, not a verdict: at their best they […]
What Does a Fractional CFO Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA fractional CFO provides part-time, ongoing finance leadership — bringing genuine CFO-level financial strategy, expertise, and judgement for a fraction of the time and cost of a full-time hire. It suits businesses that need senior financial leadership but cannot yet justify, or do not yet […]
Executive vs Non-Executive Roles: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAn executive role involves running the business day to day as part of management, with operational responsibility and accountability; a non-executive role involves overseeing and advising the business from the board, without operational responsibility. In short, executives run the company; non-executives govern and counsel it. […]
What Does a Divisional CEO Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Divisional CEO leads a single division or business unit within a larger group — running it much as a CEO runs a standalone company, owning its strategy, performance, and team, while operating within the group’s structure and accountable to the Group CEO or centre. […]
