At H&P the average age of our senior leadership team is 32, much lower than the boardroom average of leaders in their 50s. Nonetheless, together, they are propelling the business to scale at a rate that is outpacing the wider executive search sector and challenging the legal hiring market’s status quo.
What do younger leaders bring to an organisation’s culture that drives such growth, and what does this mean to the day-to-day experience of working at H&P’s City headquarters?
Meet H&Ps leadership
Our leadership team is central to setting and living by H&P’s culture and leading from the front. Recently appointed UK Managing Partner Ricky Roy leads by example by continuing his recruitment work alongside leadership responsibilities. This way, he keeps connected to clients and has his finger on the pulse of the market so he can jump in to support his team in how they respond to any challenges, trends or fluctuations. Ricky is not removed from the day-to-day, he is at the centre of it.
Our Chief Operations Officer Harry Elkington makes sure that alongside accountability, every team member has the support they need to reach their full potential, including from himself directly, because this focused, collaborative approach is what has driven H&P fee-earners to thrive. He brings an energy and genuine enthusiasm to his focus on improving the employee journey.
H&P Founder and CEO Jack Hayes, is also still a top biller at the firm and speaks to clients every day. He says: “We haven’t spent as many years gradually climbing the ladder and being promoted further away from the day-to-day bustle and into boardrooms. We stepped back to put in a very clear structure around process management, accountability and development, but we then work alongside our teams and spend a lot of our time on the office floor adding to that busy, productive environment. We’re very much present and available to our team.
“I think this is a real strength of our operation and it brings a greater energy and urgency to what we do, which means we also get the job done faster to extremely high standards. This is of significant value to our clients who traditionally might wait 12 months plus for a senior legal hire that we can deliver in a fraction of that time.
“As an employer, we also really listen to what our people need and act on any issues or initiatives raised internally straightaway. We ask for a big commitment from our people, and in return we do all we can to look after them. We are big believers in rewarding hard work and success and are proud to offer life-changing careers.”
Learn fast and absorb feedback
Another advantage of having younger leaders at H&P is a greater drive for setting and pursuing ambitious goals and an openness to accepting and acting on feedback, which creates a positive work culture.
“As a younger leader, there is an awareness of still having a lot to learn,” says Jack. “Learning should never stop and I believe everyone can improve and become better at what they do at any age, at any point in their career.
“If you stop listening and are not ‘coachable’, there’s a risk your ego will get in the way of your success. This is also a very positive example to set from the top in a business, encouraging everyone to keep learning, improving, being accountable, and accepting constructive feedback. For this reason, we have various mentoring and training schemes in place to do just that. It benefits us all.”
This notion is supported by a study of almost 80,000 business leaders which analysed their relative effectiveness at different ages. The survey results highlight that younger leaders excel at: learning agility, innovation, change leadership, being highly driven in pursuit of goals, inspiring and motivating teams, initiative to take advantage of opportunities, collaboration, and problem-solving. These skills are all highly relevant in today’s fast-moving business landscape, in which the ability to pivot and adapt quickly is an essential strength.
Experience is one area in which age plays an inevitable factor, but anyone who has reached a senior leadership position at an earlier than usual age has done so because they have followed ambitions and learned fast along the way.
Jack explains: “Aiming ambitiously high when you’re still relatively inexperienced means you might fall harder but you’ll definitely learn faster. I see this as a real advantage because you get to work through these mistakes – and the experience that comes with them – more quickly.”
Time for the long game
Jack, who founded H&P in 2019 aged 25, believes stepping into leadership shoes early brings with it a longer-term perspective and greater energy for setting and achieving ambitious goals.
He explains: “Whilst we’re focused on growing at speed, there is a sense of having time on your side. As a younger leader you can really commit to what you’re trying to achieve and have the time to see it through. You have more to prove, but you have longer to prove it.
“I also think younger leaders bring a certain confidence and energy to the table, which allows us to be agile and respond quickly when markets shift. We’re comfortable with change, which creates an agile environment and mentality within the business.”
Perhaps ultimately it is the individuals themselves and the qualities they bring to build and lead a thriving business that is more important than their age. In any case, H&P’s suited and booted young leadership team are carving out a unique culture and brand of executive search.
