In Summer 2007, Business at Oxford Magazine ran a feature on the
Common Purpose What Next? course run in partnership with the Said
Business School. The article focused on the importance of
supporting senior leaders in continuing to make use of their skills
and experience,and the benefit to the organisations they're leaving
and joining as well.
Excerpts from the article include:
The ageing population of developed nations coupled with
restructuring in many industries means that there are increasing
numbers of highly skilled senior leaders taking early retirement or
being made redundant. Many of these leaders, whether investment
bankers disillusioned with the City, CEOs of merged NHS trusts, or
downsized middle managers of large multi-nationals, wish to
continue making a contribution to business life and
society.
One initiative in this area is the What Next? programme
launched in the UK by Common Purpose and targeted at experienced
leaders, who are either within a few years of leaving, or have
recently left, their senior roles and are contemplating their next
move. Common Purpose found the perfect partner for the programme in
the Saïd Business School, which aims to encourage business to
address, rather than exacerbate, social problems and is opening up
the debate on what role business should take in society.
"Reaching the peak of your career should be just the
starting point," says Julia Middleton, CEO of Common Purpose. "We
have designed What Next? for people with passion and energy who
want to use their business expertise and leadership skills to
benefit society - and have fun doing it!"
The employer who encourages a senior executive in the
transitional stages of their career to take on new roles that offer
access to influential networks and diverse power structures, is also
investing in the future of the organisation. Those senior
executives leave full-time employment and become ambassadors for
their former organisations, whether in an informal or part-time
advisory capacity. Everyone reaps the benefits as they broaden their
reach and influence.
Read the full article in the Business at
Oxford Summer 2007 Issue.
