Now is the time for cross-sector collaboration | Article

WIG CEO Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE shares his reflections on business engagement with the new government and why now is the time for cross-sector collaboration.

As the UK general election campaigns drew to a close, two headlines grabbed my attention: "CEOs in the age of anxiety" and "Leadership confidence falls to three-year low".

The first headline, from Financial Times, cited concerns from CEOs about the impact of the changing nature of business–government relations across the world, anticipating more active governments in shaping markets and how companies are run, combined with a sense of opportunity of building a common purpose between companies and citizens for the public good.

The second headline, from Russell Reynolds Associates, cited a drop in business leadership confidence in the ability of top teams to deal with the volatility in their operating environment generated by economic uncertainty, technological change and geopolitics - and all at a time of increased scrutiny. 

These are honest insights as leaders seek to navigate their way forward, managing risks and seeking opportunities, in times of significant and ongoing change globally.

And as CEOs across different sectors in the UK are beginning to adjust to the new government’s plans, adopting an open mindset and engaging directly and constructively will be key to building up the leadership confidence levels needed to move forward successfully and at pace.

The new government has been explicit in saying that there is opportunity for partnership with business and civil society to help drive growth in a mission-led approach. And this is based on the belief that no one sector has a monopoly on wisdom when it comes to tackling the social, economic, technological, security and environmental challenges we face nationally and internationally.

Building on the cross-sector dialogue that WIG has convened in the past year between CEOs and senior leaders in Whitehall, in anticipation of the general election, there is clear appetite for improved and sustained cross-sector collaboration to help realise the shared ambition for UK success in a fast-changing world and to help attract the investment needed to deliver growth for the long term.

We will achieve this if more leaders from forward-thinking organisations engage in strategic dialogue and develop a collaborative approach to addressing national challenges.

That’s why, in the coming months, WIG will renew its focus on convening opportunities for cross-sector engagement to share intelligence and develop the leadership confidence needed to engage effectively in new partnerships to help deliver growth and prosperity across the UK.

Written by

Neil joined WIG as CEO in May 2023 at a time when the charity’s purpose of encouraging better leadership, dialogue and collaboration across sectors for social, economic and environmental benefit is more vital than ever.

 

Neil spent over seven years as CEO at the charity WorldSkills UK, a network for raising training standards in apprenticeships, technical and professional education to world-class levels. Neil was previously Deputy Director-General and Chief Operating Officer at the business organisation the CBI, working for 12 years at the highest level of the business and government interface nationally and internationally.

 

Neil was also the former CEO of OUTstanding, a business network for LGBT leaders and their allies, and former deputy chair of Stonewall, the LGBT equality charity. He holds a PhD in race equality in the workplace and was awarded an OBE for services to diversity and inclusion in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List. In 2019, Neil was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University for services to STEM education.

 

 

Neil enjoys reading and travelling and supporting his husband in the garden.

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