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\nHooray! A good news story! For all the doom and gloom in the industry, it was a real antidote to the January blues to be part of the judging panel for the \u2018Ones to Watch 2024\u2019 feature, which was organised by LOST Group, the dynamic, disruptive technology company that I co-founded as an antithesis to traditional recruitment. It\u2019s been a lot of sweat and hard work putting this together with my colleagues, considering the various nominations, submitting my own thoughts, and obviously receiving counsel from others on the judging panel. There was plenty of debate too and maybe a bit of controversy thrown in to liven it up even further. As my business partner John McArthur likes to say: \u201cIf two people in a business agree on everything you probably have one person too many!\u201d<\/p>\n
We initially thought we\u2019d go for a list of 50, then it crept up to 55 because we simply couldn\u2019t prune five off the list \u2013 they were so good. What balanced the stress though was devouring the draft that our editor sent through and being reminded again just how this industry, despite its current travails and almost constant state of flux and adversity, is bulging with talent. <\/p>\n
We could have, of course, written a book with name after name and our 55 barely scratches the surface of the wealth of high performing stars across public transport. Let me take this confession a step further, I had sleepless nights in a state of angst about names who missed out but were also worthy of recognition. This was supposed to be a fun exercise, but it felt as stressful as many other tasks in my three-decade long career!<\/p>\n
So, what did I learn during the process? Well for starters, I was a bit surprised how instinctively folk thought that the \u2018Ones to Watch\u2019 was all about youngsters \u2013 \u201cisn\u2019t it about graduates?\u201d emailed one person at a TOC last week on hearing we were including one of her colleagues. Maybe we misled in using the phrase \u2018Rising Stars\u2019 on a few occasions in our promotion of the feature \u2013 but, for me, there\u2019s no rule that says you must only be \u201crising\u201d or a \u201cstar\u201d at the beginning of your career. You can be these at various points during your time in employment. If I plotted a graph with a dispassionate view of my career trajectory, it would be more rollercoaster than Crystal Palace\u2019s form chart over the past few decades.<\/p>\n
The longer the \u2018Ones to Watch\u2019 adventure went on, the grumpier I became about this whole misconception that only young folk can be worthy of recognition. Even some of those nominated instinctively remarked they thought they were too old or too senior to make the cut! That\u2019s not just because I\u2019m well into my sixth decade of life now, but it\u2019s genuinely borne of looking around and seeing the vital contribution that years of experience brings among colleagues in the industry.<\/p>\n
Many of those on the list are on the cusp of making the biggest impact in transport on a leadership, strategic and policy-making scale because they have garnered credibility, gravitas and a wide-ranging exposure and outlook over many years. They are also more measured, in many cases far more rational and empathetic through dealing with situations and challenges in different environments over time, and their perspective tends to be more composed and sanguine because they can see what has failed and succeeded in the past. They also see how quickly careers can pass in a flash and this gives them both impetus not to waste a minute and to make the biggest impact quickly as they can see the finishing line themselves. <\/p>\n
This industry, despite its current travails, is bulging with talent<\/p>\n
For those at the beginning of their career, it is a \u2018marathon not a sprint\u2019 and if I\u2019d have realised this then, I\u2019d have put early failures and frustrations into perspective, not made knee-jerk decisions, realising that if I\u2019d played my cards right at various points, then my long-term aspirations would be satisfied. In reflecting on the misconception that only the young can be rising, it reminded me also that training and development within organisations tends to instinctively focus on those at the earlier stages of their career. There seems to be a view that investing in them will give the greatest return, even though youngsters tend to be more adventurous and inclined to seek new pastures within other organisations. <\/p>\n
If I was surprised by the number of times folk just assumed age was a barrier, this whole process was enlightening as well as reassuring in other ways too. On a positive, it reminded me of the breadth of skills and opportunities that public transport provides. One of the most stressful challenges was trying to pinpoint folk into a particular category as we had so many individuals with a multitude of skills, they could have been matched into several.<\/p>\n
Another reassuring aspect was the gender balance. I first undertook a feature of this kind five years ago and then more recently in 2022 \u2013 whilst there was a reasonably good balance previously, I\u2019ll be honest, the pool of females was far smaller. It really feels that huge strides have been made and this is a credit not only to the various groups such as Women in Rail and the fledgling Women in Bus & Coach organisation but to the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Another observation was the modesty of individuals, which I found reassuring in the \u2018me, me, me\u2019 era in which we reside. There are names on our list who are very low-key and avoid blowing their own trumpet. Any headhunter worth their salt will be able to unlock and cultivate the unsung heroes and quite often mentor those who aren\u2019t particularly keen on shining a light on themselves, to recognise and exploit their own talents. Without revealing too much detail, the new technology that we are developing at LOST will sift out the spin from candidates\u2019 career history and objectively give parity for those who are circumspect when it comes to self-promotion, as well as the shouty-shouty few. It was also heartening to advise folk they\u2019d made our list and see their disbelief. I was also surprised how few nominated themselves. Nothing wrong with that, but I was genuinely expecting an avalanche!<\/p>\n My experiences with LOST have reawakened my interest in helping companies find great people, even if it often seems more challenging than ever. I\u2019ve been undertaking this task in various guises for nearly 13 years now and reflected recently on the changing landscape during this time. It certainly feels that candidates are more discerning and less inclined to seek new roles. The post-Covid environment with a greater emphasis on work versus life balance has led to less clamouring for roles and this reticence has, in my view, also created a more lethargic approach from candidates. Before moving into a more technology-based approach with individuals signing up to LOST and taking the time to evaluate their careers and preferences going forward (thus ensuring that they are genuinely serious about a future move), I was finding that candidates were slow to respond to emails or LinkedIn requests or even calls, or ponderous about sending their CVs, as well as sometimes inclined to change their minds about attending interviews. That lethargic approach can be reciprocated by recruiting companies.<\/p>\n It certainly feels that candidates are more discerning and less inclined to seek new roles<\/p>\n The problem is that social media with its almost constant availability of jobs coupled with large recruitment gaps across the sector mean that candidates have become lazy, thinking, mistakenly so, that there\u2019s always something out there for them that they could walk into on-demand when they so wish. It has also fuelled a misleading sense of self-worth and entitlement in an industry that, as regular readers of this column will know, I think is beset with arrogance on occasions. Companies can be just as bad with behaviours, stringing candidates along without ever genuinely having the intention to fill the role externally.<\/p>\n One element that\u2019s not changed in the time I\u2019ve been involved in recruiting folk, has been this desire for a perfect career narrative among candidates, putting undue pressure on themselves and feeling self-doubt or embarrassment if they suffer setbacks or their employment goes in a different, unforeseen direction. Peer pressure doesn\u2019t help and once again, in the social media age of posting happy clappy pictures, there\u2019s a constant desire to paint a picture of incredible bliss and this extends to careers. I\u2019ll never forget the admiration I had for the MD of a TOC I was once working for, who admitted to me that he felt he didn\u2019t do a particularly good job in one senior role, and it was a period he wasn\u2019t really pleased with in terms of his performance. It\u2019s so rare to come across folk who will proffer that there have been times when a job hasn\u2019t gone too well, where they\u2019d made the wrong career decision and maybe even admit they got fired. <\/p>\n In dealing with candidates, it\u2019s ever more apparent there is a sense of modern-day frustration that their career hasn\u2019t panned out with a logical sequence or in a way that looks neat and picture perfect with an unblemished positive narrative. We\u2019d all like to have a trajectory that shows an appealing progression with each job transitioning nicely into the next step on the ladder then winding its way towards an inevitable happy ending in which one can look back on with pride and satisfaction, but there\u2019s no shame when there are twists and turns that need explaining. At LOST we flag to clients career gaps or mystifying left turns, but they\u2019re normally easily explained. Even if they might not represent a finest hour, life\u2019s never straightforward. <\/p>\n I\u2019m also always at pains to stress that there\u2019s no stigma to an enforced or \u2018by mutual consent\u2019 parting of ways with an employer, particularly at a senior level where it is part and parcel of the relationship journey with a company that pays your wages. I always say to candidates never to get too carried away, fawning at your employer and their brand because the honeymoon period never lasts and inevitably it will all end in tears. A new boss or ownership arriving, or a major strategic change in direction, can quickly turn a hero into a zero. One person\u2019s positive view on the merits of an employee is another\u2019s negative \u2013 sadly it\u2019s subjective and I\u2019m also a great believer in \u2018right place, right time\u2019 for many.<\/p>\n All this leads me back to our \u2018Ones to Watch\u2019 feature which, whilst ultimately subjective in nature, was based on a consensus of opinion from a diverse range of transport specialists trying to apply objective criteria. I\u2019m sure there will be some who will celebrate those on the list, whilst others might have their own views on those selected, maybe with a hint of cynicism or dare I say even \u2018envy\u2019? It\u2019s easy, of course, to snipe from the sidelines and it\u2019s impossible to please everyone. So, I would implore you to bathe in the joy that we have a sector so rich and diverse in its talent-base, despite all the challenges and setbacks it faces. And if you think you could come up with a better list, then have a go, send it to me at alex@lost.careers or encourage those on it to register their details at www.lost.careers<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you what, it\u2019s no easy task and more than a bit stressful, even if I feel very happy to see the 55 in all their glory elsewhere on these pages and feel that we\u2019ve an eclectic, diverse mix of movers and shakers, at various stages of their careers all making a real difference to the industry that we love and certainly worthy of keeping an eye on during 2024 and beyond! <\/p>\n \u00a0 DON\u2019T MISS OUT \u2013 GET YOUR COPY! \u2013\u00a0click here to subscribe!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The post Our industry boasts a wealth of talent<\/a> first appeared on Passenger Transport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200b\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 This edition features LOST Group\u2019s \u2018Ones to Watch 2024\u2019. It was exhausting to put this list together \u2013 but the end result is inspiring \u00a0 Hooray! A good news story! For all the doom and gloom in the industry, it was a real antidote to the January blues to be part of the judging panel for the \u2018Ones to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nWhat was informative, though, is that we still have a long way to go in terms of ethnicity. Some time ago, I lamented the lack of a balanced ethnic mix in positions of seniority across transport and I feel that we\u2019re still struggling in this area. This is, at some point soon, worthy of another article. It\u2019s a complex, multi-faceted and deeply sensitive subject that can\u2019t be skipped along in a few paragraphs here, but it\u2019s a legacy inherited for many decades that hasn\u2019t yet unwound itself. It needs proper focus and prioritisation.<\/p>\n
This story appears inside the latest issue of\u00a0Passenger Transport<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n