The Leadership Agency is North America’s and the UK’s recruitment partner of choice for the fastest-growing tech startups and non-profits. When I founded The Leadership Agency in 2017, I had a dual mission. To help build the most impressive companies of our generation by helping them make their best hires and to build my company to be better than any company I had ever worked for. We have helped hire over 3,000 executives for companies all over the world, and we have been awarded as Top Service Provider, Best Places to Work in Canada, and Top Agency of the Year. We believe that it’s important to amplify and elevate the talent community as we are all peers and have a shared passion for recruitment.
Tell us about yourself?
Before founding The Leadership Agency, I worked in corporate and agency recruitment, and now I have almost 20 years of experience in this sector. I got into this line of work because it’s all about people. Recruitment is dynamic and complex, but from the beginning to the end – it’s about people. Helping solve problems for your clients and supporting executives in their career journey. At The Leadership Agency, we get to work with Founders and their Investors, learning about their businesses, short-term goals, and long-term strategic plans. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to have a material impact on our client’s growth and success by helping them make their best hires.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
If I could go back in time a year or two, I would tell myself that your instincts are much more valid and important than you realize. Two years ago, we changed our service model, which fundamentally changed our business, and it was based on a decision that was derived from data but mostly instinct. When you’re in the process of pivoting, making changes, and growing, it’s very important to trust your instincts and leverage subject matter experts to support the process.
What problem does your business solve?
Together with our expertise, skill, and market knowledge, we use our resources and effective strategies to help our clients fill in their hiring gaps and find them the best-in-class talent. We have interviewed over 20,000 executives and have helped hire over 3,000 executives all over the world. We support our clients by helping them understand the current talent market, expectations of candidates, compensation models, head-hunting strategies, and most importantly – we help them make their best hires.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
When I founded the Leadership Agency in 2017, with at the time 10-plus years of recruitment experience, I knew that the startup community was in need of recruitment expertise and services that were specialized. We believe in putting skin in the game and proving that we are as committed to their business’s success as they are. This is reflected in our commitment to being exclusive to this community and in our service offering. We offer a 12-month guarantee on all of our hires, publish valuable content, are thought leaders, and continuously improve and grow our own business to lead the industry by being best in class in our own expertise.
What is your magic sauce?
Our magic sauce is investing in our team. It’s so important to invest in the learning and development of your employees and listening to their needs. It encourages growth and ultimately improves retention, productivity levels, and so much more for the company. Taking care of our employees helps keep the team strong and well-equipped to effectively do their jobs.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We have just launched our new division for non-profits, and this is an emerging market for us. We are striving to roll it out to the U.S. market by Q3 2023. We will be growing our service offering, which expands from HR Advisory to training. In five years, we will be a full-service Global HR and Recruitment Consultancy that invests in our clients and our people. We were one of the first companies in Canada to launch a four-day workweek for our employees and have seen a 200 per cent increase in productivity. We have been certified as a Top Employer in Canada. We plan to continue to develop safe and innovative practices for our team and enhance how they experience their lives at work.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
As a women entrepreneur who is leading the change in a very competitive recruitment industry – doing so in a male-dominated community poses its challenges. It can be difficult when you are continuously working with clients where you don’t see yourself represented. You learn to take up space and remember that you belong in every room you walk into.
How can people get involved?
Start hiring with us. We are your recruitment partner of choice for all things tech startups! Building high-growth startups from Seed to IPO. Contact us today to see how we help build the most impressive companies of our generation – info@leadershipagency.com