Ella Smith, Expert Practitioner, has grown her passion for behavioral science into an award-winning endeavor in the 2023 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards where Ella won Bronze in the category of Best in Thought Leadership, further highlighting herself and North Highland as experts in the field.
We recently talked with Ella about this recognition, where she shared insights on thought leadership, her work in Behavioral Science, and how future leaders can use these capabilities to Make Change Happen.
Thought Leadership and its Impact
Thought leadership is a key piece of innovation that reinforces unique perspectives by demonstrating knowledge and expertise on a particular topic. Being a thought leader is being an advocate for change and transformation, and Ella knows this firsthand.
"Thought leadership is about constantly learning, developing your way of thinking, and then sharing your findings with others to inspire them to think differently too,” said Ella.
The strategy behind North Highland’s thought leadership allows us to speak with confidence due to the high level of understanding and experience, positioning our thought leaders as experts of their craft. We strive to serve as thought leaders across industries by conducting research and sharing new ideas, like behavioral science, with our clients to provide thoughtful solutions to complex problems
The Behavioral Science Initiative
Behavioral Science applies insights from economics, psychology, and neuroscience to influence decision-making and behavior change. While behavioral science can be used in any of the work we deliver, Ella has primarily implemented it to ensure the success and adoption of several large change and transformation client programs. Highlights include supporting the delivery of laptops to prisoners for in-cell use to digitize prisons and improve rehabilitation rates, assisting with a large global technology rollout impacting 17,000 users, and improving the way communications are delivered to patients in the community and at nursing homes. Ella has also spoken at the Associated Change Management Professionals (ACMP) Global Conference and Change Management Institute about behavioral science.
Following the success of these programs and industry recognitions, Ella took on an internal Change Lead role in 2022, where she currently works with the Firm's leadership to ensure the success of the Enterprise Business Agility Program (EBAP). EBAP is North Highland’s agile operating system that organizes internal efforts and the successful delivery of our growth strategy. This initiative brings North Highland employees from various departments together to understand situational pain points and holistically work through them.
How Can You Make Change Happen?
If you are interested in making change happen but don't know where to start, take Ella's advice.
"Take an approach of small, incremental change," said Ella. "Start by incorporating one small change to your normal routine and then add more as you adjust to your new normal. You'll barely notice the difference and have a far greater chance of accomplishing successful and lasting change."
Read more examples of North Highland’s thought leadership expertise