When you hear the term “thought leader”, you might immediately think of people like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. These are people who pushed the boundaries in their fields, people who asked “why not?” instead of relegating their ideas to the “impossible” basket.

But what is a thought leader? And how can organisations benefit from their wisdom?

Thought leaders are not just experts in their field. They are the experts amongst the experts. They are the people at the top of their field, the ones the experts themselves look to for advice. They understand that without the desire to change, reinvent and improve systems and processes, society cannot make real progress.

So, should leaders of organisations aspire to becoming thought leaders? In my opinion, absolutely! In order to stay ahead of the competition and contribute to the improvement in their respective industries, business leaders must strive to be thought leaders in their field of expertise.

In the same way, businesses need to consistently assess and reinvent themselves in order to meet the ever-changing needs of their staff, clients and customers. They need to identify deficiencies within their industry or business and develop new ideas and approaches to address these. Innovation is paramount and an ability to look beyond industry norms are two attributes that define a thought leader, be it an individual or a business.

As a business, we believe Alexander Appointments is a thought leader in the recruitment industry. Our business model is a prime example of the way in which we look beyond industry norms and standards of behaviour.

From day one, our aim was to provide a model that centred around service and not figures. Our belief is that by offering a service-focused model, positive relationships and profits will inevitably follow. While this may not sound like a new concept, it is not one that is commonly encountered in the recruitment industry which is driven by a “bums on seats” mentality.

Our collaborative team approach is the core behind our way of thinking. In our business, it is not each consultant for him/herself, trying to keep up with KPIs and competing against their own colleagues. Our unified approach has been proven to work in giving our candidates and clients a genuine and efficient service delivery that works in their best interests. The longevity of our client and candidate relationships and our 80-90% fill rate is testament to the success of this approach.

We strive to be thought leaders by providing advice to clients and candidates based on our own personal years of experience in the recruitment industry. We consistently strive to think outside the box by offering unique ideas and opportunities to both clients and candidates alike.

With our experience, adaptability and focus on being different, Alexander Appointments is a thought leader in its field.