Happy New Year, everyone! As we dive into 2025, the air is thick with anticipation. Change is always in the wind, but this year feels particularly pivotal, especially for organisations navigating complex landscapes. From public sector giants to nimble SMEs, the demand for transformation expertise has never been greater.

So, what’s shaping this urgency? On the global stage, economic uncertainty, climate commitments, and continued digital disruption are driving major shifts. Governments are grappling with how to implement AI policies effectively, businesses are adapting to stricter ESG standards, and tech advancements like quantum computing are starting to edge closer to reality.

Closer to home in the UK, we’re bracing for the ripple effects of policy changes, post-Brexit trade realities, and challenges like workforce shortages in critical sectors. Public sector organisations face rising demand for efficient, tech-driven services amidst budget constraints. SMEs, meanwhile, are battling to stay competitive in a market increasingly dominated by digital-first operations and agile competitors.

This landscape is fertile ground for transformation—but it’s not without its pitfalls. The organisations that thrive will be those that embrace change proactively rather than reactively. Here’s where a specialist transformation manager can tip the scales from just surviving to thriving.

Leading with Vision

Transformation managers bring more than just project management skills—they bring vision, strategy, and the ability to rally diverse teams. They’re the navigators who can help organisations weather uncertainty by:

1. Future-proofing operations: Ensuring systems, processes, and teams are agile enough to adapt to fast-evolving challenges.
2. Aligning goals with reality: Marrying long-term strategic objectives with the immediate, practical steps to achieve them.
3. Building resilient teams: Creating cultures where change isn’t feared but embraced, and where every team member is empowered to contribute.

The public sector, for example, can benefit enormously from transformation managers who can streamline services, improve citizen engagement, and ensure compliance with new regulations. SMEs can lean on them to pivot quickly, access innovative technologies, and remain competitive in their niche markets.

But here’s the rub: finding the right leader is no easy task. That’s where partnering with a specialist recruiter comes in.

Building Teams, Building Futures

At Malikshaw Interim & Executive, we’re not just about filling roles—we’re about building partnerships that last. Our focus on transformation has allowed us to connect top-tier professionals with organisations looking to shape the future. As 2025 unfolds, we’re seeing a surge of interest in interim and executive roles that go beyond project delivery to true organisational leadership.

Whether you’re a public sector organisation looking to innovate, or an SME aiming to scale sustainably, we’ve got the expertise to help you find the right talent for your needs—not just for now, but for the long haul.

So, here’s to a year of proactive transformation, bold leadership, and the teams that make it all possible. If you’re ready to take the First Foot forward in 2025, let’s have a conversation.

Picture this: Santa Claus, seated at his desk in the North Pole, staring at a spreadsheet called “Gifting Operations 2024”. His glasses are perched on the end of his nose, a half-drunk mug of cocoa in hand. He’s muttering under his breath:

"Digitise the Naughty-and-Nice list? Upgrade the sleigh? Automate gift wrapping? What’s next—self-driving reindeer?!"

With a groan, he looks at the latest report from Elf Resources: “Elf satisfaction down 12% due to increased workshop deadlines.” Meanwhile, Mrs Claus is gently suggesting he take a webinar on time management. The pressure is real.

Legacy Systems Are a Ho-Ho-Hold-Up

Santa’s sleigh is a legacy system if ever there was one. Sure, it’s magical, but it’s also inefficient: no GPS, zero analytics, and the reindeer union is lobbying hard for better working conditions (Rudolph wants a glow upgrade). But ditching the sleigh for drones feels like sacrilege. Santa knows that digital transformation is key, but will it lose the sparkle that makes Christmas magical?

Bringing the Elves Along for the Ride

Then there are the elves, Santa’s most loyal (if slightly overworked) workforce. Change management isn’t easy when your staff have been handcrafting toys for centuries. Rumours of 3D printers in the workshop have them nervous. One elf was overheard saying, “What’s wrong with chisels? They’ve worked for 500 years!”

Santa knows he needs to upskill his team and reassure them that a little automation doesn’t mean they’ll be out of a job. But how do you explain “agile methodology” to someone whose life revolves around tinsel and wooden trains?

The Boardroom Blitz: Managing Expectations

Of course, Santa’s toughest customers are the kids—the ultimate Board of Directors. They’ve heard whispers of transformation, and the chatter isn’t all positive. One child wrote in asking, “If Santa’s going digital, does that mean I’m getting an NFT instead of a bike?”

Santa knows that no matter the changes behind the scenes, the kids expect flawless delivery—on time, every time. A single missed gift could send his approval ratings plummeting faster than a sleigh with a broken runner.

At Malikshaw, we understand the challenges of transformation—whether you’re streamlining operations in the private sector, meeting new regulatory requirements in the public sector, or trying to modernise the most magical night of the year. We specialise in finding the right leaders to guide projects through complexity, with a touch of charm and plenty of results.

So here’s to Santa—and to all of you tackling your own transformation challenges. Wishing you a season full of joy, innovation, and a little magic.

Happy holidays from Malikshaw Interim & Executive!

As the calendar turns toward the close of one year and the dawn of another, it's a time for reflection and anticipation—a tradition that owes much to Janus, the Roman god of transitions. Janus, who gave his name to January, is famously depicted with two faces: one looking back to the past and the other gazing forward to the future. For centuries, his dual perspective has symbolised wisdom gained from experience and the courage to embrace change.

At Malikshaw Interim & Executive, this dual perspective resonates deeply with the work we do. Over the past year, we’ve stood with clients at the crossroads of change, helping them honour the lessons of the past while preparing to seize opportunities ahead.

Take, for example, our recent collaboration with a major public sector organisation embarking on a digital transformation journey. They faced the daunting challenge of integrating AI technologies into legacy systems while navigating public accountability and ensuring inclusivity in service delivery. It was a classic ‘Janus moment’: recognising the value of established practices but needing to innovate to stay relevant in a rapidly changing environment.

Working alongside their leadership, we assembled an interim team of transformation specialists who didn’t just understand AI—they understood people. By combining technical expertise with empathetic leadership, they helped the organisation demystify AI, implement scalable solutions, and upskill their workforce. Today, they are not only meeting public expectations but setting a benchmark for digital service delivery across their sector.

As we reflect on 2024, we acknowledge that others have achieved far more wide-reaching change than the modest contributions we’ve made. Consider Adrian, who restructured and realigned a failing government transformation program while achieving a 20% budget reduction. Then there’s Kirsty, who introduced a new Project Management Framework that drove down construction costs by millions and simultaneously boosted project productivity.

Jason, through a multi-year transformation programme, turned an initial £5m investment into an £18m annual digital budget and a team of 140 staff. Meanwhile, Carl successfully transformed the aging estate of a government department, and another Jason made the bold decision to cancel $175m in capex investments that had delivered poor ROI.

John oversaw the migration of 13,000 Contact Centre agents across 29 business units, while James led the recovery of a £60m business transformation program for a major international manufacturing organisation.

This demonstrates the breadth and scale of impactful change delivered by these remarkable individuals.

The unifying theme across all these examples is independence. This isn’t about the Big 4 driving change—it’s about the dynamic, highly skilled cohort of Trailblazers that Malikshaw is proud to have brought together. We are dedicating our time and energy to helping organisations of all sizes, sectors, and shapes realise the value of authentic, independent leadership. Independence means examining organisational challenges with clear-eyed objectivity, identifying the most qualified and experienced leader with the highest potential to deliver successful outcomes, and assembling a trusted, highly recommended team around them. This is the core message that resonates from our Transformation Trailblazer cohort.

The best fit. The perfect match. Not, who you are being told is available.

As we look forward to 2025, challenges remain plentiful. Legacy systems must evolve to match the demands of a digitised world. The rise of AI, while thrilling, raises questions about ethics, workforce impact, and long-term societal changes. Meanwhile, geopolitics continues to shape the global economy, influencing supply chains and organisational strategies. Yet within these challenges lie incredible opportunities for those who are prepared to act with foresight and agility.

At Malikshaw, we are committed to partnering with organisations and individuals to navigate these pivotal moments. Whether you’re charting a course for digital transformation, reshaping your workforce for a more dynamic future, or recalibrating your strategy in light of global trends, we’re here to ensure you move forward with clarity and confidence.

As we close out 2024, we’d like to thank you for being part of the Malikshaw network. To all our clients, candidates, and collaborators, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a New Year filled with opportunity, growth, and success. Let’s step into 2025 together—like Janus—with wisdom from the past and excitement for the future.

Malikshaw Interim & Executive

P.S. If you’re facing your own Janus moment, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’d love to explore how we can help you move forward.

Transformation projects are exciting—after all, they hold the potential to change an organisation’s future. But let’s face it, they can also be a logistical nightmare. The reality is that a staggering 70% of transformation projects fail, with many of them going through multiple project leaders before any success is achieved. So why do so many fail? And how can we anticipate those pitfalls before they become insurmountable?

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a project, unsure if the goal is even achievable? Or worse—have you had to hand over the reins to someone else halfway through?

The challenges in large transformation projects are numerous, but a few key issues consistently cause problems:

• Unclear Goals & Scope: The initial vision is often vague, and over time, the scope creeps, making it harder to stay on track.
• Lack of Stakeholder Buy-In: Without buy-in from key stakeholders—especially at the top—any transformation will struggle.
• Inadequate Leadership: A lack of experienced leadership or frequent changes in leadership can derail progress.
• Resistance to Change: People fear change, and that resistance can slow down or even halt progress.

Now, imagine all these challenges combined in a real-world setting, like a UK Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB)—a government body tasked with implementing new regulations. The NDPB needs to overhaul its data reporting system to meet new government standards, but the project is running behind schedule, leadership is shifting, and employees are pushing back on the changes.

A Theoretical Case Study: Navigating Transformation in a UK NDPB

This hypothetical NDPB finds itself struggling to balance competing interests: meeting government deadlines, maintaining stakeholder confidence, and ensuring the system overhaul doesn’t disrupt daily operations. Early in the project, the leadership team was not fully aligned on the scope or the approach, leading to delays. Then came a change in leadership, further slowing progress as new leaders had to get up to speed. Finally, there was resistance from employees who were hesitant to adopt the new data processes.

As the project faced these challenges, it became clear that resilience needed to be built into the approach. The solution?

1. Clear, Defined Goals: The leadership team redefined the project’s scope, focusing on the most critical aspects first.
2. Strong, Consistent Leadership: The project brought in an experienced transformation leader with a proven track record in similar government-based projects.
3. Early Engagement: Employees were engaged early in the process, with training and communication aimed at reducing resistance to change.
4. Anticipating Risks: The team set aside a risk management plan to anticipate potential setbacks and proactively address them before they spiraled out of control.

By anticipating the pitfalls early and adjusting course, the NDPB was able to deliver the project successfully—on time and in compliance with all regulations.

So, how can transformation managers avoid these pitfalls and successfully steer their projects to completion? The answer often lies in building a resilient, experienced team—one that can identify potential risks and adjust quickly.

This is where specialist transformation recruiters, like Malikshaw, come in. We’ve worked across various industries and organisations, helping clients navigate exactly these challenges. Our experience in placing leaders who have already encountered and overcome similar obstacles allows us to secure candidates who are not just technically qualified, but who can spot and resolve issues before they escalate.

Think about your own experiences with transformation projects:

• Have you ever had a project go off-track because of shifting leadership or unclear goals?
• What would it have meant for you to have a leader on the team who was already familiar with these challenges?
• Could having the right leader in place from the start have saved you time and frustration?

Executing a large transformation project isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. By anticipating common pitfalls—like unclear goals, leadership turnover, and resistance to change—and building in resilience from the start, you can greatly increase your chances of success.

At Malikshaw, we understand the complexities of transformation and can help you secure the right leadership to see it through. Whether you need someone who’s been there before or someone with fresh insights into your unique challenges, we’re here to help you build a team that’s ready for whatever comes next.

Ready to make your transformation a success? So are we.