M4C Admin
Getting out from the home office...as lockdown eases
It's mid June & after 3 months lockdown restrictions are easing, non-essential retail is coming out of hiberation. Matthew Curtis has also started to venture out from the home office this week too... we catch up on what's been going on.
Like many people across the UK M4C Director & Founder Matthew Curtis has been tucked away in his home office during lockdown. Matthew's home office is in rural Northumberland, we catch up with him today to find out more about his experience of lockdown and how the pandemic has affected M4C.
When did the pandemic first start to affect your daily activities and the business?
Apart from a crazy day of snow in the North East on the 24th February when I had a very wet and slushy walk to a meeting locally February was very much business as usual. In businesses across the UK there was a post election confidence and clarity around Brexit and all the indicators were that 2020 would be a good year.
Even into the first days of March when there was mounting & more worrying news coverage and a rising awareness that the once distant (might not happen here) Coronavirus threat was indeed going to impact the UK severely, many events went ahead still, with attendees jovially greeting each other with an elbow bump or a foot tap. Thinking back that phase of the crisis was very short lived and so remote from the restrictions that became necessary later in the same month.
For M4C March was going to be a record month in terms of projects delivered for clients...on the 12th March whilst attending an event in Carlisle, phone calls started to come through from clients that understandably wanted to postpone projects that involved bringing together groups of people. Most notably for M4C this included a 2 week Senior Leadership programme for a government institution that was due to be delivered in the last week of March and the first week of April. The last physical meeting that went ahead before lockdown was on the 16th March a week ahead of the lockdown announcement.
What has lockdown been like for you and for the business?
Although I haven't worked in a 5 days a week fixed office location to for more than 20 years, I have never worked from home more than a few days in a month... and never before have the whole family been confined to quarters. We've had online Uni exams, home schooling and two of us working from home... I don't think the dog can figure it out.. he's probably feeling sleep deprived!
In terms of the business M4C has continued to support existing clients, particularly as they navigate their way through the morass of guidance and confusion. In our "business as usual" model working with our clients means exactly that we are WITH
them, delivering workshops, facilitating & participating in meetings as well as joining them at their project and client locations too. In that model dates are agreed and booked in advance travel arrangements and accommodation reservations made... the plans become "semi-fixed" and have a regularity and consistency to them. During the crisis the service has become much more "On-Demand"
and delivered at times of the day to suit the changing situation and the needs of our clients. On the night of the 23rd March when the PM announced lockdown, clients were engaging and planning their responses and communications to teams and customers up until midnight that night and re-commenced at around 6:00am the following morning. The use of technology has meant that more clients were supported on any a single day than would have been possible had travel and physical meetings been held.
Lockdown has also meant that the volume of content being created for consumption online, on social media and via virtual events has sky rocketed. M4C has hosted peer to peer forums around the topics of leadership in a crisis and resilient leadership and I have also been a guest speaker at virtual conferences on the topic of organizational resilience. There have also been a lot of individuals that M4C has been able to connect with in the global online market for career and transition coaching, business coaching and mentoring. New clients have come France, Italy, Ireland & USA - definitely an un-expected positive as the business wasn't really pushing to be a global online service provider.
Flexibility and innovation are key strands in resilience, it's important to make good things happen not just minimise the impact of the bad things to be resilient.
What are the future plans?
To continue to give all M4C clients the best support possible and to continue to demonstrate that together we can deliver outstanding results and build more resilient businesses equipped to withstand the challenges of operating in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. To continue to "bounce - forwards" adopting and embracing the positive adaptions and changes that have been made and recognise that pre-covid best practise represents the best thinking of yesterday and not necessarily of tomorrow.
There is undoubtably going to be global economic challenges as the world lives and works with covid. There will also be huge demand for an increased leadership capacity in business, leaders that can drive optimisation, nurture innovations and make bold investments of energy and finance, whilst also providing consistency of direction and good governance. Inevitably there will be tensions so and leaders will need to demonstrate courage and vulnerability & recognising that often they
should be asking great questions of their teams rather than taking it upon themselves alone to be the ideas engine room.
Across the last 18 months, we’ve spoken with more than 70 founders, directors, senior managers and emerging leaders across UK SMEs and mid‑market organisations. Different industries. Different stages of growth. Different cultures. Yet the same leadership challenges surfaced again and again. These insights aren’t theoretical. They’re real, repeated, and shaping the future capabilities of organisations trying to scale. Below, we share the four most prominent leadership trends that emerged — and what businesses can do to address them. 1. The Leadership Development Gap Is Wider Than Ever One of the clearest trends is this: Leaders are promoted early but developed late. Many take on their first leadership role before 30. Yet they often don’t receive meaningful training, mentoring or coaching until after 40. That means a decade of: Learning through trial and error Relying on inherited habits (often from poor managers) Inconsistent decision‑making Teams absorbing the cost of avoidable mistakes This “sink or swim” approach creates predictable problems: ⚠️ High turnover ⚠️ Misaligned behaviours ⚠️ Poor communication ⚠️ Burnout for talented individuals “figuring it out” alone. The good news? This gap is entirely solvable with structured development pathways — ones that begin the moment someone shows leadership potential, not after they’ve already struggled in the role. 2. Change Isn’t the Problem — Uncertainty Is While every organisation is grappling with change, the real challenge leaders face is leading people through it. Across hundreds of comments, a consistent message emerged: People don’t resist change. They resist feeling unprepared for it. Teams fear: Losing competence Being left behind Increased pressure without clarity Change that feels imposed rather than explained The most successful leaders do three things exceptionally well: Create a clear, compelling narrative for change Explain the opportunity — what improves for customers, teams, or the business Address the risk of doing nothing When leaders shift from “telling people what’s changing” to “helping people see why change matters,” adoption accelerates and resistance drops. 3. The hardest step in a career isn’t senior → director... It’s expert → leader. This is the transition that repeatedly causes the most friction. Top performers get promoted because they’re technically strong. But the moment they lead others, the job changes completely. They must shift from: Doing → Enabling Solving → Coaching Control → Empowerment Certainty → Curiosity And that identity shift doesn’t happen automatically. In many cases, new managers feel stuck between “being the expert” and “being a leader,” resulting in: Poor delegation Over-involvement in the work Bottlenecks Frustrated teams Emotional exhaustion Formal support during this transition — through coaching, manager frameworks, and practical skill‑building — is one of the highest‑ROI investments any business can make. 4. Growing organisations need structure — not just great intentions Many early‑stage or founder-led businesses reach a tipping point where informal ways of leading no longer scale. We repeatedly heard challenges such as: “We’ve grown too quickly for our processes.” “People don’t have clarity on expectations.” “We need to formalise how leadership works here.” “We don’t have a consistent set of values or behaviours.” The fix isn’t bureaucracy. It’s structure with purpose. Growing organisations benefit massively from: ✔ Clear, lived company values Not posters. Behaviours. ✔ Defined leadership pathways So people know what leadership looks like here. ✔ Competency models That create consistency in how leaders coach, communicate, and make decisions. ✔ Succession planning So progress is planned, not reactive. ✔ A leadership development system Integrated into performance, recruitment, and culture. When these foundations are in place, businesses scale faster without losing who they are . What This Means for UK Businesses in 2026 Across all four trends, one message stands out: Leadership isn’t something you leave to chance. It’s something you build deliberately. The organisations that will win in the next decade won’t simply have great products or services. They’ll have strong leaders at every level — equipped, confident, aligned, and ready. That takes intentional design, evidence‑based development, and the kind of structured support that turns potential into capability. How M4C Helps At M4C, we work with leaders and organisations to: Diagnose their leadership capability Build competency-led development pathways Equip new managers with practical, usable leadership skills Support founder transitions and succession planning Embed change-ready cultures Create scalable leadership systems that organisations can own long-term If your organisation is growing — or needs leadership to grow — we’d love to help you build the structures and capability to get there with confidence..
In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, agility and expertise are more critical than ever. For UK businesses—especially SMEs and startups—accessing top-tier leadership without the financial burden of full-time executive hires is no longer a pipe dream. Enter the fractional director : a flexible, cost-effective solution that’s reshaping how companies scale, strategise, and succeed. What Is a Fractional Director? A fractional director is a seasoned executive—such as a CFO, CMO, or Commercial Director—who works with a business on a part-time, interim, or project basis. Unlike traditional full-time hires, fractional directors bring high-level strategic insight and leadership while offering the flexibility to engage only when needed. The Business Case for Fractional Leadership UK companies are increasingly embracing fractional leadership, and the reasons are compelling: Access to Elite Talent : Fractional directors often come with decades of experience across industries. For smaller firms that may struggle to attract full-time C-suite talent, fractional roles open the door to expertise that would otherwise be out of reach. Cost Efficiency : Businesses report savings of 40–60% in labour costs by hiring fractional executives compared to full-time counterparts This model allows companies to pay only for the time and expertise they need—no overheads, no long-term commitments. Strategic Agility : Fractional directors are adept at hitting the ground running. Whether it’s navigating a growth phase, entering new markets, or managing change, they deliver rapid impact with minimal disruption. Scalability and Flexibility : Companies can scale leadership resources up or down based on evolving needs. This is especially valuable in uncertain economic climates, where adaptability is key. Objective Decision-Making : Operating outside internal politics, fractional directors offer unbiased perspectives and challenge the status quo—often leading to innovative solutions and improved performance . A Growing Trend in the UK The rise of fractional working in the UK is more than a passing trend—it’s a strategic shift. In early 2025, around 5% of UK employees were in interim roles, with many more operating as independent contractors. Why Now? Post-pandemic shifts, economic uncertainty, and the rise of AI-driven automation have all contributed to a rethinking of traditional employment models. Businesses are under pressure to stay lean while still accessing the strategic leadership needed to thrive. Fractional directors offer a way to do just that. As Roei Samuel, CEO of Connectd, puts it: “Fractional leadership isn’t a stopgap. It’s a scalable, sustainable model for the future of work that enables smaller companies to grow smarter.” Conclusion: A Smarter Way to Scale For UK businesses looking to stay competitive, fractional directors offer a powerful blend of expertise, flexibility, and financial efficiency. Whether you're a startup navigating early growth or an established firm seeking fresh strategic insight, fractional leadership could be the key to unlocking your next phase of success. At M4C Ltd , we help businesses connect with the right fractional talent to drive transformation and growth. Get in touch to explore how a fractional director could elevate your business.
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.