Work
Introduction
Every organisation I work with is different. Their problems might look similar on the surface: a team that's underdelivering, a function that was never properly set up, a leadership gap that's creating uncertainty, but the causes are always specific to the people, the history, and the context.
I don't arrive with a fixed framework and try to make your situation fit it. I assess what's actually happening, agree on what needs to change, and work with you and your teams to design and deliver it. Hands-on, collaborative, and practical throughout.
Ways to Engage Me
Short-term assessment (2–6 weeks)
Sometimes you know something is wrong but you're not sure exactly what, or you need an independent view before you can make the case for change internally.
A short-term assessment gives you a clear, honest picture of where things stand. I work through a structured programme of interviews, workshops, and reviews with your team and stakeholders, analyse what I find, and deliver a set of prioritised recommendations for what needs to change and how.
You get a clear diagnosis, a practical path forward, and an outside perspective that isn't shaped by internal politics. Many clients find this engagement alone unlocks decisions that had been stuck for months.
Consulting engagement (3–6+ months)
Once you know what needs to change, the harder work begins: designing and embedding the changes in a way that sticks.
A consulting engagement typically follows an assessment, though not always. Working closely with your leadership team and the affected teams, I help design new structures, operating models, ways of working, and delivery processes. I run workshops, facilitate difficult conversations, and help manage the human side of change, which is usually where transformation efforts succeed or fail.
I stay involved long enough to make sure the changes are properly embedded, not just designed on paper and handed over. The goal is always a team that's set up to succeed after I've gone.
Fractional / interim leadership
Sometimes the need isn't for a consultant. It's for someone to step in and lead.
Whether you have a sudden leadership gap, are scaling faster than your permanent hiring can keep up with, or need experienced hands-on leadership while you search for the right permanent person, I can step into a Head of, Director, or VP-level role across product, design, or research.
I've led teams of up to 60 people, built functions from scratch, and handed over stable, high-performing teams to permanent successors. I bring the same level of commitment and accountability as a permanent leader, with the flexibility and perspective of someone who's done it many times before across many different organisations.
Engagements are typically three to nine months, remote or hybrid, and structured to make the handover to a permanent hire as smooth as possible.
Ongoing advisory
Not every leader needs a consultant or an interim. Sometimes what's most valuable is a trusted outside perspective: someone who knows your world, asks the right questions, and helps you think more clearly about the decisions in front of you.
An advisory relationship gives you access to 32 years of experience in digital product, design, and research, on a flexible, ongoing basis. We meet regularly, in person, remotely, or both, to work through the challenges you're navigating, pressure-test your thinking, and give you a sounding board that doesn't have a stake in the outcome.
This works particularly well for CPOs, CTOs, and Heads of Product or Design who are operating in new territory, managing up through a difficult organisational environment, or simply want someone in their corner who's been there before.
Let's Talk...
If you're dealing with any of these challenges, I'd be glad to have a conversation.
DM me on LinkedIn or drop me a line at enquiries@brianhoadley.com
Addressing Client Challenges
Major UK retail bank
The bank needed a world-class digital research and insight capability to support a multi-billion pound transformation programme across four major brands. There was no existing function to build on. Starting from scratch, I designed, built, hired, and led a 40-person research and insight operation across four cities, with dedicated research facilities in three locations. Delivered a significant reduction in cost per research activity and provided direct insight to the Group Executive across hundreds of digital programmes.
Major UK telecoms company
A 60-person Digital Customer Experience team had become structurally misaligned and was underperforming. I ran a full consultation process, redesigned the team structure, and built two UX teams, a UI team, a content marketing team, a copywriting team, and a new Design Operations function, hiring 19 people and integrating a new leadership team, all while maintaining live delivery. Handed over a stable, high-performing team to a permanent Director.
Leading UK proptech company
A fragmented product and design function inside a 100+ person digital organisation, with no product management capability in place. I assessed the situation, restructured the design function, grew it to 17 people, and built a 14-person product team and product operations function from scratch. Led the combined 31-person Product and Design function as interim director and delivered the company's first ever product roadmaps.
Global B2B financial software company
A global financial technology platform had no embedded product design capability anywhere in the business. I designed and built their first ever in-house Product Design function, a 14-person team spanning five countries, delivered a new Design System (Figma / Zeroheight / Storybook), built Design Operations, and created a delivery model that properly integrated design with product and engineering for the first time. Also led product design on a new Ethical Collections product and supported post-acquisition integration efforts.
Leading UK legal services organisation
The Technology and Change function needed an independent assessment of its organisational structure, capability, and ways of working. Phase one delivered a comprehensive review and a clear set of recommendations for change. Phase two worked directly with the leadership team to design and embed the foundations of a new product operating model and project delivery process, including workshops, redesigned organisational structures, and support across a broader programme of change.