"Connectd has turned my interest in fractional work into a real board advisory role where I already feel like I'm part of the team and I'm able to add value. And even better, it's now transitioning to a paid fractional role at the end of it."
Charlotte Forsyth, Board Advisor, Dizplai: I'd been thinking since the end of last summer about what the next phase of my career would look like. I've been very fortunate to have worked with a number of CEOs and board advisors across my last couple of roles, and I was starting to think about building some sort of portfolio and finding ways to give back my experience to earlier-stage companies.
The outreach from Connectd came at quite a fortunate time. There was a natural match between what I was already thinking about and what Connectd could offer.
Charlotte Forsyth: The biggest learning for me was actually how to make the differentiation between being an operator in a business versus being an advisor. By nature of my roles and the organisations I've worked in, I'm quite solution-focused. I like to get to action. I like pace. The training in the Academy was really helpful in terms of getting me to stop and think quite methodically and in a structured way about the value I could bring as an advisor, building relationships with CEOs, and understanding how to add value without diving into the doing. If that makes sense: not being the operator in the day-to-day, but the advisor giving direction and input.
Charlotte Forsyth: In terms of aligning to startups, I've completely landed on my feet with Dizplai as my first advisory role. It was about understanding where I could genuinely add value and being quite honest about where I couldn't. There was another startup that approached me through the platform, and when we spoke, I was clear that I didn't think I was actually the right person for them.
In terms of the platform itself, I found it really easy to navigate. You can filter by geography, industry, and what people are looking for, so it was actually quite a quick process.
Charlotte Forsyth: First of all, the industry itself. Dizplai is an audience engagement and monetisation platform, and that's exactly what I've been doing in my last couple of roles. It's early stage in terms of headcount and funding, but it's also a company that has been around in different guises for 27 years, and it operates in the live sports environment, which I've worked in before at Wireless.
It felt like it was bringing together all the elements of my career that I've really enjoyed. Then there was the team. The CEO and COO are great. I immediately felt like part of that team, felt valued, and felt that my expertise was being listened to. They're very clear that they don't know what they don't know.
In terms of the challenge itself, it's about defining and building out a leadership team for the next phase of their growth. That's exactly the kind of work I've been doing in my last couple of roles, working with CEOs and boards to build out leadership teams, frameworks, and capabilities. The opportunity to do that again for Dizplai, in the context of what actually works for them as an organisation, was really compelling.
Charlotte Forsyth: We started with a weekly one-to-one with the CEO, because building that relationship early was important. I also spent a day recently with their tech and product teams, really immersing myself in the business and contributing through the leadership development work I'm doing. To start with, it's been about two hours a week building my relationship with the CEO and COO, and I'm expecting that to grow and progress as I have more time and availability for them.
Charlotte Forsyth: The main deliverable currently has been defining what leadership behaviours look like at Dizplai. I've had a number of sessions with the CEO and COO, and the next phase is to capture and codify that, so that as they build the leadership team, there is one clear, consistent set of behaviours to point to. This is what leadership looks like at Dizplai. Equally, this is what it doesn't look like, and this is what we're expecting to see over the next six months.
Charlotte Forsyth: Forming those relationships quickly with the CEO and COO, and focusing on understanding the challenge they're actually trying to solve. I always say I'm a business leader who just happens to have a specialist lens on the people's side. Being able to get up to speed on their business quickly, build strong relationships, and always stay focused on what they're trying to solve for, that's probably the main reason. I'm also mentoring their HR and recruitment person, and that's something I'm trying to instil in him too: always be clear on what you're trying to solve for.
Charlotte Forsyth: It's all been incredibly positive. I genuinely feel like I've landed on my feet with my first placement, and the fact that it's going to transition into fractional work as well makes it even better.
I'd say 100% sign up for the Connectd programme. It's not just the T2P programme itself, but the fact that there are so many startups already on the platform, and the opportunity to network and build connections with people in similar roles.
And then finally, the mentoring piece has been really helpful in terms of moving me out of the day-to-day operator fix-it mode into being an advisor, thinking about how I can give my experience and guidance in a slightly different capacity.
Charlotte Forsyth, Board Advisor, Dizplai
Fractional work is it the career model senior leaders have been waiting for - learn how to make the shift yourself
