Industry Voices: James Day on Empowering Young Leaders

At Dealer Support, we’ve had the privilege of engaging with numerous leaders and innovators in the workplace solutions industry. Through these conversations, we’ve gained valuable insights into the key topics shaping the industry and driving transformation. In our new series, Industry Voices, we distil the highlights from our magazine interviews, offering expert perspectives on the issues that matter.

This article is an edited version of our interview with James Day, originally published in our January/February 2024 issue: Dealer Support

“It is important that as well as supporting and retaining young talent, we are attracting it to the industry in the first place. In the past, the industry probably hasn’t had the same X-factor appeal that others might have had. We have made strides in the last few years in moving away from outdated concepts of what the industry is, and things have changed significantly in terms of diversification and skillsets. We need to be modernising to attract and bring in fresh talent.

Finding Your Way

One of the main things that motivates me is watching a team develop and achieve things they maybe didn’t think they could achieve six months ago. I think it can be easy to get a little bit lost in this industry as a young person entering.

There is no denying anyone getting into leadership is coming in at quite a challenging time for the industry, with many changes happening. But that makes it a great industry – the potential for change. That brings opportunities. There is a lot to be excited about. There is more appetite to take risks with younger individuals – five years ago, it was all about being risk-averse, and there was more reluctance to try new things. Now we have a much better balance – we have young people with these disruptive thoughts and ideas that are changing how we look at things, working alongside people with huge amounts of industry knowledge who act as vehicles to help them turn those ideas into solutions.

Setting the Example

A good leader is genuine, comfortable in their own skin and true to themselves. That then translates to being quite open and approachable and able to communicate with people on different levels. I think that’s far more important than being the smartest person in the room or having the best contacts. Good leaders communicate authenticity – that really is key.”