7 Questions for a Chief Digital Officer

Andy Britcliffe | Chief Digital Officer at Purplebricks

Closing off our 7 Questions series, we hear from our Chief Digital Officer, Andy. He dives into why not having all the answers isn’t a bad thing, and the importance of developing and maintaining relationships.

1. It’s Monday morning, what’s the first thing you do?

My first task is usually dropping my daughters off at school. Once I’m back, the second order of the day is coffee before sitting down to look at the previous week’s trading data. While I’m extremely focused on keeping our digital strategy on track, it’s incredibly important for me and my teams to understand how the business is performing. Once I’ve reviewed the numbers, then it’s on to reviewing my key priorities as well as focusing on the 3 things I want to achieve that week.

2. Your role is a varied one. What would you say is the one thing you do most frequently?

You’re right in that it’s extremely varied, but that’s what I love about it. I think the two most important — and frequent — things I do is spend time with my exec team peers and my Digital Leadership Team. Ultimately, those relationships are key in enabling me to add value, so I always prioritise my time towards developing and maintaining those relationships whenever I can.

3. If you could dispel the most common misconception about your role, what would it be?

Probably that I have all the answers. I think there is a false narrative around ‘the boss’ needing to have all the answers. I’m afraid I must break that myth, at least for me. I simply don’t have all the answers, but I can assure you that that is a good thing. The reason I have invested so much time and effort in hiring fantastic people and cultivating an environment of autonomy and responsibility is so the team can use their expertise. We’re all in this together to help answer our ultimate question: how can we make every home move amazing?

4. What do you think the biggest challenge is of your role?

The biggest challenge is keeping my teams aligned, helping them understand what is important, and why. When you are a small team, keeping everyone looped in on the ‘why’ is straightforward. When you’re leading hundreds of people, it’s much more challenging. You must be very deliberate with your communication approach and work hard to tailor it. Also, as a leader you must be prepared to repeat the message as many times as is necessary to ensure it lands at all the right levels.

5. Naturally, being at C-suite level comes with pressure — how do you deal with that?

Primarily I love what I do, so that certainly helps counter some of the pressure that comes with the role. I have also learned over the years to be kind to myself. I know I can’t do everything, and being comfortable with that is a growth exercise I have had to go through. Learning to focus on the important vs. the urgent has been critical in that growth curve for me.

As well as this, I got into running many years ago when I realised it helped manage my stress levels. To this day, I still aim to run several times a week to destress, and it never fails to help me in a positive way.

6. It’s Friday evening, what’s the last thing you do?

I have a weekly wrap meeting with my leadership team. It’s a great chance for us to get together, celebrate successes and feedback on any challenges. I also like to try (not always successfully) to clear my inbox and note any down items I need to pick up next week. After that is all done, it’s off to the fridge for a cheeky cold one and onto the weekend.

7. And finally, your favourite food?

My current favourite food has to be pizza. We have a new family ritual that formed over lockdown that includes pizza… every Saturday night. My current frontrunner for that weekly occasion is Hot & Spicy from our local pub, which we’ve been happily supporting throughout lockdown!