Spotlight on Iain Logan

We know it’s the people who make the difference to smart/tasking. That’s why each month, we shine a light on one of our team, to share what they do and give you a sense of how they work, what drives them, and what they bring to our clients. 

This month’s spotlight is on Iain Logan , one of our newest Client Partners. With decades of experience across telecoms and tech, Iain has led transformation programmes, commercial functions, and multi-million-pound deals, always with a clear, structured approach that helps clients move forward with confidence. 

Outside of work, you’ll find him coaching the next generation of talent (on the football pitch) and championing community causes – as well as adventuring with his dog!    Let’s get to know him... 

1. Let’s start with a quick intro – tell us a bit about your career background and what brought you to smart/tasking. 

I have worked predominantly in the IT/Telecoms sectors for 25+ years. My career started out as a Finance Analyst; however, my focus swiftly trended towards more of the commercial functions. I have held director-level roles covering Sales Operations, Bid Management, Pricing, Pre-sales, and Contract Management, and it was the ability to bring this wide set of experiences to more organisations that brought me to smart/tasking. 

2. You’ve worked across some big transformation programmes. What’s one lesson you’ve learned about making change stick? 

The communication of the change; a lot of thought is given to the high-level messaging, but to make it stick, how the change is communicated needs serious consideration for it to be felt as it cascades through the business. The creation of feedback loops and listening sessions ensure that people feel heard and not ignored as changes are implemented. 

3. Do you have a particular mindset or framework you use when helping clients make sense of complicated issues? 

My approach is to be open, curious, and understanding, always. This allows for the issues to be fully explored and breaks through any bias and preconceived outcomes. Often, complications need to be broken down into constituent parts that are then simpler to understand and make the issue easier to solve. 

4. Where do you think businesses most often go wrong when trying to deliver change? 

One element that happens consistently is that change absorbs more than necessary. Often, good current working practices that don’t need to change are thrown away in the name of ‘transformation’. This, again, is where employees involved in the change can become disenfranchised by being asked to change much more than is needed. 

5. If you could give one piece of advice to leaders trying to navigate complexity, what would it be? 

When embracing complexity, I think it’s really important to spend time in the situation to ensure it is fully understood. Often initial challenges will have happened already, and investing time ensures that there is absolute clarity on what changes are required and what the knock-on implications of any change will create. 

6. And finally… how do you recharge when you’re not working? 

There are two main activities I enjoy. I coach an U13 girls’ football team, and it is brilliant to see their development season after season. Although for a proper recharge (as the coaching can be very noisy), I like to escape to the country or seaside with my fox-red Labrador.