By Katrina Paget, Partner and Head of the Regulation and Professional Standards Practice, GatenbySanderson
The leadership imperative at the heart of regulatory reform
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee’s report, “Time is money: How regulators can support growth”, is a clear signal to the market. The UK’s ability to attract investment and drive economic growth is increasingly shaped by how regulation is led, not just how it is designed.
The government has set a target saving of £5.6bn from the current £22.2bn regulatory administration costs.
Why pace has become a defining leadership challenge
A central theme of the report is that delays and complexity within regulatory processes are impacting investment decisions. In a globally competitive environment, capital flows to markets that offer speed of decision-making, clarity of process and predictability of outcomes.
£70 Billion is the estimated total operational and administrative cost of navigating regulatory frameworks across major UK industries.
(Independent policy briefings by the Centre for Policy Studies).
Where these are absent, even strong policy frameworks can be undermined. For leaders, this elevates pace from an operational concern to a strategic priority. It requires a shift in mindset, from ensuring procedural completeness to enabling timely, confident decisions. In practice, this means removing unnecessary layers of approval, being explicit about decision timeline and holding teams accountable for delivery, not just diligence.
Pace, in this context, is not about rushing. It is about creating momentum with control, a leadership discipline that relies on clarity, alignment and confidence at the top of the organisation.
From risk aversion to risk maturity
The report highlights a familiar dynamic in that regulators are often perceived as overly cautious, shaped by scrutiny and asymmetrical accountability. The consequence is a system that can default to delay rather than decision. However, regulatory leadership today requires something more nuanced than simply “taking more risk”. It requires risk maturity and the ability to distinguish between material and manageable risks, make decisions with incomplete information and support innovation while maintaining public trust. Crucially, this is as much about culture as it is about frameworks. Leaders set the tone for challenge, judgement and innovation.
In GatenbySanderson’s work across regulated environments, we find that the most effective leaders are those who balance a deep sense of public responsibility with a clear understanding of economic impact, what we often describe as a social heart with a commercial head.
This behavioural quality is one of 12 within our Altitude model of public sector leadership. Drawing on data from over 8,000 leadership assessments, we bring a robust evidence base to our understanding of public sector and regulatory leaders, highlighting both their strengths and areas for development. Across the wider public sector, and within regulation in particular, Social Heart, Commercial Head often presents a challenge. However, regulatory leaders tend to demonstrate notable strengths in curiosity and agility. While balancing financial imperatives with social impact can be difficult, these strengths point to a clear capacity, and appetite, for learning, adaptation, and progress.
Clarity and certainty: the currency of investment
Another consistent message from the report is the importance of clarity, in guidance, setting expectations and decision-making. For businesses navigating complex regulatory systems, uncertainty is often more damaging than constraint. Where requirements are unclear or interpreted inconsistently, organisations hesitate, delay or redirect investment – this places a premium on leadership communication.
In my experience high-performing regulatory leaders are able to translate complex policy into clear, actionable guidance, engage early and proactively with stakeholders and provide consistency in decision-making. Fundamentally, clarity builds confidence and confidence unlocks investment. In a system under pressure to deliver growth, this is not a “soft” skill, it is a core leadership capability.
Whilst curiosity and agility are clear strengths among regulatory leaders, the data also highlights a potential derailment risk linked to their imaginative capacity. The very appetite for ideation that drives innovation can become counterproductive when it eclipses the need to bring others along with clarity and coherence.
This is not an uncommon pattern at senior levels; indeed, it is often these strengths that have enabled leaders to progress. However, when overplayed, particularly in high-pressure environments, it can dilute focus and create ambiguity. In this context, the discipline of maintaining clear, consistent messaging becomes critical. It is this balance, between imagination and clarity, that ultimately determines a leader’s effectiveness.
System Leadership
The report also reflects the growing complexity of the UK’s regulatory landscape, where multiple bodies interact across sectors, often with overlapping responsibilities. This creates friction, for businesses, regulators and for government.
With over 60 regulators and growing compliance demands, the opportunity is to lead across systems, not just organisations.
Addressing this is not solely a structural challenge, it is a leadership one. Increasingly, regulatory leaders must operate as system leaders who can collaborate across institutional boundaries, align with wider government objectives and be able to influence in areas where they don’t have formal authority. Some leadership qualities, such as a strong relationship-building capability, political and organisational awareness and a willingness to prioritise collective outcomes over institutional silos are critical here.
The ability to lead through the system and not just within it, is fast becoming a defining characteristic of effective leadership in the regulatory sector.
Almost half of regulatory leaders in our dataset excel at building relationships and engendering trust, indicating a clear intent to work collaboratively and sustain partnerships over time. However, fewer demonstrate the same strength in influencing and inspiring others. Bridging this gap, moving from connection to impact, is part of the challenge in leading effectively through complex systems.
What this means for boards and executive teams
Taken together, the report’s findings point to a shift in what effective regulatory leadership looks like.
Four capabilities stand out:
- Strategic clarity
Leaders must interpret broad growth agendas and translate them into clear organisational priorities and trade-offs.
- Judgement under pressure
Operating in high-scrutiny environments requires confident decision-making, often without perfect information.
- Pace and delivery focus
Ensuring that decisions are made, and communicated, at a speed that supports investment and innovation.
- System influence
Working across government, regulators and industry to reduce friction and unlock collective impact.
These are not technical competencies, they are behavioural and they can be assessed, developed and strengthened.
Final reflection: growth will follow leadership
The “Time is Money” report is ultimately a call for the regulatory system to operate differently: with greater pace, greater clarity, and greater confidence in decision-making. While structural reform will play a role, the single most powerful lever is leadership. At a time when the UK is competing for global capital and innovation, the effectiveness of regulatory leadership will directly influence economic outcomes.
The challenge, and opportunity, is clear: to lead in a way that balances protection with progress, and caution with confidence.
How we can support
At GatenbySanderson, we partner with regulators and public service organisations to identify, assess and develop leaders capable of operating in complex, high-accountability environments.
If you are reflecting on how your organisation can:
- Improve decision-making pace and confidence
- Strengthen leadership capability at board or executive level
- Build a culture of proportionate, informed risk-taking
- Navigate increasing system complexity and change
We would welcome a conversation.
Contact our Regulation Practice to explore how we can support your leadership priorities.
Or Katrina Paget direct at katrina.paget@gatenbysanderson.com