Traditional management models need to be flipped upside down in order to deal with the pace of change and technology, mortgage leaders have warned.

Speaking on a panel at MIT Live this morning, Lloyds Banking Group head of intermediaries Esther Dijkstra said that in order to succeed, leadership teams should operate like a “flotilla of speedboats” rather than taking a “captain of the ship” top down approach.

Dijkstra said: “In traditional leadership models you see a sort of pyramid shape.

“But with the transformation that we are seeing in the industry and technology and the pace of change, you have to empower your people at the front end to take decisions.

“They will need to have the expertise so that they can make fast-paced, data-driven decisions and make changes really fast.

“So I think it’s flipping that model, so that there’s no longer the captain of the ship.

“It’s more a flotilla of speed boats where you need someone in each boat to be empowered to take their own decisions.”

Mortgage Advice Bureau chief executive Peter Brodnicki stressed the importance of recruiting team members who think differently.

He said: “The big mistake that I think we all make is trying to bring people in that are like you.

“And, you know, the last thing that I should do in my business is bring in anyone that’s like me.

“So we need to think about what our businesses need and bring on people who challenge us.

“Our chief technology officer, she really challenges me. She makes me think. She’s completely different from me and that’s exactly what my business needs.”