Change Insights

Driving along the stunning North Wales coast line, the sun was out (the shades were on!) as we excitedly chatting about what the day ahead had in store, we had that feeling it was going to be good! 

When we were asked to come along, mingle and present to nearly 200 high growth businesses on ‘Leading Confidently’ we jumped at the chance (but more about that later!). The buzz in the room at the ION Leadership & Trade Conference in Llandudno was infectious, hundreds of ambitious business leaders, all there with a purpose of learning, sharing and connecting with each other around the topic of Leadership. We spent the day soaking up the wealth of expertise, insight and knowledge in the room, and as we like to share here are some of our ‘stand-outs’ (in no particular order):

Business Branding – The inspiring Sid Madge (Mad Hen) delivered his six key points to great brand management, highlighting that most businesses promote their products/services rather than value, and that the key to doing this well starts with being very clear on ‘What’s your why?’ – The Golden circle by Simon Sinek. We also learnt that 95% of our decisions are based upon emotion over logic – wow!! The lesson: Connect with your customers through your purpose (why), passion and value to effectively build your brand.  As a leader, how do you connect with your people through heart and passion – think like Richard Branson!

‘The Law of the Lid’ – The engaging Darren Lawrenson (Dasala) shared with us John Maxwell’s law, which tells us that a ‘leader’s lid’, his or her maximum ability to lead, will determine the potential of the team. Think for a moment on a scale of 0-10, and as a Leader we stick at 7 then our teams can never get passed 6! The lesson: As Leaders we need to keep raising our own ability, moving up the scale and creating the void that enables teams to also step up – if not, our lack of development and progress will halt that of our teams!

Curious Leadership – The very curious and empowering Graham Dobbins (Perception) challenged us to be more authentic as Leaders, knowing when to Push and Pull to suit different situations. He highlighted that TRUST is critical, built upon Credibility, Reliability and Intimacy as a Leader, and is lessoned by the perception of a Leaders ‘self-interest’.  The lesson: Trust in leaders is eroded when we are seen to have our own self-interest at the heart of what we do – create win-win goals and relationships with others, and be clear on what is in it for those in our teams (not just ourselves, or our businesses)!

So what was our contribution to the party, ‘Confidence in Leadership’ – the ‘C’ of our 6Cs that is talked about the least but often has the biggest impact! From the feedback on the day, the biggest take-away’s were:

Confidence is the mortar for great Leadership. We can obtain and learn about the other foundations for Leadership but without confidence and belief, we can’t really reach our true potential – our lid!! Confidence is situation based and can change within moments – the trick is to ‘work-out’ on confidence, as you would by training to be physically fit and healthy.

Our Inner Chatter impacts on our ability to try new things. We introduced our two friends Bob & Sally! Bob fills us up with negative, highly-charged, can’t-do thoughts, whereas Sally brings optimism and a can do attitude. Knowing who is in ‘town’…quietening ‘Bob’ and listening to ‘Sally’ more was the message!

Bouncy Leadership is a great trait to have. Business Leadership isn’t a smooth ride and it starts with accepting that, along with having the ability to rationally respond and ‘bounce-back’ in order to keep moving forwards with pace. Perspective is also key – after a set-back, ask yourself will it matter in 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months?

As we travelled back up the A55 (sun now setting!) we reflected on the passion and energy surrounding business growth in North Wales.  We had also heard from two fantastic and truly inspiring local high-growth businesses, (Cath Harrison at JVP Recruitment and Sean Taylor at Zip World), who had both participated on the previous Leadership programme led by Bangor University (LEAD Wales).  They clearly demonstrated what can be achieved when you take the time out to think, learn and invest in your Leadership skills, and long may their successes continue!

It was a productive and fun day and one we will not forget for a while…although leaving us slightly green-eyed at the fabulous scenery all of these people live and work in every day!

The next ION Leadership Programme is commencing soon, and if you would like any further information about how ION can support you and your teams please click here: http://ionleadership.co.uk/