Peter Pritchett
Directors Forum Group 2 enjoyed a very polished and entertaining session from Alex Alley and Paula Reid this month. Alex and Paul drew on their fascinating experiences during the 2004-5 BT Global Challenge round the world yacht race to capture the attention of the group, to entertain us and – most importantly – to drive home real and relevant leadership and team development lessons. I have seen quite a few sportsmen/adventurers as business speakers now, but these were amongst the best at making their experiences relevant to the business needs of the members present.
My group comprising MDs, CEOs, Business Leaders and Directors loved it and gave the session an overall score of 9.5 (four 10’s!) – a great result. Excellent use of video clips, smoothly delivered story and sensible break-out sessions to engage the members:- well done Alex and Paula.
My key takeaways from the session were:
- The importance of clearly articulated team values – and the need for crew-members to hold each-other and the skipper/CEO to account against these.
- Focus on “What’s Best for Boat” (i.e. results) when facing tough/unpleasant decisions.
- Vary leadership style to suit the context – sometimes from the front, sometimes alongside and sometimes behind depending upon needs of the group and situation.
- You can’t control the uncontrollable (e.g. weather) – but you can (must?) choose your attitude/response.
Alex Alley and Paula Reid
Peter Pritchett is the chairman of a number of peer group learning forums for business leaders within The Academy for Chief Executives. To find out more about this group, visit www.chiefexecutive.com/DF02. To find out more about Alex Alley and Paula Reid visit http://www.alphayachting.co.uk/leadership-and-teamwork.html
Good business leaders, like you, often feel very alone. Running a business is tough. Key decision making, company direction, clarity of strategy, personal development; it’s a huge responsibility and it’s entirely yours. Little wonder you’re sometimes sleepless in the small hours or struggling to answer those really big questions.
Who can you turn to for totally impartial advice?
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