Robertson Fox

Become your own Source of Inspiration

2010-06-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

We make life hard for ourselves in this country. Having worked all over the UK and in Italy before settling in Manchester I know this attitude isn't shared by our European colleagues and neither is it unique to the North West of England.

Somewhere along the line we learned that life has to be difficult; that if we are not striving for things beyond our reach then they are not worth having. We are all so busy making a living that we don’t stop to acknowledge the fact we are not making a life. We do recognise we are not having fun most of the time and we worry constantly about finding that elusive balance; but our response is to peddle harder on that hamster wheel rather than taking the time to define what makes us happy and gives us a sense of satisfaction as well as achievement in our professional and private lives.

On top of all that we then add insult to injury by refusing to let anyone help us. 'Surely I shouldn't need somebody else's help to work things out!' you cry, 'What does that say about me?' In my view it says you don't consider yourself important enough to take time out of the business, to reflect and focus on yourself. It tells me that you value the happiness and well being of others over your own – and that cannot be a good thing, for them or for you.

If you are not yet ready to engage a Business Coach who will inspire you to action, then at least take the time to become your own source of inspiration. I've created a 1-day seminar on Self-Inspiration to help you do just that. Choose a date that suits you (Wednesday 15th September, 13th October and 10th November 2010) and experience a day full of inspiring tips to help you help yourself. I'll also show you how to tap into your own resourcefulness so that you can start taking steps towards defining success on your own terms.

Current Business Climate Demands more Inspirational Leaders

2010-01-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

There's no getting away from it, the demand for inspirational leaders far outweighs supply and that can, in part, be attributed to the fact that top managers are facing sustained challenges and pressures the like of which has never been seen before in this country. In the current economic climate MDs and CEOs now have to make more, harder business decisions than ever before and there is far closer scrutiny of top managers' responsibilities and accountabilities.

So who inspires them? Where do those Executives go to find a source of inspiration which will sustain them through that scrutiny and foster business success? It is impossible for individuals acting on their own to increase their full leadership potential. So what can top executives do to progress?

I take a unique approach to leadership development which traditionally focuses on leadership team coaching, with importance being given to the team dynamics.

My focus is on individual Executives first and importance is then given to individual dynamics. I created Inspirational Leadership programmes to inspire business leaders to achieve clarity about what they want from the organisation and to explore the compatibility between individual agendas.

I last ran Inspirational Leadership 1 at the end of September 2009 and the results I have seen from those delegates has been immensely gratifying. Delegates came to the programme with their own personal objectives and their commitment to develop their self-knowledge was first class. They each left the programme having achieved those objectives and so much more.

There is evidence that many people are already benefiting from a new found authenticity; (not least the people they lead) and these business leaders are being rewarded by willing followers, as they build organisations which enjoy sustained business success. I received some wonderful feedback which included statements like:

"Aspirational and Inspirational, like a breath of fresh air, Robyn's skill and humour creates the perfect environment to succeed." And "A perfect mixture of inspiration, challenge, and motivation, made this a recipe for success."

The next Inspirational Leadership programme is running from 31st January to 3rd February 2010 from a stunning location in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. Do you have a mind to join us?

Taking the Coach

2009-12-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know the word coach originates from the 1550s and relates to a specific kind of carriage? Only important and wealthy people in the 1550s had a carriage!

These days, coaches come in all shapes and sizes. Some are of simple design with the sole purpose of carrying you from say Greater Manchester to another North West destination of your choice. You can take an Executive Coach which provides additional comforts and of course you pay a premium for that. If you're lucky it may stop off at a place near you within say Cheshire or Lancashire without you having to travel too far to catch a ride.

You will often find that is the aim of people who decide to offer business coaching. They will have worked in a particular business sector for a number of years and feel pretty knowledgeable about their role and even the industry they are in. They then have the idea it would be good to share that expertise with other unsuspecting individuals. They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and that applies more than ever to business coaching. Knowing a little about marketing, finance or project management or even having been on the receiving end of Organisational Development Strategies and Change Management initiatives does not make someone an expert in someone else's business. Who are we to tell a Chief Executive how to run their organisation? Unless you've been there, done it and made your millions then you don't know better and if you have then you'll probably be acting as a mentor to those who aspire to have what you've already achieved.

To my mind a great Coach is someone who understands people and who has a genuine curiosity about human behaviour. They are willing to take a detour into unknown territory to help their clients reach their chosen destination and they do so mindful that they are privileged to be a passenger on the client's journey, not the other way around.

A Tough Paper Round

2009-11-04T14:40:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I had a tough paper round. Growing up in a dysfunctional family (they were all doing the best they could with the resources they had available) I learned that life is difficult and you have to strive hard for everything you get.

By the time I was 11 years of age I already had the weight of the world on my shoulders and had developed complex coping mechanisms for survival. That resulted in 20 years of inauthentic behaviour as I pursued success via the corporate ladder, working hard to deliver on the agendas and expectations of various executive bosses. My own values were quashed as I compromised myself by living to those of the people to whom I felt responsible. In a nutshell, I lost myself in an effort to find success as others would define it.

I've heard it said that some of the most extra-ordinary people have led troubled lives and these days I am comfortable thinking of myself in that category. Extra-ordinary achievement has been described as: "Ordinary people willing to do Extra things" and my troubled childhood certainly gave me a strong work ethic, a high pain threshold and the determination to achieve success on my own terms. Robertson Fox is a product of that along with my desire to operate authentically in business.

The services we provide (Business Coaching; Leadership Team Coaching; Organisational Development Strategies and Change Management) have been borne out of my own search for meaning and from over a decade's worth of investment in my personal and professional development, all done on my own initiative and virtually all of it self-funded. Everything we deliver to clients across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, has a sound, practical application in business because that is something about which I have an intrinsic understanding.

I also bring to the table the courage to challenge business leaders in their thinking, a skill which is grounded in a lifetime of experiences that yielded mixed results. I find time and again that the once troubled child has a lot of insight to offer our clients and that should come as no surprise; we are all, when said and done simply little people in grown up bodies.