SECTOR FOCUS: LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Leading the way
Leadership Trust chief executive, ROB NOBLE, explores how there is life outside London with the many business success stories across the UK, who have placed learning and development at the heart of their growth plans
L
ondon is a proud city and has every right to be so as a global melting pot of international trade and business. But to suggest that nothing much happens beyond the M25, let alone out here ‘in the provinces’, would be a dangerously flawed statement. At The Leadership Trust, as a Midlands based business with global clients, we only have to look at our clients to prove that. Currently, 4.9 million SME businesses are registered in the UK, of which
about a million are based in the capital (source:
www.parliament.uk). The UK is fortunate to have so many exciting businesses, of varying sizes, based throughout the country, with many of these outside London holding market leader status on a global level. Many have committed to focusing on training and development of their staff to ensure they remain competitive and at the top of their game.
According to the latest findings from the ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM), business confidence is continuing to rise and has been sustained for the past six consecutive quarters, as the UK economic recovery gains a stronger foothold. This can only be good news for the business community, as organisations will be in a stronger position to invest and focus on the development of their workforce across the various tiers of management. Learning and personal development will help to nurture a stronger culture of effective leadership and management throughout the business community. The Leadership Trust has worked with some of the world’s most
enduring brands and organisations for almost forty years, organisations in the main who have placed a particular focus towards learning and development, even during the last two recessions, which has seen them grow from strength to strength. Investing in one’s people even in challenging economic times is a separate story however... Since 1975, we have been helping organisations to develop their leadership capabilities (whether they’re first time managers or on the board), and observing how leaders and aspiring leaders apply their learning back in the workplace. And at the Trust we make it our business to understand every client organisation and what makes it unique and ‘tick’, so that the learnings are not only contextualised but have the foundations laid for enduring success.
Client organisations recently include Ardagh Group, a global leader in the packaging solutions industry located outside of London – albeit
with several bases in the UK and an 18,000 strong personnel operation across 100 global facilities. Ardagh as an example have invested in creating a learning and development culture throughout their business, in order to instil a common corporate culture across a rapidly expanding international base of operations.
Given the size of the assignment, as you can imagine, that work is ongoing with The Leadership Trust. Other clients, with a focus on expansion, include Kwik Fit, the Caffè Nero Group, as well as a host of smaller or less well known organisations where the importance of leadership development is no less important but where perhaps the issues are slightly different. No organisation is a clone; far from it. In all of these organisations, however, the principle of sound leadership as bedrock for growth has been accepted.
When learning and development is put at the forefront of a company’s growth plans, its chances of success will be much greater, not just in the short-term, but in terms of enduring market leadership and brand respect.
The Leadership Trust works with the benefit of four decades’ experience serving literally scores of world beating truly global brands as a client base, as well as a host of successful and equally ambitious middle market companies and SMEs.
Whilst many of these have been or are London-based, more and more global and indeed truly nationwide brands in our portfolio of clients have built their brands in other regions, from Scotland to Cornwall, not least the Midlands which we have been proud to call our home since we were formed by a former member of the special forces, who himself did his world-renowned training in Hereford.
If you feel your business could benefit from leadership learning, contact The Leadership Trust today to find out more about its portfolio of development programmes. Visit:
www.leadership.org.uk Tel: 01989 767667.
Leadership Trust chief executive Rob Noble
GREATER BIRMINGHAM CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE DIRECTORY 2014/15 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220