It’s my 7th Anniversary!
It’s my 7th Anniversary!
And what a 7 years it has been. I started Hurrell associates to spend more time doing the work I love and see more of the people I love
I have been privileged to work with extraordinary organisations over the last 7 years and I am grateful for the sponsorship and access they have given me. Specific highlights have been; working with the Arla Leadership Team and seeing the phenomenal impact Arla has had, building the Asda Leadership curriculum that has supported the development of thousands of Leaders, working with the first Female 3 star General in Army history on a Leadership and culture change programme and working with Swish Fibre as it scales at unimaginable speed.
In observing the good the bad and the (occasionally) ugly across many businesses I have noticed some distinctions:
1. You really do need to put your people first. You can only pretend to care for so long, if it’s not real it won’t cut it. This matters more now than ever
2. You need to do a lot more work to communicate your strategy, priorities and plans than you think. Chances are your people don’t understand the strategy or the part they play in delivering it. Over index on this. Make your strategy and priorities as simple and compelling as possible. If you want everyone on the same page, give them the same page. Break your strategy down into quarters and galvanize your business like an army every quarter, create some energy around this, people want to be inspired and feel connected to purpose – so give them what they want!
3. The quality of your Leadership Team is the quality of your business. If you want a ‘Golden Era’ (and you are lucky if you have a few of these in your career) you need a Leadership Team that has all the right people (that means no 'd***-heads'), in the right seats, that are truly motivated in pursuit of a common purpose. Toxic relationships at the top have unimaginable ramifications
4. Looking after yourself matters more than you know. 85% of the most inspiring, impactful, focused Leaders I work with actively look after themselves. They have personal trainers, peloton bikes, villas in Bali, thinking breaks in the Yorkshire Dales, they are Iron people, they clock up more miles on a bike than Bradley Wiggin, they have great social lives and more holidays than Judith Charmers. They know that their energy becomes the energy in their business, positive, toxic, exhausted... it starts with you
5. Add more ambition and be bold. This is what you are here for. McKinsey have many great articles on how to do this well. The businesses I work with that really Lead their industry are the ones that have 1-3 major plays, that they ruthlessly go after – they push for unimaginable growth/ impact #leadership#business (and they most often achieve it)
I cannot wait to see what the next 7 years have in store.