The story behind The Lonely Leader Brand

A question we often get asked is what the story is behind the creation of the ‘The Lonely Leader’ brand.

As we created our coaching, training and mentoring business, there were three key drivers to deciding on this brand based on my personal experiences and those of other leaders within my network.

THE ISOLATION OF LEADERSHIP

As a former chief executive operating in the intensity of the sports industry I experienced the isolation of leadership.

In my experience far too many leaders still labour under the misconception that they must have all the answers at all times across all areas of their organisation. Indeed to show vulnerability of any kind is perceived as a weakness. When pressure builds they internalise it, a mistake I made for many years.

The top global leaders talk about the power of their ‘Mastermind’ (a concept championed by Napoleon Hill in “Think and Grow Rich”) - the network of people they surround themselves with to learn and draw support from.

Leadership does not have to be lonely. We provide training, coaching and mentoring to leaders to address this issue and to support them in establishing their own Mastermind group.

NEGLECTING OUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

Naturally all leaders must have a keen external focus. They have a plethora of stakeholders they must manage including staff, customers, suppliers and in some cases shareholders and the media.

However many leaders develop an almost exclusively external focus and forget that in order to create quality leadership on the outside it is essential to look within at what they need to grow and develop. As a consequence of neglecting this internal focus they compromise their performance and fulfilment.

I was guilty of this for many years during my tenures as a chief executive. There were always so many issues on the to do list it felt indulgent to ever take time to focus on my own growth and development. I find this mindset prevalent in leaders and as such their needs have been left neglected.

We work with clients to change the perception from viewing development and growth as a luxury to a necessity. We help them ensure there is a constant focus on knowledge acquisition and the development of skills and habits that can create and critically sustain high performance.

DRAWING OUT THE NEGLECTED INNER LEADER / FAILING TO RECOGNISE THE INNER LEADER IN ALL OF US

So many individuals have a belief that they are not leaders and cannot lead. I fundamentally disagree with this position and believe that there is a leader left unexplored inside all of us.

Leadership is about influence. The reality is if you have one follower on social media you have influence. If you ever present or contribute to meetings at work you have influence. If you are a parent you have a huge amount of influence. We are presented with numerous opportunities to influence people each and every day.

We work with clients to explore their inner leader, to draw it out. We change the mindset and share the tools to show that there is leadership ability inside all of us.

Wherever you are on your leadership journey we would love to support you. If you would like to explore our offering in more detail please email the team at hello@thelonelyleader.co.uk