Outstanding Leadership

Shaping outstanding leaders

Underpinning the success of every organisation is outstanding leadership. And whilst debate continues as to how leaders become outstanding, we follow the philosophy that leaders develop through Example (the role models you choose); from Experience (how you learn from what you do) and from Education (the training and coaching you receive and the books you read). We lead Executive Coaching programmes as well as Leadership Team Development Workshops and here’s how we can help:

  • Getting the basics right
  • Positive Energy for Performance
  • Inspirational Leadership
  • Customer Focused Leadership
  • Leading Through Change
  • Leader as Coach

Getting the Basics Right

With a focus on self awareness, we invest considerable time helping your leadership team put in place their fundamental ‘building blocks’. That is, we help them understand their strengths and their development needs through:

  • Observation and coaching
  • 360 degree feedback
  • An understanding of personal values and drivers alongside desired future direction.

We use this information to co-create an individual LDP – a Leadership Development Profile.

Positive Energy for Performance

As the demands of business become ever greater – it seems that the only solution is to work longer and longer hours. As a business leader, you give your team direction and set the example that they follow. So, through 1:1 coaching or team programmes, we’ll work with you to increase your positive energy – enabling you to lead dynamically and be a role-model with a fully engaged, healthy and resilient style. Typical sessions include:

  • Energy Assessment –a thorough evaluation of how you currently live and work and includes a physical health assessment and a confidential report
  • Personal programmes to increase your physical energy – working on recovering energy, maximising your strength and endurance, increasing flexibility and optimising your nutrition
  • Stress and Resilience Strategies – understanding where your healthy stress balance lies; controlling triggers that contribute to negative stress and developing future resilience strategies
  • Enhancing your mental energy – defining and living by values; focusing your mind to make the most of your time, understanding how you feel in order to proactively use your emotions; identifying and amplifying your strengths.

Inspirational Leadership

Ask any employee what they want from a leader and you’ll hear the word ‘inspiration’. Ask your staff again what they get from their leadership team and studies show you will more often hear ‘knowledge’ and ‘ambition’. Yet to get extraordinary things done in extraordinary times, leaders must inspire optimal performance. This does not mean being overtly charismatic, but it does entail the ability to communicate in a meaningful way; to involve people in change; give people the freedom and support to get on with their job; show appreciation through an extensive celebration of success; promote a culture where people value themselves, each other, the company and the customers. That’s what we’ll help you develop.

Customer Focused Leadership

Organisations that consistently focuses on the needs of the people who buy their products and services are more positively regarded by their customers. Consequently, they are loyal to your brand and more likely to refer you to their friends and family.

We help leadership teams ensure their focus remains firmly on the customer – and not just in terms of strategy but in touch with the very real needs and wants of the people who buy your products and services. Our ‘8 Principles to Customer Focused Leadership’™ ensure that leaders can design your organisation’s customer experience; engage with the physical and emotional process; improve the internal customer journey and answer the ten most important questions for a customer focused leader.

Leading Through Change

Forming part of our Courageous Leadership programme, this unique course helps leaders address the psychological aspects of leading people through change and transition. Typically, change programmes manage the situational factors (e.g. the structure, the dynamics and the timing) whilst the mental and emotional issues, that commonly derail a sustainable change programme, get ignored. The programme explores the differences between change and transition; the behaviours that people need to ‘let go’ of; leading people through uncertainty; role modeling emotional resilience and inspiring people to look towards a new future.

Leader as Coach

An intensely practical programme, it has enabled leaders to positively transform their leadership approach with sustainable proven results. Taking a solution-focused approach, which is business relevant for leaders, delegates practice coaching with an actor, a peer and a team member. Giving and receiving feedback is an integral part of the programme with conversations scaling from the ‘easy, positive conversation’ to the difficult behavioural conversations that are so often avoided. Leaders are supported after the programme with additional observations and feedback. Recent delegate comments included ‘highly beneficial’; ‘it’s a must’; ‘worth every moment of my time’.

"Having worked with Lucy, Steve and the team from MindSpring on a number of very successful programmes in the past, they were an obvious choice to develop and deliver our new middle management development programme here at TFSUK. 

They brought a  wealth of experience and a high level of engagement in designing a programme that uniquely fits our needs.  The programme covers both the personal and business requirements of transitioning people into more senior and strategic management roles. 

In the classroom, they are both engaging and supremely credible, their ability to realise the topics to the environment the delegates work in is so valuable in embedding the knowledge.  The ‘always available to you’ approach of the support they provide to the delegates (and to me as course leader) is second to none, as are the supporting tools and materials for when they return to the workplace to implement their learnings.

People are already asking when the next cohort will commence and we are not even half way into the current course!"

Development & Training Manager, Toyota Financial Services UK Ltd

“Mindspring have delivered a first class leadership programme here at Principality Building Society. Each of the sessions is built using a blend of cutting edge materials that are delivered by extremely experienced management professionals. The intervention is making a real difference to the dynamics and effectiveness of the senior leadership team, as we see the learnings being applied to both simple and more holistic issues within the organisation. We are already looking at how we can work with Steve and Lucy to develop our next leadership programme for the next tier down in the business.”

Group Learning and Development Manager, Principality Building Society

"Leader as Coach was a brilliant programme! The coaching models were hugely valuable and much needed structure as my style has developed organically over time. Pressure testing these with role plays was an essential part of the experience as it highlighted good/bad habits and how to use the model more effectively. I was also able to use these to practice forthcoming discussions with colleagues so time well invested and the outcome will be better as a result. There was a safe environment, time for questions, seeking individual support and most importantly practicing! The two days flowed really well and opportunity to spend time with Lucy learning, building capability and confidence was hugely valuable. Much appreciated – thank you!"

Account Controller, McCurrach UK

“An excellent facilitator and trainer, Lucy gets the job done and ensures excellent communication throughout which works for our diverse audience of experienced solicitors. Mindspring was able to understand our business and relate the learning to our particular organisation. As a result, our staff found both Lucy's training style and the business development course content highly effective. We would not hesitate in recommending mindspring.”

Training Manager, Hugh James
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