EMBRACING COMPLEXITY UNLEASHING VALUE
Commercial due diligence ensures a business has potential. We ensure that this potential is realised.
We work with small to mid-market PE funds to help their portfolio companies deliver their value creation plans.
Unlike our competitors, we do not have a search practice.
Helping leaders to execute means they have to trust you. Our success is based on creating high trust partnerships which we don’t believe can be done if we’re incentivised to replace a leader.
Providing someone with help is a gift.
Who would you like us to help?
We work with small to mid-market PE funds to help them make better investment decisions and realise the potential of their portfolio companies.
The following list is designed to give you a sense of what we can do at different stages of the deal cycle.
- Dave Snowden.
Inspiration, motivation and a positive mindset do not create the conditions for execution alone.
The conditions required for execution are absolute clarity on what we are supposed to do and why. A sense of focus that is maintained by an enduring and disciplined approach; and a team that is willing to be accountable and take responsibility for delivering results.
Execution is the bridge between your current situation and a new reality. It is the ability to execute well in the face of uncertainty that separates a strong portfolio leader from a world-class one.
We help leaders to create the conditions for execution and deliver their value creation plans.
What is Coaching?
Coaching is a professional relationship between a coach and a client that aims to help the client achieve specific personal or professional goals. It involves creating a ‘thinking partnership’ where a senior leader explores ideas and potential courses of action in an environment that is both supportive and challenging.
How does Coaching create the Conditions for Execution?
To execute well, you need to have a clear understanding of what you want to do and why. You also need to be able to communicate your vision and strategy effectively so that your team understand it well enough to execute it. You also need to be able to build strong relationships, manage competing priorities and make decisions based on imperfect information.
None of this is easy but coaching can make a significant difference to the effectiveness of a leader by providing the space to reflect, think and discuss ideas and potential courses of action. Typically, a coaching relationship involves a series of conversations that take place twice and month and help to address the following;
We use a variety of techniques, tools, and approaches to help clients reach their goals, and the coaching process is typically tailored to the individual needs and preferences of the client.
It's important to note that coaching is distinct from therapy or counselling. While therapy focuses on healing emotional or psychological issues, coaching is primarily focused on helping clients achieve specific goals and improve their performance primarily within the context of the working environment.
What is a Strategic Off-Site?
A strategic off-site, often referred to as a "strategic retreat" or an "offsite meeting," is a dedicated and structured event where key members of an organization's leadership team or staff gather away from their regular workplace to focus on strategic planning, decision-making, and team-building activities.
Some recent off-site locations:
How does a Strategic Off-Site create the Conditions for Execution?
A strategic off-site creates the space for the leadership to work ‘on’ the business rather than ‘in’ the business. It gives a leadership team the opportunity to consider what they are trying to do and reflect on what is working and what isn’t so that they can make good decisions about how to drive the organisation forward.
You cannot execute well unless you’re clear on what you are trying to do and why. A leadership team needs the time and space to debate ideas, disagree openly and then finally align behind delivering a strategy which they helped to develop. To use a rowing analogy, we need to be confident that everyone is clear on where we are going and confident that we are rowing the same direction.
A strategic off-site might include the following;
Typically, strategic offsites involve a combination of structured discussions, workshops, presentations, and breakout sessions. They may span a day or multiple days, depending on the complexity of the issues to be addressed and the depth of planning required.
We recommend that an organisation runs a strategic off-site once a quarter rather than on an ad-hoc basis. This ensures that the organisation stays on track and helps to instil a rhythm of consistency that cascades through any well-managed business.
A well-executed strategic offsite can play a crucial role in helping organizations chart their course, make informed decisions, and build a cohesive leadership team that is aligned behind the organization's vision and objectives
STEP is a global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, trustees and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures. As CEO I have engaged Roderic to support us for two recent off-site meetings. The first one involved the translation of our strategy into tangible milestones that would be delivered over the course of the following year. Working with my Executive team to design the agenda, he created the room for us to debate, make decisions and align what we planned to do over the course of the year. He is very good at challenging people’s natural inclination to try and do too much and encouraged us to do the few important things that would have the most significant impact.
Most recently, he facilitated our annual strategic board day with our Chairman and NEDs. This off-site required him to balance the need to create space for a conversation whilst moving us through an agenda so that we made the most effective us of our time. He demonstrated the ability to quickly understand the context and challenges facing our organisation despite having little industry knowledge. Roderic comes with my strongest recommendation and we will be using him in the future.
Roderic was first introduced to me in 2020 during my time at Merck when I was looking for someone to help facilitate and deliver the annual Global Process and Analytical Development Science Symposium of our Custom Manufacturing Services Division. The primary purpose of the symposium was to share information and learnings across teams based in the US, Germany and Switzerland. We also used the symposium to build strong relationships across geographies and help continue to develop the culture of the global teams within the division.
Rod did an excellent job of designing and running the symposium. He worked with the organizing committee helping them to design the event and then facilitated it effectively so that we achieved the objectives we’d set. The team’s work was highly technical and involved lots of experimentation and related scientific data. It can be easy for them to forget the impact that their work has on people’s lives as a different but equally important dimension. Rod did a brilliant job of finding and sharing stories that helped the team understand the impact that their work had on patients. These stories inspired the team and helped them to remember why their work is so important by bringing to life the impact it has on people around the world.
An empathetic and pragmatic leader, we have asked Rod to deliver all of our symposiums since 2020 and I look forward to continuing our professional relationship together in the future.
We have been working with Leadership Capital since 2020. Rod initially delivered a one-day session with my Executive Team on Resilience which received some excellent feedback. We subsequently invited him to support us on our Intermediary roadshow where he talked to our clients and partners about ‘Managing Uncertainty’ which was very well received.
I recently asked for Rod to support us in running a High Performing Team’s workshop. I wanted him to help me clarify the type of culture and people I wanted in my team. We settled on a ‘high freedom – high responsibility’ culture which I reinforce whenever I am talking to my executive team. Rod helped me articulate the type of environment I want to create which has allowed me to communicate my expectations to my team. Whilst only a relatively small piece of work, he has delivered significant impact into clarifying what we do and how we do it.
What is a Leadership Development Programme?
A leadership development programme, is a structured and organized initiative designed to enhance the leadership skills, capabilities, and effectiveness of individuals within an organization. These programs are typically aimed at current or emerging leaders, such as managers, supervisors, executives, or high-potential employees, and they serve to prepare these individuals for greater responsibilities and challenges in their roles.
We have run leadership development programmes for clients in a wide-range of sectors including the following;
- Private Equity – Three Hills Capital
- Banking – HSBC Business Finance
- Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals – Merck
- Tech – Amazon Web Services and Skyports
- Design and Build – Oktra
- Executive Search – Wilton and Bain
How does a Leadership Development Programme create the Conditions for Execution?
You can have a brilliant strategy created by an aligned leadership team but if you don’t have a critical mass of strong leaders in the organisation, you will never turn the strategy into a reality.
Most people in an organisation are promoted because they are strong individual performers. They are promoted and become accountable for the performance of a team but are not always taught how to deliver performance through other people. A leadership development programme gives them the skills to lead people effectively.
Our leadership development programs vary in scope, format, and duration, but they generally share several common elements:
We have delivered a range of programmes ‘in-person’ as well as online for global teams. Some of these programmes have been supported with executive coaching and mentoring support from within the organisation.
The specific content and focus of any leadership programme depends on the organization's goals and the needs of its leaders. Some of our programmes may be designed to address specific leadership challenges relevant to the industry, while others provide a more comprehensive leadership development experience.
Ultimately, the goal of our leadership programmes is to prepare individuals to lead effectively, inspire their teams, and contribute positively to the organization's success.
- The Fundamentals of Leadership and Management
- Emotional Intelligence
- Effective Communication
- Decision-making under pressure
- Managing Difficult Conversations
- Delegation and Empowerment
- Creating High Performing Teams
What is the Conditions for Execution Framework?
The Conditions for Execution Framework involves a structured and systematic approach to achieving organizational goals and strategic objectives.
The following outlines a recent approach that we applied to Boatfolk, a PE-backed portfolio company. We have also implemented an earlier version of this programme within Urenco (uranium enrichment operations) and Jaguar Land Rover (procurement department) with similar results.
This programme delivers everything you need to creation the conditions for execution.
The programme begins with the identification of a few critical objectives that are essential for the organization's success. These objectives are selected through careful analysis and the consideration of strategic priorities. We focus the organisation’s resources on the few, vital objectives that will deliver the vision.
We develop leaders who understand the context they face and are able to choose their behaviour to generate the best return for the stakeholders & the organisation over the long-term.
