Leader-Connect Founder Neil Jurd OBE confirmed as speaker for Chamber’s Conference Cumbria 2024
Set to take place in Kendal on 3rd October, Conference Cumbria brings together a range of speakers for an event on the theme of ‘Together Towards Tomorrow’ highlighting the collaborative nature of the Cumbrian Business Community.
The latest speaker announced for the event is leadership expert, Neil Jurd.
Neil is the author of The Leadership Book, a TEDx speaker, and founder of training organisation and video platform Leader-Connect. Neil believes leadership can be easily taught, easily learned, and easily applied. Neil specialises in leadership development, and his company work with a range of organisations including Sanofi, University of Sheffield and BDP Singapore Ports.
Neil is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and recipient of both British Citizen Award and the OBE. Neil previously served as an army officer: he was an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and he led a Gurkha unit on operations in Iraq. Neil lives in Cumbria with his wife Macarena and their three children.
In this talk at Conference Cumbria, Neil will explain all you need to know about leadership (and it isn’t much). Drawing on ideas from his bestselling ‘The Leadership Book’ he will explain that it really all comes down to ‘connection and direction’ – building positive relationships and being clear what you are trying to achieve. And Neil will also show how leaders need to ‘Pause and Allow’ – taking time to think and being brave enough not to meddle. This is an approach to leadership where leaders stay out of loops. Forget charismatic leaders at the heart of the action, sometimes the best place for a leader to be is somewhere else, and tongue-biting is a useful skill.
Tickets are available to purchase from the Chamber’s website and are charged at £65 +VAT for members and £80 +VAT for non-members, exhibition space can also be purchased with tickets.
With thanks to our sponsors: Cumberland Council, Westmorland & Furness Council, Leo Group, David Allen and Dodd & Co.
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is Cumbria’s leading business organisation, working actively with businesses of all sizes and sectors throughout the county to support their growth and prosperity through a mix of commercial and funded activities. The Chamber also operates under its Cumbria Business Growth Hub and Made in Cumbria brands. As a membership organisation the Chamber is owned and governed by its business members.
“Our mission is empower potential start-ups, businesses and the people who work in them to be the best they can be, working together to achieve growth and prosperity for all our communities and make Cumbria the best place to live and work.”
Leader-Connect Founder, Neil Jurd OBE, is thrilled to join the judging panel for this year’s Institute of Leadership Awards!
Don’t miss your opportunity to shine a spotlight on leadership excellence in your organisation. Nominate yourself, someone you know, or an organisation deserving recognition here – https://iol.rsvp.gther.com/nominate-today/
Don’t delay – nominations close on Thursday 5th September!
In the first of what we hope will become regular series of short interviews with Business Leaders, we are pleased to welcome Becky Hewes of “Handpicked Wines” to get her views on the leadership in her company. We asked Becky a few short questions and this is what she had to say:
Tell us why you chose to set up and run a wine company?
I have always worked in the wine trade. My first job after university was managing a restaurant where I completed my initial WSET qualifications. I thrived and loved learning the theory behind wine and particularly excelled on the tasting exams. I used this job to save up enough money to travel to New Zealand where I worked for a winemaker in Hawkes Bay (and today, we sell their wines). Since then, I have worked a harvest in Champagne, blended wines in the Languedoc and worked for some of the most respected UK wine importers, wholesalers and retailers.
During the 1st lockdown I decided to volunteer for redundancy, seizing the opportunity to set up my own business. I had been putting cases of wines together for friends for years, friends that were stuck in a rut with their wine buying and wanted to get out of their comfort zone and try something new.
I was also already informally selling Wedding Gift Cases, which to this day are hugely popular and remain unique in the UK. The concept being that we pick a case of wines to age with the couple, that they can open and enjoy on specific anniversaries.
I also loved the idea of setting up a wine subscription service focused solely on the wine. Our research had told us that people were sick of big sales pitches from the big companies, and fed up being patronised with offers and ‘free gifts’ (that they did not want). Our customers value great wines, great service, at great prices, all year round – gimmick free, easy to amend or cancel allowing them to be fully in control.
How would you summarise your leadership style?
I’m pretty laid back and try not to get involved unless I need to, either because I feel I can add some value to the situation or there is an issue that hasn’t been addressed. I believe in trusting my team and empowering them to make decisions. Most of all I try to always act with integrity. This is very much one of the core values of our business.
What do you enjoy about being the boss?
I love wine, I love working with small and interesting producers, and I love the stories behind these wines.
I love going to tastings or visiting producers abroad and being able to decide there and then which wines I am going to list, without having to go through 2 departments to get them approved.
However, I am known for getting carried away and do sometimes need reigning in! This also means that the buck stops with me – if I get carried away and buy a pallet of unheard of, quirky wine that then sits in the warehouse for 6 months and we can’t sell it.
How do you look after your employees?
I think successful businesses run on happy customers and happy employees. So firstly I treat my team with respect as humans. I try to be consistent with my team and to act with integrity.
Is there anything you don’t enjoy about being a leader?
Well, I am not a natural entrepreneur or risk-taker, so I am constantly worrying.
I also find it hard to switch off and am in fact writing this from Sicily whilst on holiday. As the owner of a small business, there is so much to do and I never stop working.
In terms of leadership, I try to always keep my integrity.
What do you do to develop as a leader?
As the business grows, this is something I am going to have to prioritise. At the moment, my biggest challenge as the owner of a small business is definitely finding the best way for me to take a few hours off. I love tennis and play in both friendly and county leagues – having regular matches really helps me, I can’ t take my phone on court!
I’m a big fan of coaching as a tool to help me develop. I find it useful to have someone hold up a mirror and help me to reflect upon previous experiences. It’s far more powerful for me to discover the answer for myself than to have someone tell me their opinion.
To check out the excellent wines available, visit Handpicked Wine Box and, if any take your fancy, use the code LEADING10 for a 10% discount on orders over £85 valid until 30 Sep 24.
If you have a wedding coming up and are stuck for a gift, how about one of these for the happy couple: Wedding Wine Gifts
There is a strong link between leadership and risk. Effective leaders take calculated risk in order to achieve significant objectives. Taking calculated risk isn’t the same as putting £15 into a fruit machine, it is more like a well-informed and well-trained surgeon making a decision to operate in order to save or improve life.
Where the people at the head of the organisation are unable to take risk, there is unlikely to be growth. Last week I spent quite a day with Craig Mathieson, a very accomplished explorer who founded and leads the Polar Academy. Every year Craig takes a group of 30 young people on an arctic expedition to Greenland, he has been running the Polar Academy for 9 years. Craig and his team deliberately select the young people who most need the experience; in many cases victims of domestic and sexual violence, bullying and poverty with a significant number so hurt they are on suicide watch, and he puts them through a serious of calculated and well-managed risks.
The selection process is incredibly demanding with one test requiring trainees to tie 3 knots consecutively whilst say in an upturned kayak in a swimming pool. Be honest, you probably wouldn’t want to do that, but amazingly no trainee has ever failure the test. Then months of hard training, much of it dragging tyres along beaches or through undulating woodland, culminates with a gripping helicopter ride over icy seas to get to Tasilaq, from where they embark on 10 days of unsupported arctic travel in the wild and polar bear inhabited interior of Greenland. And here is the thing, for every young person who has been through the Polar Academy, the experience has been transformational – the experience changes the trajectory of their lives. Craig talks about them ‘leaving their darkness on the ice’ – a unique moment for every team member where they make the mental breakthrough to a better future. I should also add that every year Craig finds the funding to keep the organisation running – the young people and their families don’t pay a penny.
So last week Craig told his story as part of Senior Leadership Team retreat I was running (we have done this a couple of times), and then we spent four hours drawing out the lessons from Craig’s way of working. We talked about the importance of trust, of people being very honest about how they feel (the young people keep a diary, and every evening share their diaries), and in always looking for the next objective.
But now, a few days on, for me the standout point is that without a willingness to take calculated risk, none of this would have happened. I wonder how you view risk in your organisation or business? Without any risk, things decline – slowly, but certainly.
And I think this principle applies in every walk of life, we need a willingness to step into the unknown – but to do so with the right people, the right preparation, and the right support.
If you are interested in Craig’s work then you’ll find a BBC Scotland documentary called ‘Arctic Academy’ which covered a full year with the Polar Academy.
I have written more about decision making in ‘The Leadership Book”.
It is always nice to appear in the local press especially when it is recognising our recent success in the Business Awards UK.
Leader Connect scooped the ‘Business Training and Education of the Year 2024 for Cumbria’ at the Business Awards UK’s Business Training and Education Regional Awards.
Congratulations to Paul Jones for attaining a “Certificate of Achievement” in the Festival of Learning Awards!
Paul was entered for his work as Course Director on the Leader Connect Leadership Development Course with the University of Sheffield. Paul directs the innovative experiential learning course for leaders on the University staff, as well as delivering a series of online leadership development sessions.
Student feedback for Paul’s work, and his coaching work is always exceptional. Comments like the ones below are normal for Paul:
“Brilliant course, brilliant session leaders – it was an absolute pleasure! Thank you to Paul.”
“Paul was able to identify areas I was struggling with and challenge my thinking – he drove me to re-evaluate the previous learnings and apply them where appropriate.”
“Paul has a brilliant way of clarifying things and breaking down real world problems so that you can reflect on them and apply some of the theory that we discuss to help add insight and context.
Leader-Connect is pleased to announce that we have added the “Knowing Self Knowing Others” Podcast hosted by Dr Nia D Thomas FRSA to our collection! Nia is a fantastic host and we grateful to have her aboard.
The first edition available is “Finding Balance: Leadership, Burnout and Culture” with Sofia Ponte. In this edition, Sofia shares her incredible journey from starting as a hardware engineer to becoming a leader in program management and digital.
Leader-Connect is very proud and pleased to have won in the UK Business Award’s 2024!!
After being shortlisted, we had a nervous wait to find out the results and were very pleased to have won in the “Business Training and Education” Category for the Cumbria Region.
This is special recognition for all our staff and we also thank our clients whose excellent feedback contributed to our success.
Our brand new and “free” Leader-type quiz is now available to all!
To lead well you need a good understanding of your own personality and in high-performing teams that same level of understanding extends to team members – understanding of themselves and of other team members. In teams where people understand and support each other, there is very little friction.
This simple online assessment tool is loosely based on the Merrill-Reid Social Styles model – as explained in Neil Jurd’s ‘The Leadership Book‘.
Your answers will combine to position you on the matrix – you will see your position when you have completed and submitted your answers.
Based on your answers this tool will position you in one of the following quadrants: Driver, Expressive, Amiable or Analyst.
Have a try at the link below and see your “leader type”:
This was a very rough test, more questions would have generated a more robust result – and if you are interested in a more detail psychometric assessment for you or your team, this is something Leader-Connect can do for you – we often use psychometric profiling in support of leadership coaching and executive team development. We tend to use the very detailed 16 PF tool for this work. You can also find much more about the Social Styles model and other aspects of leadership and team development in the best-selling ‘The Leadership Book’ by Neil Jurd OBE.
Leader-Connect founder and owner, Neil Jurd OBE recently had his article “6 from the Best” published in the Times magazine. Neil’s top 6 leadership tips are:
Clear Purpose
Minimise Status
Allow rather than control
Work that matters
See people
Don’t just work
If you have a Times subscription, then you can read the article here:
