In talks with a company that is new to Robertson Fox, it became apparent early on that they have a strong culture of learning and development; not that this should come as a surprise.

What I found impressive however, was the Chief Executive Officer’s story. It turns out that after reading a book about leadership, he rang the author and said “I really want you to help me.” That conversation became the main driver of company culture; one where it’s okay to say “I’m not perfect as a leader; how can I develop and how can we help each other to develop the teams.”

If you’ve ever experienced this way of working then you’ll know how good it feels to be part of an environment like that. Let’s be honest, we need more confident and open-minded leaders – like this CEO – at the helm of British businesses, to ensure they thrive over the longer-term.

An entirely different take away from the meeting was the notion of an opportunity missed. Why, oh why had I not yet written that book on leadership! If I had, maybe I’d receive more ‘out of the blue’ enquiries, like this author did, and my phone would constantly ring off the hook!

Then I thought about it rationally and remembered that great opportunities come in many guises. Furthermore, we don’t all share motivation for the same things. Look at J.K. Rowling, who was turned down several times before her Harry Potter novels were finally published. When her career journey became difficult; she persevered because writing is her passion.

Whilst I do harbour aspirations to write a book or two in the future – and I have some clarity about the type of books they’ll be; my passions lie elsewhere and that’s the reason I haven’t yet made this a priority. Whether I’m missing a trick by waiting until the time is right for me; I’ll never know. What is clear to me is that I believe in what I’m doing now; and I love the challenge of working with people who don’t always like that they need me! Nevertheless, they are willing to move out of their comfort zone in order to secure the many benefits.

My sense of achievement and of adding value comes from this work; whereas going to print would give me some additional job satisfaction. Of course, to have both would feel good; and for now I’m more than happy to know I’m delivering a worthwhile service.