Corporate Vision April 2017

30 CORPORATE VISION / April 2017 , The Leadership and Coaching CEO of theMonth - United Kingdomaward was recently bestowed upon The Forton Group Ltd, who deliver leadership development and coaching services around the world. We enjoyed a conversationwith the firm’s CEO, Helen Caton-Hughes, to ascertain more about her approach to leadership and the challenges she faces in her current job role. A Vision for Tangibly Better Leaders Caton-Hughes believes that leaders should feel confident and empowered, whatever challenges they face. However, as the world is complicated enough, they believe in making leadership simple and straightforward, so that people can apply it in outside of the classroom and back in the real world of work. Turning to the work of Forton, they are a firm who provide leadership development and coaching services all over the world. Their vision is for tangibly better leaders, to support more successful organisations with more fulfilled, effective, people. They certainly deliver development programmes for emerging talent, managers and senior leaders, and accredited leadership coaching programmes. Caton-Hughes tells us more about the remarkable work of the firm. Forton was established in 2002 and has been delivering leadership and coaching services for fifteen years. They celebrate their birthday in June, and are based in Rugby, Warwickshire. “We work with professionals in HR, L&D and OD, supporting change, engagement and talent programmes for organisations around the world. We work for everyone from the UN to luxury goods firms, to health organisations. Our work is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute and the International Coach Federation. Forton holds the first leadership coaching programme to be accredited by the ICF and celebrates its fifteenth year in 2017.” Forton have their own, unique, leadership coaching model and as a client recently said about them, “I have explored many coaching models and it is without doubt the best I have experienced.” Caton-Hughes adds that the firm works with over a hundred coaches, consultants and facilitators around the world and have worked on every continent, except Antarctica! They have business partners on four continents, who are also experts in the fields of leadership and coaching. As well as delivering in-person leadership development, they use web- based platforms for distance learning – both live and self- paced. “Our leadership approach is based on collaboration, where leadership is abundant and everyone can step up, take responsibility and deliver optimum performance.” A student recently said in a testimonial about the firm, “thank you for your excellent training programmes. I have learned more in the ACTP programme with the Forton Group than in every other course I have ever 1704CV01 done, put together” Caton- Hughes goes on to say. On being recognised for being the Leadership and Coaching CEO of the Month - United Kingdom accolade, Caton- Hughes says, “it is an honour for me and for the whole team for me to be recognised as the CEO of the month.” She then tells us about her day to day role as a CEO and the challenges this presents. “My role encompasses marketing, new product development, and sales support; particularly supporting our partners to be successful in their territories. We continually update our offering, to ensure that our services are cutting edge in the leadership development world. The biggest challenge has been making the complex more simple and easy to understand – ‘as simple as possible, but not simpler’ as Einstein said!” “We are also on a journey towards putting more leadership programmes online, so that busy people can prepare themselves for leadership through a systematic online programme and feel empowered to lead.” Caton-Hughes then offers her thoughts on the wider leadership and coaching industry today. “It’s becoming clearer than ever that the ‘hero leader’ is a myth. The world of work today requires a more collaborative approach to leadership than the traditional commanding style. The industry is dominated by people and organisations who teach their own ‘unique’ models of leadership, based on little or no evidence. It’s a very ‘charisma- driven’ industry at present, which is also male-dominated. “We look forward to a more inclusive, collaborative world of work and see a lot of potential for a broader range of leadership styles that flex and adapt to a more agile way of working. It’s still a huge, and growing, marketplace. “Leadership Coaching services continue to grow in demand, and we see an increase in demand for in-house leadership coaching teams for developing talented individuals, and high-value 1-1 coaching for senior leaders. Our niche is high-quality, accredited leadership coaching in both these areas.” Regarding the essential qualities for leaders and managers, Caton-Hughes says that in her own job role, she sees herself as an enabler, bringing out the best in the team around her, before elaborating on this point. “And yes, on bad days, I’m the block to their productivity, so it’s essential for me to make sure I delegate and trust them to deliver. Certainly, I work with my fellow directors to set the strategy and direction, and I’m here to coach

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http://www.hanson.co.uk/en http://www.qamentor.com/ http://www.thefortongroup.com/