A few months ago, I found out I was sucessful in getting on to the Loewy Leadership Programme – a two year course for a group of people picked from across the Group looking to develop themselvess.
Now – when you think leadership course, you usually think conference room at the Hilton and a plate of mayonnaise sandwiches. But lucky for me and my fellow leaders-in-waiting, the CEO of Loewy (our teacher for the two days) had a different view.
This is Leeds Castle (oddly named considering it is in Kent) and was our home for two days of mind expanding discussion, medieval banquet eating and general all round brilliant-ness.
Having worked as part of Loewy for a fair old while now, I was suprised not to recognise at least 60% of the faces round the table and was a wee bit scared at how clever they all seemed. By the end of the second day – I had to stop myself shouting “WILL YOU BE MY NEW BEST FRIEND???”.
These two days focused primarily on the theory of leadership – what does it mean, who does it well, what is power, how can you get it and use it, what is culture and how do you define it and what is a personal brand? Amongst the regular tea breaks and strolls round the grounds we debated, shouted, swore a little, got a bit drunk, got scared of ghosts, shared our souls, nibbled Jelly Beans and used loads of flip charts.
I am sure I will be writing many more posts but for now – a few titbits / hints that I will be using to make me better at work:
- Take the space – step back / away from work and think about what it is you are trying to do
- It is better if you help others see the benefit of the task you are trying to do
- A lot of your day is spent doing things you don’t need to do – identify what those things are and stop it
- Turn off your emails when you are working on something important
- Spend your time achieving your objectives – everything else is a waste
I cannot wait for the next installment, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to take part and to the rest of my team for covering my work whilst I expanded my mind – I hope they see the ROI before too long.

















