Today I find myself in Boston, USA. Twenty years ago, I sailed into Boston at the end of the first leg on a life changing journey as a Skipper in the BT Global Challenge round the world yacht race, dubbed as the “world’s toughest yacht race”.
That was one hell of a journey, and so it has been ever since. It was The Perfect Storm in so many ways. In fact, we set sail from Southampton in the UK only a week or so after that film had been released, and although I implored my crew not to watch it, they all did!!
The perfect storm I mention was the coming together of 3 key elements in my work;
Firstly, I learnt so much about leadership, team work, myself and how to bring it all together. I have so many incredible stories to tell about what can be achieved by normal folk when committed and aligned.
Secondly, I was very lucky that a documentary was made of the race, so I have some extraordinary photographs and TV quality videos of storms, calms, teamwork, crashes and hugely emotional times on our journey, our odyssey.
And thirdly, under the guidance of a brilliant UK consultancy, Inspiring Performance led by Andrea Bacon, both Henley and Harvard business schools joined in a phenomenal study of the leadership ability of the Skippers. It was a massive undertaking that lasted the duration of the race, before and beyond, and exposed all my leadership failings, and some successes I am pleased to say!
So I have the stories, the images and the analysis that has offered me a new and exciting career as a global keynote speaker, a top team coach and the facilitator of transformation. And what a journey that has been. I have met and worked with some extraordinary people – business and community leaders, teachers, coaches, experts in sleep, nutrition, neural physiology, high performance, leadership, emotional intelligence, mindfulness and so many more. All their advice, guidance and brilliance has fashioned my work, inspired my book (Compassionate Leadership) and are within the core of my online Compassionate Leadership Academy.
Thank you, my crew, for helping me on my leadership journey of discovery.
Thank you all for being my partners in learning.
Thank you all for being the inspiration for compassionate leadership.
Join the journey: www.compassionateleadership.academy
