Corporate Leadership Mentoring

Mentor for the Lucca Leadership Programme, enabling young people of all nationalities and backgrounds to make change happen for the benefit of their communities and nations. www.luccaleadership.org Why mentoring? The ideal form of guidance if you find yourself at a crossroads in your career or in your life. Offering practical, directive solutions. A timely intervention for executives who find themselves under excessive pressure. A completely non-judgemental process. Flexible enough to fit into any work or lifestyle schedule. A totally confidential service. Corporate performance – like any other form of performance – is frequently impeded by negative self-beliefs that stop us from accessing our true potential. How many managers are out there, right now, who are avoiding making tough decisions because of emotional factors such as fear of change, fear of the consequences of failure – or even, fear of success? Equally, how many CEO’s are there who are setting the vision for their company, while at the same time being stifled by emotional tensions that spill over from their personal lives? The answer to all of the above may well lie in corporate mentoring, which is more widespread than ever worldwide and is now practised by some 70% of Fortune 500 companies, while it’s also been embraced by a number of recent U.S. presidents. It’s no surprise that it’s so popular right now, as more and more executives are suffering from stress, isolation and confusion in the face of an economic background that they’ve never experienced before. Traditionally, mentoring was all about helping the subject to do a job more effectively and/or to make progress in their career. The mentor was probably someone who’d been through it all before – and had the trophies to prove it. A number of mentoring tools were often used, including coaching, training, discussion, counseling, etc. Mentoring today is a much broader concept, however, and is just as likely to involve getting the work-life balance better aligned, or opening you up to new ways of thinking that are just as likely to have a payback in your marriage, in your relationships with friends and families  - or even in your golf game. Mentoring, in short, helps the subject to look more deeply into themselves, helping them assess the values and principles by which they live their lives – corporate or otherwise. It’s about the person and not the business, although it goes without saying that the business will be among the first to prosper from a more grounded and rounded individual. After all, there can be no real business growth without personal growth to underpin it. So whether through ongoing corporate mentoring for individuals or in-house training for a number of staff, executives can be taught the skills of self-mastery and awareness, allowing them to clear out the emotional turmoil that is preventing them from making focused value judgements. "Sarah is one of those people that have a wonderful skill of helping you to discover what it is you really want to do and helps you get started on the right road. All this is achieved without you even being aware. Sarah is a very special person with a wonderful personality and a truly amazing talent. I found myself highly motivated and ready to take on the world after each meeting I had with her. I would highly recommend anyone who needs assistance in finding out the right road in life but has difficulty in interpreting the signs to talk to Sarah. It's a life changing experience." Peter Farren "I have worked with Sarah Bird on a number of occasions - her expertise in this area is unquestionable. I found Sarah to be a total professional, a master in her field, and the results for me and my business were outstanding. The results were immediate. I am delighted to recommend her." Frances Jones. IMAGE MATTERS