Being a leader is not an easy journey. It doesn't have to be a solo one..
There's an art to Outstanding Leadership
It’s not about tick-box workshops, 3-day retreats, or consuming yet another leadership podcast or business book – and it’s certainly not encapsulated in an MBA…
Because none of those things are of any use if you don’t know whether the learning they contain is relevant to your own particular needs and that of your business – let alone how to apply it.
The greatest business founders, owners, and CEOs do not take their leadership walk alone. They’re not afraid to admit that there is so much they don’t yet understand about their role. About business. About themselves.
And they also know that they need someone by their side on their journey. Someone who can be their sounding board, helping them not only connect but actually see all the dots. Ensuring they get out of their own way, so they can work on not in their business. Empowering them to transform not only their skills and mindset, but their entire organization.
Outstanding Leaders don't go attempt the Ascent Solo
Steve Jobs not only had a mentor (Bill Campbell, the “Coach of Silicon Valley”) as he grew Apple into one of the biggest global tech innovators, he – in turn – mentored Mark Zuckerberg in the early days of Facebook.
Warren Buffet has been a long-standing mentor to Bill Gates. Sir Freddy Laker mentored Sir Richard Branson in the early days of Virgin Atlantic. And perhaps the most unlikely mentoring relationship is that between Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, and the musician and entrepreneur Sean “P Diddy” Combs, which has been going strong for over 6 years now!
In this 2021 article on 5 reasons why every leader needs a mentor – no matter how successful they are, from the Forbes Business Council, there’s one quote that stands out:
…[F]inancial technology company Kabbage reported that 92% of small businesses said mentors directly impact growth and the survival of their businesses.
The low-down? Finding and working with the right mentor will have a genuine, and long-term impact on your skills as a leader and the future of your business.
The LeaderWhispering™️ Suite contains all Growth Circles’ signature 1-2-1 mentoring programs for established CEOs and business owners, founders, and C-Suite leaders.
They have been carefully constructed to support your journey of leadership transformation as well as your business’s growth; and developed and delivered by Carri Nicholson, a world-class business advisor and mentor who has walked in your shoes more than once, as well as supported many successful leaders whilst they made the same journey that you are now on. Unsurprisingly, her clients have christened her “The Leader Whisperer®️” (and yes, that is trademarked, because who wouldn’t with a gift like that!)
The LeaderWhispering™️ Suite
Leader Whisperer®️ 1-2-1 mentoring programs are carefully crafted to support you through the most challenging inflexion points that you will come across on your leadership journey.
The points where failure, quite frankly, is not an option – for you, for your business, and for your family: when you are trying to scale, when you are consolidating, and when you are thinking about your personal long-term future.
At these points, we know that our insights and support will transform you from being a good leader to an outstanding one
12Squared Leadership™
There’s some really hard truths around growing a successful business:
- Only 21% of ALL Founders manage to scale to a $30M+ valuation
- Within 7 years of a successful Seed Funding round, 79% of Founders will no longer be leading their company
- 63% of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math or Medicine-based businesses will ultimately fail
One of the main reasons for this is that if you’re a CEO or Founder with a STEMM background, you will have certain blind spots that make it really hard to successfully lead and scale a business. It’s not your fault – it’s just part and parcel of who you are.
This year-long 1-2-1 mentoring program has built on thousands of hours of 1-2-1 conversations with leaders just like you. It’s designed to help you understand the impact of each of the STEM Blind Spots on your role as a leader, and your business operations, then construct a personal action plan to make sure your scaling plans are supercharged, not stalled.
Exit Optimized™
Everybody has to exit their business eventually – one way or another. Here’s a hint though: if you’re planning to do a Logan Roy and leave in a box, then not only will you be doing yourself and your family a financial disservice, but you will also be setting your business up for chaos once you’ve gone.
Not planning for exit is more common than you would think. And the reason most CEOs and business owners shy away from the big “E” word? They don’t know how to get started…
Our signature 10-month program will help you structure your business exit; making sure you can leave on optimal terms and to your timescale, and with a clear plan for the next stage in your great life adventure.
ExitOptimized C Suite™
It’s not just CEOs and business owners who need to plan their eventual exit though.
Following the success of our signature Exit Optimized™️ program, we were asked to create a matching 1-2-1 mentoring offer for C-Suite Executives who don’t want to burn bridges as they move onto the next role in their lives – whatever that is.
Our program helps you ensure that your memory within the business is honored for the impact you created – as well leaving an awesome legacy in terms of the care and thought you put into making the transition as smooth and pain-free as possible.
InfiniteHorizon Mentoring™
We know that – great as they are – our signature programs aren’t appropriate for every business founder, owner, or CEO.
You might be consolidating operations, following an intensive growth period. You might be pre-Seed funding but with big ambitions. You might just hate the thought of a structured program.
No matter how you do you, InfiniteHorizons Mentoring™️ is there to give you a confidential sounding board; a safe space to talk about (and solve) the things that are really driving you nuts; accountability for your actions and plans; and access to an amazing network of contacts and additional support.
You pick the cadence and duration of our mentoring conversations. You drive the agenda in terms of the problems or opportunities we will discuss each session. We’ll bring our A-game attitude, and have our sleeves metaphorically rolled up, ready to listen and get stuck in where you need us to.
And – as with all our mentoring clients – in addition to our regular mentoring sessions, you will have on-going additional support for as long as we work together, in the form of weekly short accountability and progress calls. You’ll also have unlimited access to our LaserCoaching problem-solving package.
Get Mentoring to get to where you want to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course you have questions and we are happy to answer any, for you. Browse through this section and we hope you find what you are looking for. If you dont, just drop us a line and we will get back to you at the earliest.
Well, actually, no…
Mentors and coaches are both valuable resources for personal and professional development. However, there are some key differences between the two roles.
Mentoring is a relationship between a more experienced person (the mentor) and a less experienced person (the mentee). The mentor provides guidance, support, and advice to the mentee, helping them to learn and grow – as well as supporting them whilst they set and achieve their goals. Mentoring relationships can be formal or informal, and they can last for a short period of time or for many years.
Coaching is a more structured relationship between a coach and a client. The coach helps the client to identify their goals and to develop a plan to achieve them. The coach also provides support and encouragement, and they help the client to overcome challenges. Coaching relationships are typically short-term, and they are focused on helping the client to achieve specific goals.
Here at Growth Circles, we offer both coaching and mentoring programs, but we tend to have been part of our mentoring clients’ business and personal lives for periods measured in years rather than months. And we’re honored that they have trusted us to deliver the long-term support that is helping them grow amazing businesses and become outstanding leaders.
As a leader, you are responsible for the success of your team or organization, and we know from personal experience how very stressful and demanding this role can be. A mentor will provide you with objective guidance and support as you navigate the challenges of being a leader, drawing on their skills, experience, and business insights to significantly reduce your stress and ensure you don’t suffer the loneliness of trying to “go solo”.
A good mentor will help you enhance your leadership skills by providing you with feedback that will help take your performance to the next level, and sage advice based on their experiences, both as a leader and as a mentor to other leaders. They help ensure you don’t try to reinvent the wheel, and that the version of leadership you adopt is authentically you, whilst being authoritative not authoritarian.
A mentor will introduce you to new people and opportunities. They help you build relationships with other leaders, potential clients, and new suppliers. And they can help you become a thought leader in your own right.
A mentor will not only keep you up to date on the latest industry trends and developments, but they should also help you explore the impact and potential of new technologies and best practices. And the best mentors have multinational experience in a wide variety of industries and sectors, allowing them to help you understand and apply global best practices.
Outstanding leaders tend to have highly developed EQs, are good at active listening, and can show their vulnerability within their team – not least by admitting they don’t know everything and letting the people they have hired to do a particular job, just crack on with it. But developing the confidence and empathy to do this successfully is a talent that needs nurturing. Mentoring kindly and compassionately helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses as a leader, whilst understanding the blind spots that might be holding you and your business back
Obvious, no? But it’s always easier to set ambitious, yet realistic and achievable goals for yourself and your team when you have someone to bounce them off before going taking them to a wider audience. Your mentor is also there to give you validation and encouragement that you’re on the right track or help you course-correct before small issues become major challenges.
A mentor can help you think critically about the decisions you make as a leader. They can also help you identify the potential risks and benefits of each decision before you make it. They should be there as your confidential sounding board: acting as your biggest cheerleader, but also being the one person who will never be afraid to tell the
Emperor that your new clothes are – well – transparent at best, before finding you a wardrobe that is not only less embarrassing but a much better fit for you and your business.
Due to their longevity and experience, there is usually pretty much nothing a mentor hasn’t seen before. From the “Wow, that’s awesome! (So: how do we replicate it?)”, through the “Ok, are we sure about this?”, right through to the “Just no – that stops right now!”. Whatever the issue, your mentor will help you develop better strategies for handling difficult situations with authoritative tact and poise – as well as giving you validation to use that sledgehammer if the situation warrants it… In short, they are there to ensure that your regular business dramas don’t become crises