How often have we heard or read the words “it’s lonely at the top” or “the buck stops here”.
All of us who have held a senior role as a Chief Executive, Managing Director, General Manager or Operations Manager have felt the isolation and loneliness of those positions. Often as not there are hard decisions to make about the direction of the business, ongoing strategy and major staffing decisions. It is at these times that having access to someone quite independent of the Board or your peer executive group is an essential business tool.
A mentor can be seen as a trusted advisor, someone who will listen to all the issues in a non -threatening and constructive manner. Wise counsel from an outside source gives you the space to discuss major issues, workshop them through and assist in developing the intellectual thinking around buisness threats and opportunities. It is, in essence, a test bed for strategy. Mentoring is all about helping business owners and managers to grow in leadership skills, to develop the ability to be creative and be decisive. For all managers there are critical success factors, one needs to learn how to handle stress, how to manage time efficently and learning to focus on deciding what core issue a CEO should address.
As a mentor you are that trusted advisor who has experienced all of these issues in his own business journey. As a mentor you take custodial interest in the business lives of those you mentor. One of the benefits of a mentor can be also the wide range of contacts a mentor has and the ability to introduce an executive to others who will potentially add value to their business. These relationships between mentor and client are long term, confidential and valued relationships.
Executive support can be across a range of needs such as:
Neil has a wide experience in business having worked in the Forestry, Agriculture, Property investment and development sectors. He has an extensive contact base and has consulted to the professional services sector for many years. Neil has worked with major government departments, blue chip public companies and high nett worth individuals. He has a strong marketing bias and a huge network. He is in the top 5% of people with large contact bases within the Linkedin network and understands the business challenges faced by businessmen today.