Arden Fine Foods (UK) Ltd is a family of foodies who love great food and have travelled the continent to bring you irresistible nibbles that will delight and satisfy your taste buds. Technical Director, Sarah Marsden shares her experiences as a Leadership Board® member.
“We were going through a period of change in Arden’s where they were looking within the existing management team to promote people to take more responsibility for the business going forward. This opportunity then led to me being part of the Management Buy Out team.
My colleague suggested joining a Growth Plans Leadership Board® as part of my personal professional development plan. He believed I would find it useful and interesting as an opportunity to experience different perspectives from people outside of our industry. He was right. It also gave me the space to develop a higher level of thinking, to be able to take a step back and look at what was happening rather than being completely involved all of the time.
I was quite surprised actually, you have people who were really very experienced and obviously very successful and they come to the table with issues that we all can relate to. We support each other because we are in a very safe environment. What I quickly came to realise is that no matter what your business or skill set is, we all share real frustrations. I really feel like I’m not on my own in this.
My role at Arden’s is very technical and so I knew that the opportunities for support in that sense are limited. However, what I have gained is above that in a business sense. There is always an opportunity to gain different insights into how management and leadership can be honed and developed as a skill. Always something to think about, to reflect on and adapt to. I found the workshops Liz conducted where we looked at different elements of psychology invaluable in understanding how to get the best out of the people in your team and make the best out of what they have to offer. I have also found the personality profiling incredibly useful in understanding my own strengths, weaknesses and communications style and to adapt these to suit people with differing communication styles to my own.
The value in a Leadership Board® is that it gives you an opportunity to take a step back and think in a safe space, so when you go back to the office you are more effective.”
Sarah Marsden Technical Director Arden Fine Foods (UK) Ltd
“Being part of a Leadership Board really gives you the opportunity to have space to think about challenges you face with others who can challenge, support or offer you new thinking. It’s helped my approach in so many ways."
Objectives
Personal and professional development.
To understand the different dynamics of a board.
Working with different people at a senior level. To develop thinking at a higher level.
Challenges
Understanding how to get the best out of my team.
Gaining insights into my own strengths and weaknesses.
Understanding my communication style and how to adapt this to meet the communication needs of those different to my own.
Outcome
Knowing that you are not alone. We all have shared and similar frustrations and we can all help each other bring different perspectives and solutions to the table.
An opportunity to take a step back and think in a safe space, so when you go back to the office you are more effective.
Contact Liz Whitfield to see if she is right for you and you are right for Growth Plans®
