Www.ciaranfenton.com Ciarán Fenton’s Leadership Programmes Prospectus September 2015.

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Ciarán Fenton’s Leadership Programmes

Prospectus September 2015

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Introduction

“The principles I use in my leadership

programmes come from my own life and

career experiences. They are unique to me

just as your experiences are unique to you.

We are of course all unique - 1/7 billion in

fact. I believe that if leaders focus on this

individuality, their own and others, they

will have a greater chance of success.

My unique story is that I grew up as the

second youngest of a family of seven in

County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. A

conservative upbringing gave me a

particular way of looking at the world,

which I had to address in later years.

Your early-years’ story will be different to mine

but it will share several aspects: it will sit on a

common spectrum of experiences ranging

from appalling to brilliant. You will have taken

decisions as a young person in response to

your environment at that time. Those

decisions were appropriate, but only at that

time.

We all persist in living according to these early

decisions into adult life despite the fact that

the context has changed. We need to take

decisions based on our real current context

and not be driven by our past experiences.

The experts call this:

“Decision and Re-decision”.


Introduction

In the Spring of 2003 after twenty years in senior roles in corporate life I was at a career cross-roads of my own.

I started to question everything about work.

• Why was the process of securing a new role such a lottery?

• Why was the process of selling wine online or online dating, then flourishing, much more efficient than job hunting or recruitment?

• Why were so many head-hunters indifferent to the talent they traded?

But the biggest question I asked myself was:

• Who was managing me, and my career and helping me manage my business relationships more effectively?

No one. I decided from that point to regard myself as a unique small business, which could be managed in the same way and using the same principles as any other small business that has employees and customers and a balance sheet and profit and loss account.

Once I regarded my own career/self as a small business I then saw how it was possible to view employment as a joint venture with employers and to view the path to success and fulfilment as being more likely if I was able to align my personal goals, my purpose and behaviours, to the business purpose. It then occurred to me that if I could help leaders to view the world in this way I could make a big difference to them. So that’s what I do.”

Ciarán Fenton- September 2015


Ciarán Fenton Leadership & Change Consultant

For more than a decade, Ciarán Fenton has

helped CEOs and professionals - particularly lawyers

- improve their leadership performance,

working relationships and to accelerate

business and behavioural change.

During his early career he held senior business

leadership roles at Hachette, ITN, Pearson, and The

Guardian Media Group. He has worked with scores of

individuals and organisations including, for example

BT, HSBC, Capita, Radiant Law, and Unilever,

using his tried and tested model The Fenton

Model™.

[pron: kee-rawn]


The Fenton Model™

The Fenton Model™ - an innovative approach to self-management

that provides senior leaders with the thinking and tools to achieve a

step change in their own behaviour and that of each member of their

senior leadership team.

Ciarán is a mentor at London Business School, a Senior Adviser with the

Blueprint for Better Business charity and a regular speaker and writer

on leadership issues. He holds a business degree, B.Comm. (Hons.)

from The National University of Ireland, Cork and he lives in Brighton.

He is married to writer Marian Garvey and they have two teenage

children.

“You do what you do, very well.” VH


My Core Leadership Programmes

• Leading: as CEO, General

Counsel, Equity Partner, Function

Head - CFO, CIO, CMO, Sales

Director, or HRD

– First 100 Days/First time CEO,

GC, Function Head

– Leading during a rapid growth or

restructuring phase

– Leading during a post-acquisition

or Earn-Out phase

“You really are impressive in these 1:1 sessions!

You cut straight to the core” AS

• Managing: conflict between

– Partners; Directors; Shareholders

– Team members

– Family business members

• Leaving: career ross-roads

decision making

– finding new roles

– launching a portfolio career

– starting a new business


Programme Strand 1

Leading:

As CEO, General Counsel,

Equity Partner, Function

Head - CFO, CIO, CMO,

Sales Director, or HRDLeading during the First 100

Days or as First time CEO, GC,

Function Head

• Managing expectations

• Managing relationships

• Dealing with “amber and red”

relationships in the First 100

Days

“How I managed a “red” relationship

on Day 5 of my First 100 Days” SC


Programme Strand 1

Leading:




Sales Director, or HRDLeading during rapid growth or

restructuring phase

• Agreeing organisational purpose,

strategy and behaviours

• Assessing personal purpose, strategy,

and behaviours of the board/team

• Aligning these

“How I became a better lawyer

leader” AH, RG, JM, SC, CF, DE, RK, LW…


Programme Strand 1

Leading:




Sales Director, or HRDLeading during a post-acquisition

or Earn-Out phase

• Managing the transition from CEO

to Divisional CEO

• Managing the board and colleagues

in a new context

• Reconciling Earn-out and growth

objectives

“How I managed myself, my team, my relationships with the acquirer during the earn-

out” KW, AG


Programme Strand 2

Managing: Conflict

Partners; Directors;

Shareholders

• Partnership conflict at points of

change

• Conflict between directors

regarding roles, strategy,

remuneration

• Shareholder agreement

disputes“The shareholder

agreement nightmare was sorted” XYZ


Programme Strand 2

Managing: Conflict

Partners; Directors; Shareholders

• Personality clash

• Bullying, micro-managing, stone-

walling

• Confidence, accountability,

ownership

“How I stopped micro-managing by a factor of 20%” MH


Programme Strand 2

Managing: Conflict

Family Business Members

• Succession

• Constitution

• Legacy

“The Family Office issues which gave us all gray hairs” GB, CB, TL


Programme Strand 3

Leaving: CEO, GC, Function Head, Equity Partner at career cross-roads

Finding a new role(s), launching a portfolio career or starting a new

business

• Decision-making/management and advice on the message to the market

• Identify under-utilised potential and the full range of options

• Ensure progress, not just activity

• Learn how to sell in an unfamiliar context

• Network to intermediaries who can deliver feedback and leads

• Someone to “hold up a mirror”, bounce ideas & assess projects

• Support in managing key relationships and morale


“How I launched and developed my portfolio career” SP, GB, MH…

“How I started my new business from concept to execution” AD

“The challenges in managing my exit as an Equity Partner of a law firm” EG, RH, GW…


The Benefits Clients Derive from my Programme

• Good counsel: sometimes robust, but always

presenting choices

• Break-through insights: under-exploited talent,

situational analysis, innovation

• Accelerated change: progress, not just activity

• Conflict mediation: truth and reconciliation; clear

contracting behaviours; legislating for the breach

• How to sell yourself or an idea: clarifying need,

demonstrating rather than asserting

competence; closing the gap

• Relationship management: I have developed a

Relationship Grid tool using RAG tags;

networking skills

• Business consulting: business, organisational,

sales/marketing plans; I know how to write them

“At a critical

decision point I

engaged Ciaran

Fenton to help me

through a process

to define my

objectives and then

put in place a

strategy that led

me to securing a

senior position with

X PLC, which was

my number one

target.” NL


My Approach

I focus on purpose, strategy and behaviours (PSB) in all my programmes.

They are designed afresh for each new client to address their specific challenges.

Leaders need:

• A personal purpose

• A personal strategy

• Behaviours and a

plan to execute that

strategy

Organisations need:

• An organisational purpose

• An organisational strategy

• Behaviours and a plan to

execute that strategy

www.ciaranfenton.comwww.ciaranfenton.com17

My Programmes meet these needs by:

• Using the Fenton Model™ to

uncover the new purpose,

strategy and behaviours required

• Support in writing plans which

align personal and organisational

purpose

• Helping leaders to manage

relationships to implement those

plans

“The PSB approach has given

us a language we didn’t

have before”

RG


My Process

My process is based on the application of the

Fenton Model™ that I have developed over many

years and which helps leaders and professionals

manage their own and their teams’ careers as

small businesses.

The model and its application is unique in the

market because it is proprietary and delivered

solely by me. It will appeal to leaders who are

genuinely open to challenge, are self-aware and

good at receiving counsel as well as giving it.

It’s robust and not for everyone and so an initial

meeting to ensure the “chemistry” is right is a

pre-requisite.


My Process

• Unpack, Review,

Assess

– Telephone reference

interviews with third

parties; Essay on

personal history

– “Away Day” 1-1

session to work on

the first draft of the

PSB Plans

– Review Skills and

Experience (CV);

Emotional

Intelligence (EI);

Reputation (PR)

• Write the Purpose,

Strategy and

Behaviour (PSB)

Plans

– Personal PSB Plan,

and for each senior

team member

where appropriate

– Organisational PSB

Plan, even if you

are a sole trader

– Alignment of

Personal and

Organisation Plans

• Support their

implementatio

n

– Plenary

sessions

– 1-1s

– Facilitations

and

mediations


“I found the

process and the

tools very helpful” SF


The 7 Principles of The Fenton Model™

1. People are not human resources, they are small, unique, professional services

businesses

2. Organisations are coalitions of these small businesses, for increasingly brief periods

3. Organisations hire the least risky, not necessarily the best

4. Personal purpose and organisational purpose are inter-dependent

5. Mediated agreement on behaviours to achieve personal and organisational purpose is

essential

6. Legislating for the breach of these behavioural agreements mitigates the risks

7. Changing ten actions or communications in every hundred is only 10% change - that’s

small change, but the sum is greater than the parts

“The Fenton Model works” RG


“The Away Day had the potential to be not really my

'scene' - a probably overdue time-out (or landing after a

long-haul flight, as Ciaran called it) for reflection,

analysis and planning in relation to myself as a

business. Yet, it was actually an invigorating

experience, thanks to a well thought out process and

Ciaran's expert guidance and facilitating skills.

The structured approach made decision-making seem

easier and I felt we made excellent progress towards a

first draft career business plan. I am now excited about

working that up and then starting to implement it.”

Entrepreneur

❝❞


“Ciaran has been mentoring graduate student

entrepreneurs in the Entrepreneurship Summer

School at London Business School for several

years.

His work is terrific and he gets very good reviews

from his mentees.” Professor John Mullins,

Associate Professor, Chair -

Entrepreneurship at London Business

School

❝❞

Ciaran Fenton Limited145 - 157 St John’s Street, London, EC1V 4PW | t +44 (0) 207 754 0335 m 07966168874 f +44 (0) 871 4336145 website www.ciaranfenton.com | blog http://ciaranfenton.wordpress.com/ | twitter @ciaranfenton

Www.ciaranfenton.com Ciarán Fenton’s Leadership Programmes Prospectus September 2015.

Documents

unique small business

business purpose

business relationships

career experiences

early decisions

early career

unique story

fenton model