For anyone in a leadership role, when communicating with the people that matter to them, the use of the spoken word proves to be an art and not a science. Where once authority was enough to get things done, the dynamics of productive relationships nowadays are different. Trust – elusive to establish and even harder to retain – is key. It is for this reason that authenticity is integral to the mix.
Sheila’s role is to advise individuals, and teams too, and show them how to translate that goal into reality. The advice combines an assessment of capabilities and precision with actionable guidance and concrete steps.
The people that Sheila works with draw on her skills and experience when facing new or challenging situations and over varying lengths of time, from one-offs to long term retainers.
Common triggers for her intervention include:
- Driving a transformation programme
- Embarking on a new role
- Managing cultural complexities within an international organisation or with its international stakeholders – or both
- Addressing the need to adjust the culture of an organisation to one that listens more effectively
- Deepening understanding and thereby recognition of the true value of a complex business
Her expertise is rooted in 25 years’ experience working with leaders in a wide range of sectors and countries, often at c-suite level but also deep in an organization with people leading business critical projects and programmes. Based in London, her career has taken her regularly to mainland Europe and the US; she has also worked in India, Hong Kong and China, South Africa, The Gulf States, Australia and Brazil. In this way she has observed the components necessary for achieving lasting results and can draw on a variety of different styles and cultures.
Her approach starts with expert feedback in order to identify the strengths that can be built on as well as insights about whatever might be creating an obstacle. Whilst each person and each situation is unique, at another level there are three ingredients consistently in the advice mix: editorial input, enhancing performance skills and a re-balancing of the talking/listening style and tone.
Between 2002 and 2014, Sheila was Managing Partner of the specialist coaching and training practice of Brunswick Group LLP. Before that Sheila worked in business development roles in engineering and reinsurance broking. She studied at the universities of Edinburgh and Bonn and is a Sloan Fellow of London Business School. She is fluent in German.
sheila@sheilarobinsonco.com
+44 7974 982 397