The Talent Pool Annual Conference 2011: About the Day _{1 September 2011}

The day started with delegates networking at the Woodland Grange Conference Centre in Leamington Spa. It wasn’t long before delegates were asked to complete a short exercise that had them comparing the leadership style of their organisation to Dolphins, Elephants, Penguins and Bees!

A brilliant day — thank you so much for all your efforts and time. I found the speakers all very engaging and very useful

Colonel Richard Maybery, QGM shared his thoughts on leadership in his session ‘Serve to Lead’. He had us captivated by his down-to-earth and humane approach to leadership and how he managed to get the best out of people in extreme situations.

The event was brilliant, I have got so much out of it and will help me to where I want to be

Karren Brady then delivered her session, “My Kinda Leadership”, and joined attendees for an informal lunch. Delegates then selected one of three development workshops suited to their personal development needs. This ranged from helping them with tough conversations, transform relationships and thinking like a leader.

I found the day very useful and was great context for me given some of the changes going on around me

Dr Phil Richardson, an expert in biomimetics, introduced his session “Crabs in the Boardroom”. This gave delegates an insight into how to think differently and pushed peoples’ boundaries, especially when thinking about change. One of the delegates commented “I had a detailed go at Phil’s biomimetic self-evaluation when I returned last night. I found it useful in the forward-planning elements of my thinking”.

Member Tesimonial

“Finding the time for personal development can be a case of priority, convenience and being inspired. I have found the Talent Pool’s approach to be completely different to any kind of personal development programmes I have been involved in. It is truly motivating, engaging and, as a result, I have naturally made my own development a higher priority.”