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Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading

helps you in your leadership.

 

Cheers,

Jonno White

7 Questions with Patrick Bennett
7 Questions with Patrick Bennett

Name: Patrick Bennett

Current title: Managing Director

Current organisation: Successful Consultants Limited

Patrick is an Associate Certified Coach, ACC accredited by the International Coaching Federation and a Business Transformation Expert. His clients are leading luxury brands, CEO’s, entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, founders and change focused individuals from around the globe.

Patrick has over 24 years of experience in luxury consumer products manufacturing and leadership and has previously worked with global brands such as David Yurman in the US and Pandora the worlds largest global jewelry company.

Patrick is dedicated to sharing his experience using a unique combination of coaching and change consulting to help his clients and their businesses reach their maximum potential.

7 Questions with Patrick Bennett

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader of a small or medium enterprise?

Finding the right balance of execution and learning and development. Many small to medium size companies are not as equipped to invest time and money in their employees growth and development.

That's one of the reasons I turned to coaching to help the organizations I lead learn from within creating a coaching culture across the leadership team fostering inclusion and using every touchpoint as an opportunity for the teams not only to participate but to excel and succeed.

2. How did you become a leader of an SME? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I started my career working for a small division of a very large company. I was not even a manager yet but I remember having to wear many hats and learned quickly that I needed to take more responsibility if we as a team were going to succeed.

This desire to learn and grow within my role was noticed by top management and I was asked to leave the division with the head of sales and join my first "start up" in 1995. From there I became a manager and learned on the job how to grow and scale a business from the ground up, I never looked back and had developed an appetite for more and more responsibility.Twenty years later I reached Vice President and Managing Director roles, i'm quite proud of that accomplishment, it's been a great learning journey.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

Everyday I wake up at 5am, I exercise, shower then have a light breakfast. I see my son off to school on the bus and then head into the office around 8:00am. I make sure to set my schedule and calendar for the day or week the night before and rarely look at e-mails before 10:00am.

My days are never the same, some days i'm off site working with larger clients and other days I spend my time coaching CEO's, Executives or using my time for self development and learning.

I also make it a point to volunteer a portion of each week to charity, either life and career coaching, especially since the pandemic.

I usually stop working around 6:00pm and then we eat dinner as a family. I am guilty of working on my side hustle in the evenings for a few hours and usually go to sleep around 10:00pm.

4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

It is essential to have uncomfortable conversations, as leaders we need to facilitate this communication around what we have come to accept as our blind spots such as race, diversity and inclusion if we are going to change and succeed in life as a country and in business as a community.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

I truly enjoyed Primal Leadership, unleashing the power of emotional importance. As leaders we sometimes neglect our emotional intelligence and do not teach the importance of igniting passion and inspiring others while being emotionally consistent. I can really relate by life and leadership style with this book, it has been a beacon for me and contributed to my success in a profound way.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in an SME?

Inclusion and diversity, allowing everyone to contribute in setting the agenda, We like to embed accountability within and across the organization and allow for freedom to operate. We encourage new ideas and celebrate mistakes with lessons learned and opportunities for growth.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader of an SME so far?

Face your fears and show up everyday, I can share that there have been times in my career that I now regret not participating more in projects or communicating at meetings out of fear that I was wrong or my opinion didn't matter. I would come to find out later that what I was thinking could have made a big difference and would have helped move the needle for the team and enterprise. Don't doubt yourself, participate and be yourself.

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