Running a business can be exhilarating, challenging, frustrating, satisfying, stressful and lonely – sometimes all at the same time.
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As the key decision maker in any business, the weight of responsibility can feel quite isolating and often overwhelming. Perhaps you have limited opportunity to discuss strategy, air your ideas and vent your frustrations.
If that’s something you can relate to, then The Alternative Board (TAB) North East Scotland might be exactly what you need.
TAB brings together business leaders in a group setting where they provide challenge, support and accountability for each other. This empowering peer support enables group members to make better decisions for both them and their businesses.
A worldwide network established 35 years ago, TAB has helped over 25,000 business owners achieve personal and business success. Members report increased turnover, improved leadership skills and a better ability to address people or organisational issues as just some of the benefits to joining.
The new High Impact Manager Accelerator Programme
Helen Mill and Jonathan Smith operate TAB North East Scotland, which covers Aberdeen, Dundee, Angus and Perth.
Not only are Helen and Jonathan instrumental in supporting local business owners and key decision makers, but they are also rolling out a brand new programme called the High Impact Manager Accelerator Programme (HI-MAP) that provides training and support to staff in managerial and supervisory roles.
We spoke to Helen to find out more. She told us: “TAB have been supporting business owners and leaders for 35 years. Originating in USA , it is a global organisation, operating in around 24 countries worldwide. It’s fair to say it’s a tried and tested model.
“We work with the senior decision makers in the company who might be the owner, the MD or director.
“Our members often raise the challenge of recruitment and retention of the their senior leadership team, managers and supervisors, who are vital to the implementation of company vision and strategy.
“In response to that need, our new programme, HI-MAP, has been designed to provide practical training utilising the 70:20:10 model of learning and development best practice.”
Helen continued: “With HI-MAP we take the same principles we apply to running our Boards – providing members with peer group support as well as accountability for implementation of their learning.
“Participants come together with other managers and supervisors either from within their own company or from a mixed group of non-competing companies. One of the key benefits of the group is that they will hold one another accountable for making the changes you need to make.”
Peer support and learning for managers and supervisors
Helen explained more about how HI-MAP works. She said: “HI-MAP has four paths: an improvement path, influence path, talent path and a team action path.
“Improvement is about communications, time, mentoring and making what you do effective and competitive. Influencing is about how you manage meetings and creating a good culture. Talent is around recruiting and dealing with difficult people. Team action gets into things like strategic leadership, critical success factors and planning KPI’s.
“Each of the paths are standalone, but they come together to take participants through everything that will allow them to perform better and perhaps step up to new roles.”
What kind of business does Helen think will benefit from joining TAB, or a programme like HI-MAP? Helen replied: “Any business can benefit from training managers and supervisors, especially those who have been promoted internally. As for our TAB board members – there is a huge diversity in the size of companies and sectors that they operate in.”
“We are sector agnostic and for both our Boards and HI-MAP cohorts, there will be no competing companies around the table. The art of what we do is taking time to bring the right people around the table.”
With the power of peer support you can improve your business and even change your life. Interested? Have a no-obligation conversation with The Alternative Board North East Scotland.
Conversation