16-year staff investment partnership proves fruitful for Clive Owen LLP

The Client

Leadership Management International (UK) recently delivered a series of Effective Personal Leadership programmes for employees at Clive Owen LLP, the latest in a long-standing commitment by the firm to personal development programmes across the business.

Having built a strong reputation as a team of experienced chartered accountants and business advisers, Clive Owen has grown into a firm of over 100 experts with multi-disciplinary skills, since its establishment in 1983.

As such, the future growth and success of the business relies on its ability to adapt, ensuring employees receive the personal development and training opportunities needed to help them become more effective within their roles.

In understanding the importance of the task ahead, Clive Owen engaged LMI-UK’s Director for Scotland & North East England, Neale Carter, who has worked with the firm over a 16-year period to deliver a range of important personal development programmes.

The Individuals

Given the increasingly challenging recruitment situation for UK businesses, Clive Owen, one of the largest independent regional firms of business advisors and accountants, believes companies need to come up with different ways to retain and attract staff.

Given that individual leadership coaching was already a key part of the firm’s growth strategy, Clive Owen had already provided a range of training and personal development opportunities to accountants and advisers through their relationship with Neale.

Having been encouraged by the skills developed thus far, the firm sensed an opportunity to increase its commitment to personal development. They engaged LMI-UK to undertake a series of Effective Personal Leadership (EPL) programmes that would help employees develop the skills needed to achieve personal goals, whilst creating a winning environment for their colleagues.

For this specific programme, Neale agreed to support Clive Owen’s marketing director, Bridget Charlton, and audit manager, Amy Luckett, both of whom would benefit greatly from LMI’s tried and tested approach, which has delivered successful outcomes worldwide for more than 60 years.

The pandemic has prompted what has been termed ‘The Great Resignation’ with a significant number of workers re-evaluating their careers, working conditions and long-term ambitions and goals.

In these challenging times, we are finding that our people are interested in their potential career path and the additional benefits that are available on their journey with us.

This includes employees looking at the bigger picture with initiatives that improve their work-life balance or enhance their soft skill set to benefit their lives both in and outside work.
Gary Ellis
Managing Partner, Clive Owen

The Programme

Building on the training that Neale had delivered previously, the Effective Personal Leadership (EPL) programme is designed specifically for those in management roles that also have a responsibility to lead and motivate other members of their team.

The programme teaches participants how to become effective personal leaders, providing an opportunity for self-discovery, identification of strengths and their authentic leadership style.

The LMI approach of spaced repetition and multi-sensory learning made it much easier for the individuals to retain important information and develop the skills needed to become effective leaders of themselves and others.

Structured over twelve separate lessons over several months, the programme is designed to fit neatly around participants’ schedules without requiring large amounts of study time away from work or family.

For many years I have supported Clive Owen LLP across the partnership helping them improve their performance through personal development coaching. Most of the current employees have experienced working with me at some stage in their career and the relationships formed are both genuine and long-lasting.

This is not just about executive coaching – it recognises the potential at certain stages of a person’s career, so we work together in partnership to carefully provide leadership development tailored to each individual’s needs.

Ultimately, it is about nurturing the talent within and giving individuals the additional skills and support needed to see them progress in their careers, whilst overcoming any self-limiting obstacles that are currently standing in their way.

Neale Carter
LMI-UK Director for Scotland & North East England

The Benefits

From Clive Owen’s perspective, soft skills such as emotional intelligence, self-awareness and the ability to motivate and inspire colleagues are as important to the success of the firm as professional qualifications.

By engaging LMI and supporting colleagues with tailored programmes, like the EPL, the firm has continued to grow and develop and has recently opened a new office in Middlesbrough on the back of this success. In addition to this, employee satisfaction has improved since the training was delivered, as it has given individuals the confidence and ability to take on more responsibility.

The Future

LMI UK Director Neale Carter has delivered a range of important personal development programmes over a 16-year partnership with Clive Owen, and has ongoing plans with the company for continued investment in the development of their people.

In the short-term, personal development has allowed the firm to attract and retain experienced individuals during a period of significant growth. Long-term, this will lead to improved personal performance and results, as employees enhance their skills needed to thrive within their roles.