A well-known coach and mentor has reflected on the success of 2022 for his clients, with many of them excelling under his care to win a number of high-profile awards.
An award winner himself, Andrew Marsh, chair of Vistage for the North East and Northumberland, NED for numerous businesses and charities; and successful entrepreneur, spends his days helping business leaders achieve goals and find opportunity.
Andrew said: “I don’t count myself as successful unless my clients and companies that I work with are excelling and whilst 2022 has been a challenging year for many, those who I have been working with have been focusing on opportunity.
“Through my Vistage peer groups, speaker sessions and one-toone meetings, my clients focus on changing mind-sets and being the best they can be. This is not necessarily an easy journey, there can be real ‘looking in the mirror’ moments and realising changes you have to make to succeed can be uncomfortable but ultimately, essential.
“Last year, in 2022, I am proud to say that many of my clients won awards and accolades for their work, which is a great way to boost your reputation and brand, and to celebrate successes with the team.
“To win these awards, you need to be demonstrating excellence, and focused on your USP’s, your people, your customers, your team and investing in success with training and support relevant to the level of your teams. These are all topics we focus on in Vistage, and therefore award success becomes more natural.”
Dr Emma Black, co-founder and CEO of Cascade Cash Management recently collected the award of Small Business of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneurial Awards (GBEA). She joined Andrew’s Chief Executive and MD Vistage cohort three years ago, and she said: “Working with Andrew and within the peer group, which is made up of people from wide ranging sectors and experience, you start to think differently when looking at your own challenges and opportunities. As a person it pushes you further, but with a support structure to catch you. The sharing of these lessons with the team and also by enrolling some of my rising star managers onto Andrew’s Emerging Leaders Vistage cohort, has impacted positively on the business. We shared those positive impacts within our GBEA application, and we were delighted with the result. We see the difference in our performance but for others to acknowledge that and how we stand out as a business is very satisfying. Thank you, Andrew, for his constant support and belief in us as a business.”
Andrew attributes the success of his clients to the teams at the business, as much as to the work the leaders have been doing with Vistage. The benefits to CEO members of Vistage are wide ranging, ultimately helping with problem solving and giving a competitive advantage in decision making, spurring faster growth in the company. By focusing on instinct, judgement and perspective, better decision making is made, and the peer advisory group supports this bringing outside perspective too. Collaboration from varied industries brings unbiased educated feedback, support and experience, and when you mix in a range of events and speaker experts, growth becomes a strategic transformation.
Andrew continues with why the right peer group and mentoring helps drive success and acknowledgement: “Good mentoring is a collaboration of the mentor and the mentee. It doesn’t work unless both buy into it fully. Mentee’s have to trust, share and be vulnerable. They also have to be driven and commit to being held accountable.
“Our peer groups take that a step further, by granting a safe space for high level executives, board members, business owners and emerging leaders to flourish, learn and explore. As well as sharing my insights and experience, I encourage my clients to travel the path our sessions light up for them, and both their peers and I are there for them if they stumble.
“This works well for companies of all sizes and for charities too, who are often so deserving of awards and accolades but are too busy or too self-effacing to go after them. I was delighted to see Citizens Advice Gateshead win North East Charity of the Year 2022. Having worked with Alison Dunn, the CEO, in my Vistage group for a number of years, I was aware of what they were achieving and that she and her whole team were very deserving.”
Alison said: “It’s been an incredibly difficult few years for the Third Sector. We’ve been at the heart of welfare reform, the pandemic and now we’re facing a cost-of-living crisis. With this as our backdrop, it was fantastic to win both Gateshead Charity of the Year 2022 and North East Charity of the Year 2022, giving everyone in the charity a huge boost. To have our work recognised in this way is a public acknowledgement of the many sacrifices our staff and volunteers have made over a number of years to ensure people get the help they need to solve their problems, its hugely satisfying and rewarding for the team.
“Testament must also go to Andrew for all the support he has given not just me, but the team, through my Vistage membership opening the charity up to new experiences, ideas and networks, challenging our mindset to supercharge our ambition. I am delighted to now have him on the board as a trustee for the charity, adding even greater benefit to my Vistage membership.
Andrew’s Vistage sessions focus on the individuals and their needs, with an open and transparent approach. Members share a sense of authenticity, leave judgement at the door, and discover new, exciting purposes and passions that drive business to the next level.