Leyton’s Post

Good financial advice academies focus on developing practical skills including soft and communication skills! Kudos to M&G Wealth who seem to be really focused on the practical development of trainee financial advisors. I’m loving hearing about the amazing work that Kenny O'Donnell FPFS, CII Certs (MP ER), MCSI, IMC, BAcc and M&G Wealth are doing Matthew Ings. Successful academies do far more than just focus on exam passes. 👍😊 The best of best focus on the practical application of the knowledge and building up trainee advisor confidence. 👍 Role plays ✅ Mentoring and coaching ✅ Goal driven financial planning ✅ Holistic financial planning ✅ I’ve said it before - passing our driving tests and becoming competent safe drivers are too different things. 🚘 You can be a diploma qualified advisor on paper but are you competent applying your knowledge in real client scenarios? 🤔 When doing your due diligence on financial advice academies please look under the bonnet to ensure that there is a very strong focus on the soft skills. 🙏These soft skills should be taught by a team of people who have been there, done it and worn the t shirt. 👕 👚 Learn from the best! 🤩 Exams are important but exam passes just provide the foundation! You must learn how to apply your knowledge for the benefit of clients in a safe environment! 📚 🤔 Build your confidence and skills to apply your new found knowledge. 👍😊 Great to see M&G! 🚀 #financialadvice #academy #traineefinancialplanner #roleplays #coaching #mentorship #practicalapplication

What a wonderful day yesterday at The Savoy celebrating HOSPA Learner Graduation. We work in a very busy industry that you never know what a new day will bring, so to these learners that took the time to complete these Professional Development programs a MASSIVE WELL DONE! And to the companies that invested in their talent BRAVO! #revenuemanagement #finance #careers #education #professionaldevelopment #timemanagement

All Executive Assistants need strong commercial and business awareness. That's what we teach, predominately, here at Adam Fidler Academy - and what I call "being strategic" (a phrase now used with EAs and PAs the world over, but one I brought intentionally to the EA profession many years ago, with The Strategic Executive Assistant programme). Here, then, is one such example of an EA who absolutely understands her business, not only from 'what' her boss wants, but also from the 'why' perspective. Aileen Porter, Business Support Manager and Senior EA (note: she's not called Chief of Staff!) has just submitted one of her Level 4 assignments to me, for a Unit we call 'Commercial and Business Awareness'. It was one of the very best assignments I have marked for this Unit in a long time, culminating in full marks. Gosh, if only all EAs had the aspiration to be quite so commercially aware! I had to shout this one out, as Aileen clearly knows as much about her firm's strategy and external context as her CEO would! To Aileen: this was a brilliant assignment - and if I could have given you more than full marks, I would have done! Your SWOT analysis was sublime. Well done, and we look forward to seeing you at Graduation next week when you'll qualify with our Level 4 Certificate, equivalent to the first year of a degree. Credible - Confident - Qualified, that's an Adam Fidler Academy Executive Assistant! #adamfidleracademy #EA #PA #executiveassistant #personalassistant #commercialawareness

All Executive Assistants need strong commercial and business awareness. That's what we teach, predominately, here at Adam Fidler Academy - and what I call "being strategic" (a phrase now used with EAs and PAs the world over, but one I brought intentionally to the EA profession many years ago, with The Strategic Executive Assistant programme). Here, then, is one such example of an EA who absolutely understands her business, not only from 'what' her boss wants, but also from the 'why' perspective. Aileen Porter, Business Support Manager and Senior EA (note: she's not called Chief of Staff!) has just submitted one of her Level 4 assignments to me, for a Unit we call 'Commercial and Business Awareness'. It was one of the very best assignments I have marked for this Unit in a long time, culminating in full marks. Gosh, if only all EAs had the aspiration to be quite so commercially aware! I had to shout this one out, as Aileen clearly knows as much about her firm's strategy and external context as her CEO would! To Aileen: this was a brilliant assignment - and if I could have given you more than full marks, I would have done! Your SWOT analysis was sublime. Well done, and we look forward to seeing you at Graduation next week when you'll qualify with our Level 4 Certificate, equivalent to the first year of a degree. Credible - Confident - Qualified, that's an Adam Fidler Academy Executive Assistant! #adamfidleracademy #EA #PA #executiveassistant #personalassistant #commercialawareness

I raise a point. While formal education is valuable, nothing can replace the wisdom and practical knowledge gained through years of real-world experience. Incorporating more mature and semi-retired individuals into hospitality training programs can provide invaluable mentorship and guidance to young professionals entering the industry. Their insights can help bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that future generations are well-equipped to succeed in the dynamic world of hospitality.

Dive into a world of professional growth and insight with Blossom Corporate Training's foreign training sessions! This is an unparalleled #experience you don't want to miss. Seize the opportunity for professional growth and insight. Secure your spot now and enjoy a 2% early bird registration discount. Ensure your payment is made before February 24, 2024. Elevate your skills and knowledge in these pivotal areas of expertise. Apply here; https://lnkd.in/dZV4Bj3V for a transformative learning experience #BlossomCorporateTraining #ForeignTrainings #ProfessionalDevelopment"

A massive congratulations to everyone who has become Chartered!!! One of the roles I added to my portfolio career this year is as a Chartered Institute of Public Relations Chartership Assessor. Having achieved my own Chartered Practitioner status back in July 2022, I know just how challenging and rigorous (and terrifying!) the process can be. But one thing that made it so much easier on the day was how approachable and warm the assessors were. They really wanted us to succeed and gave us every opportunity to shine. Now I have the chance to sit on the other side of the panel, I really hope that I am giving applicants for Chartership that same positive experience. I've had the privilege to sit on two of the six panels that have taken place so far in 2024, and want to congratulate everyone who was brave enough to put themselves forward, whether they achieved Chartership or gained a learning opportunity to try again in the future. When I achieved Chartered Practitioner status, there were over 400 people with the accolade, and now it is more than 600. This can only be a good thing when it comes to raising the credibility of the PR profession. There are plenty of resources in the CIPR's post below. If you are thinking about becoming Chartered, then make sure you sign up for a Chartership buddy, review the videos and blogs, and treat it like the rigorous assessment it is - that means time to read, revise and prepare in advance. But, most of all, don't be put off by the fact it can seem a little intimidating. While the assessors have some great experience, so too do all of the applicants- and we all learn so much through the discussions and becoming part of a growing Community of Practice. #GetChartered #PublicRelations #CIPR

Attention all Global Campus Alumni (GCA) 🌍, The GCA is launching its new GCA Careers Programme with the support of Niamh Walsh, a GC alumna who works as a university careers adviser. 🚀 The programme includes an upgraded Mentoring track, and a new Job Applications track which will focus on enhancing your ability to pursue a job in the field of human rights. First things first: The GCA Mentoring Track. This track connects recent graduates/less experienced alumni with more experienced alumni who can offer guidance on their professional development. This version of the programme will include new interactive workshops with an expert, and a new way to do the matching. Learn more: [https://lnkd.in/d4KSt9fW] To sign up to be a mentor, fill this form: [https://lnkd.in/d5SgjEKi]  To sign up to be a mentee, fill this form. [https://lnkd.in/dX3ecmSr] (Only Global Campus Alumni can be mentees)🎯. 📅 Registration Deadline: 18 March.

Am I good enough? Do I know enough? Is my experience broad enough? I held off trying to achieve Chartered PR status for longer than I should have done, mostly because questions like these were occupying too much space in my head. When I finally put myself forward and passed the assessment, it was a significant moment professionally, but also personally, as it gave me a huge confidence boost. I have written about my path to chartership - preparation, the assessment, what I see as the benefits and some advice based on my experience. You can find that here https://lnkd.in/eG3VDptC Since then, in my capacity as a Chartership Buddy, I have spoken with many members who have gone on to successfully navigate the process. Most of them had the same worries I did. If you're watching #CIPRLearn webinars, reading books and attending training events during #LearningAtWorkWeek (and logging your CPD points as you go, obvs) my question is, what's your end game? If you're working towards Chartership and would like a chat, drop me a line.

It’s certainly not simple even if it is hiding in plain sight. And no I’m not talking about the eider duck I nearly didnt see this week at the Isle of May, Fife in Scotland. Hiding in plain sight has been a theme behind the recent soft skills coaching three month programme I’ve delivered for a procurement team. I’ve shared lots of different models and ideas, and posed many many questions about their behavioural or soft skills. You know the ‘how you do what you do to motivate yourself or when engaging with others’ skills that make a difference. The premise behind the coaching programme is: 1. If we get conscious about what’s happening and the outcome we’re getting 2. We learn much about our own preferences and behaviours in situations 3. We can then discover other and alternate behaviours that might inspire different outcomes 4. Allowing us to take personal responsibility for being flexible and taking those alternate actions 5. Facilitating different, and often even more resourceful, outcomes. The first step is the most important. Because unlike many technical skills our soft skills often stay under the radar - run unconsciously on auto pilot. (After all we’ve been taking action and talking to others for our whole life why shouldn’t it be left to auto pilot?) It’s when these soft skills are unconscious, however, that they’re at their most dangerous - not when we’re getting the outcome we want (that’s when auto pilot is working) but when we’re not. Because when on auto pilot - when unconscious about what we’re doing - it’s easy to blame the other person, team or organisation (anyone else really) for the unwanted outcome you’re getting. Being conscious, seeing the situation from all 360 degrees, is key to determining what we need to change to get a different outcome. Yes we’ve all heard or even said “if you keep doing what you’re doing you’ll keep getting the same outcome”. The challenge is taking responsibility for that truth. I’m off on holiday w/c 13th May and then in London w/c 20th so do get in touch if you’d like to catch up with me whilst I’m there to find out more about the programme and positive impact it could have with your team. Otherwise happy to get something in the diary for when I’m back in the office w/c 27th May. #softskills #behaviouralskills #influencing #problemsolving #communicaton