Enterprise4All

LEAD is a publicly funded business support programme that helps senior managers to develop successful strategies for growth. With a proven track record, it is an ideal choice for anyone who wants to take their business to new levels while also developing their strategic leadership skills.

How E4All Can Help 

In May 2009, the Northwest Regional Development Agency announced that Enterprise4All had been chosen as a delivery partner on the LEAD programme – a leadership development initiative designed specifically for North West businesses with up to 20 employees.

Enterprise4All has teamed up with Blackburn College to use its prestigious University Centre to host the programme and to support delegates through the 10 months of personal learning and development.

In all, thirteen organisations have been selected to deliver the £9.5m programme across the whole of the North West and, as part of this network, E4All and the College will be operating in many parts of Lancashire.

Originally piloted by Lancaster University, LEAD has proved to be an exceptionally effective catalyst for achieving rapid business growth and significant performance improvements. According to independent research, 90% of business owners who participated in previous years reported an average annual sales increase of £200,000.

Launched in May 2009, the programme emphasises leadership and strategy and comprises a mixture of interactive workshops, management exchanges and inspirational masterclasses presented by high profile business leaders. These and other elements emphasise the importance of senior managers being able to step back from the day to day routines and to give thought to how best to grow the business - rather than simply how to run it.

In addition to improved sales, other reported benefits of past LEAD programmes have included better communication, improved productivity and more efficient business processes.

The new programme will be delivered to cohorts of 25 businesses over a period of approximately 10 months. During this time, delegates will work together to tackle real (rather than hypothetical) business issues and will benefit from coaching support, action learning sets and other initiatives.

LEAD is an intensive programme that requires between 2 and 3 days’ commitment per month on the part of all delegates. The cost would normally be £2,000 but Enterprise4All is now developing a funding package that could reduce that to as little as £500. The company is keen to hear from any business managers who would like to find out more and, to this end, it is organising a series of ‘taster sessions’ at local venues.

For more details, including eligibility criteria, please visit www.businesslinknw.co.uk/lead or contact the Business Link enquiry team on 0845 00 66 888.

Preview Event:

On Thursday 24th September, Enterprise4All held its first free preview event. It took place at Blackburn College’s £14m University Centre between 9:30am and 2:00pm and concluded with a networking session.

The event provided an overview of LEAD and its many benefits, and featured first hand testimony of its effectiveness from two former delegates on the programme - Lesley Swinn of Buy The House and Richard Baguley of Blackpool based PR agency, GDR .

Lesley Swinn said: “LEAD was absolutely inspirational for me. It was great to meet and work with like minded entrepreneurs who were all on the same journey as myself. We were at different stages, but we could all learn from one another and share ideas and encouragement. From every session, I brought home a kind of ‘golden nugget’ – an idea, a solution or a new way of approaching things, and it all helped to give me the confidence to transform my business.   

“I had started the programme by hiding in the corner and feeling like a bit of a fraud; someone who was uncertain of herself and surrounded by far more experienced and accomplished managers. Now, however, I know that most entrepreneurs feel the same way and that by sharing our experiences, we can really help one another. As a result of my experiences of LEAD, my confidence has soared, my business has won a string of awards and I have launched a number of additional businesses. Once, I was ‘the woman who couldn’t cope with any more’ – always far too busy and with little or no time to think – but now I feel equal to any challenge: I launched another new venture earlier this week and I’ve even started working with a North West university as a tutor on an entrepreneurship degree course.”

Richard Baguley echoed Lesley’s comments, saying: “I joined the LEAD programme at a time when the business was growing quickly and it felt like we were going off the edge of the map. Everything was changing – our roles, our structure and objectives – and I was feeling increasingly isolated, with no one to talk to about the issues I was facing. I knew that there were new skills I needed to develop but, worse than that, I felt that there were other things I should change that I might not even be aware of.

“LEAD was ideal for me. It provided a support package that helped me deal with change and it made a difference at both the business and personal levels. For the company, the support of my fellow delegates provided what I like to think of as ‘the board you can’t afford’ – people who challenge us, help us find solutions and inject new ideas. And for myself, the masterclasses and one to one coaching really changed the way I thought about the buck stopping with me.”

The session also included a sample business masterclass by Mark Bowden of theinternetmarketingshow.com.

The speakers explained how LEAD helps managers to transform their businesses – achieving substantial improvements in performance, sales and profitability – and Mubarak Chati then gave details about the funding package, developed by E4All, which reduces the cost to delegates to just £500.

For further information about this funding package, please call Mubarak Chati on 0845 607 0786.

Residential Experiential:

One of the first initiatives planned for the October 2009 cohort is a weekend 'experiential' in which the delegates will work together and get to know one another - building a foundation of trust on which further co-operation can be built.

The event will start on the evening of Friday October 30th, with delegates returning home on the morning of Sunday 1st November. It will be held at the Lancaster House Hotel, a four star country house style hotel with an in-house leisure club and an award winning restaurant, so it provides the ideal base from which participants can begin their experience of the LEAD programme.

During the event, delegates will be encouraged to share their experiences and to review their leadership styles in an honest and constructive way. The ultimate objective is to create a personal development plan for each individual; a tailored programme for the duration of the programme.

The experiential involves a mix of training exercises, all exploring the role of leadership. There will be a combination of small group sessions and individual exercises, with the residential event also allowing delegates to speak openly in a relaxed, social setting.