Lord Rose was CEO of Marks & Spencer between 2004 and 2010 and Chairman between 2008 and 2011. He has had an extremely successful career in the retail industry and currently serves as: non-executive director of Woolworths Holdings Ltd. and Ocado, Chairman of Oasis Dental, and Co-Chairman of Fat Face. He also does some advisory work with HSBC and with the private arm of Li & Fung.
Lord Rose had already had a successful career when he joined Marks & Spencer as CEO in 2004 and although well used to presenting, he realised that he needed to improve his skills to demonstrate to the stakeholders that he was a safe pair of hands to gain their trust and buy-in for strategic planning to drive the company forward.
Lord Rose believes his two public speaking disasters could have been avoided if he had worked with Aziz before undertaking them: “The first was caused by poor content and preparation, the second by a combination of good content and over-confidence. If we realised early on that, as Aziz points out, the ability to open one’s mouth and talk does not automatically make one a brilliant speaker both disasters could have been avoided.”
“I would never claim to be an expert speaker, but what Aziz did for me was to take the fear out of public speaking, and secondly, train me by defining the basic rules of preparation.”
Challenge
Lord Rose had already had a successful early career when he joined Marks & Spencer as CEO in 2004 and although well used to presenting, he realised that he needed to improve his skills to demonstrate to the stakeholders that he was a safe pair of hands and to gain their trust and buy-in for strategic planning to drive the company forward.
The Aziz Programme
Aziz Corporate coaches, led by Khalid Aziz, worked with Lord Rose on his generic communication skills to improve the content and structure of his presentations. Sessions focused on both the mechanics of good communication as well as the psychological elements that underpin confidence and impact and the importance of preparation skills.
Benefits
Lord Rose believes his two public speaking disasters could have been avoided if he had worked with Aziz before undertaking them:
“The first was caused by poor content and preparation, the second by a combination of good content and over-confidence. If we realised early on that, as Aziz points out, the ability to open one’s month and talk does notautomatically make one a brilliant speaker both diasters could have been avoided.”
Our Communication Coaching Expertise
We offer expertise on all themes of communication skills through our team of subject matter specialists which includes experts in presentation skills, storytelling, difficult conversations, media training, written communications, influencing and personal impact.
Senior Leadership Challenges
Often we are asked to provide communication support in advance of a conference, a financial roadshow, a results presentation or an AGM. A typical client has often just been promoted into a bigger leadership role and finds themselves having to step out of their comfort zone, communicating with a broader range of audiences (and often more senior), with a more business critical agendas and in a more pressurised environment. The goal might be preparation and rehearsal for a set piece event, help with getting your voice heard around the Boardroom table or handling challenge and conflict without getting too emotional.
Our Approach to Communication Coaching
We offer both unique 1:1 coaching programmes for senior leaders needing to polish their communication skills as well as bespoke in-house group workshops and both as face-to-face classroom-based sessions and virtually.
I remember the real fear that I felt when I had to make presentations early in my career. I knew what to say but not how to say it.
I would never claim to be an expert speaker, but what Aziz did for me was to take the fear out of public speaking, and secondly, train me by defining the basic rules of preparation.
