Who are AUK?
AUK are an integrated brand communications agency with strategy, creative, tech, media, social and PR all under one roof. They help clients grow and connect with their audiences by creating meaningful campaigns that target new and existing customers. It is privately owned and proudly independent and was awarded ‘best advertising agency, under 40 employees’ by the Drum in 2019.
AUK’s clients benefit from a 30-strong team of experienced leading lights and fresh young talent who work collaboratively with them as an indispensable extension of their marketing teams.
The team are a genuine bunch building open, honest and enduring relationships that deliver tangible results. They succeed by challenging boundaries, making the complex simple and remaining alive to changes in technologies, trends and tastes. Most importantly, they keep it real!
What showed up?
Due to structural change, AUK had two new Department Heads. They wanted them to step up to these roles and make a positive impact on the company culture, people, clients and revenue. Time was being taken up in lengthy meetings to resolve disputes and re-work solutions that had been created in isolation. This led to a negative impact on well-being, relationships, deadlines and project margins.
The Founder and Commercial Director supported the senior team’s vision to link coaching to the well-being culture and for one of the coaches to develop a mentor programme for people in the business. Coaching was chosen as a way of accelerating leadership capability through self-awareness as well as developing senior women in AUK.
Being able to offer coaching support for some of the leadership team has been a huge benefit to both the company and the coachee. We have been able to work together as a three: coach, coachee and employer to identify key areas that could be developed with coaching support. It allowed the coachee the opportunity to take time out of their day to step back and consider their way of working, approach and develop solutions and strategies that make their role more fulfilling but also help support the business as a whole.
“We have seen real tangible benefits to the business and we will continue to use Victoria’s support with further employees” – Amy Stobie, AUK Commercial Director
What we did?
The coaching goal was to:
- Grow confidence in leadership skills
- Develop innate people skills both internally and externally
- Enhance collaboration, unlocking that strategic potential within teams
- Generate additional revenue streams and enhance business revenue through AUK engagements
- Link the brand, people culture and well-being work together through quality collaboration
Working with a coach is to the mind like working with a personal trainer is to the body. You get better results quicker! Coaching is a super power that enables responsibility for creating practical actions to make real progress. It also holds you to account on things that are important to you and need to happen in specific timescales. We had six coaching sessions over a 6 month period topped and tailed with a three-way meeting with the Commercial Director to set the coaching goals and review the outcomes at the end.
Neither coachee had experienced business coaching before. After working out that we would make a great partnership over coffee, we clarified the structure upfront and agreed a coaching contract. Then co-created a safe, trustworthy and courageous space to be bold, explore, learn, stretch and take committed action – all with a few coaching tools and techniques thrown in.
Through a supportive and challenging style, the senior leaders became more aware, prepared and empowered to navigate the challenges at a personal, team and business level. They tracked their own progress throughout and set the agenda for each session to ensure they met their own goals.
“I began coaching with Victoria while formalising my position as Strategy Director at AUK. Having access to her as an impartial third party helped me define my role and what it would mean for me and the wider team. Victoria really knew when and where to challenge my thinking. Storytelling is a huge part of my job and using techniques like role play helped me identify the strongest ways to tell my personal professional story, which ultimately has lead to greater clarity and confidence” – Gemma Phillis, Strategy Director
What was the impact?
Qualitative:
- Developed assertiveness, confidence, resilience, courage which is enhancing personal impact and performance both internally and with clients
- Created strategies to manage time, pressure, conflict and stress which has improved collaboration and positive relationships between departments and teams
- Demonstrated that AUK values its people, developed their potential as leaders and their well-being
- Understands how individuals and teams perform best so the wellness programme could be flexible to people’s needs giving alone time and team time when it was needed
- Enhanced the flexible culture that enables them to be there for their clients and enhances how they work as individuals, in teams and alongside clients
- Improved collaboration between internal functional teams
- Supported team effort while giving each individual a sense of ownership
- Engaged staff who are helping each other, staff with a greater sense of pride and ownership of the work they produce which leads to better work for clients, staff with a better sense of purpose – that they are being proactive to create the work they want, being less reactive to circumstance.
- Senior leaders embedded as integrated decision makers in AUK and continuing their leadership journeys
- Integrated well-being into the business and its culture rather than having a ‘stand alone programme’
Quantitative:
- Generated learning and clarity for action and commitment to measurable outcomes which has identified solutions to specific work-related issues
- Increased productivity by focussing on priorities and earning revenue
- Reduced number and time spent in meetings
- Introduced a wellness programme that supports flexible hours, remote working, flexible holidays, mentorship, social events, life balance and even a fruit bowl instead of biscuits!
Curious to find out more?
I coach modern leaders in dynamic growing businesses in the digital space – clever people who need to accelerate their leadership maturity, impact and performance.
Emerging Leaders particularly value a coach because we focus on aligning purpose, strengths and growth.
If you know a company or a modern leader who would be curious to learn how coaching could benefit them, let’s connect over a coffee:
victoria@coxenconsultandcoach.com
07812 037728
Interested in integrated brand communications?
For all strategy, creative, tech, media, social and PR campaigns:
01225 429 938
